The Communicative Constitution of Isil
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UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE CONSTRUCTING ORGANIZATIONAL LEGITIMACY TRANSACTIONALLY: THE COMMUNICATIVE CONSTITUTION OF ISIL A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By JACQUELINE S. BRUSCELLA Norman, Oklahoma 2016 CONSTRUCTING ORGANIZATIONAL LEGITIMACY TRANSACTIONALLY: THE COMMUNICATIVE CONSTITUTION OF ISIL A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION BY ______________________________ Dr. Ryan Bisel, Chair ______________________________ Dr. Maria del Guadalupe Davidson ______________________________ Dr. Michael Kramer ______________________________ Dr. Ioana Cionea ______________________________ Dr. Justin Reedy © Copyright by JACQUELINE S. BRUSCELLA 2016 All Rights Reserved. Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to my Dad, Martin Bruscella. His children’s education was always his greatest priority. The completion of my doctoral degree serves as a testament to his dedication and devotion to my education. My Dad’s sudden and untimely passing a few weeks before our commencement ceremonies has been tremendously difficult to comprehend; but I am confident he knows that I have successfully defended this dissertation and have earned my Ph.D. He would be so proud to know his efforts to instill in me a love and appreciation for learning have finally paid off. Acknowledgements First and foremost, I’d like to thank my family. Mom and Dad, since Kindergarten you’ve supported me and my education. From teaching me how the Earth goes around the Sun while swinging on the backyard swing, to helping me build a replica of an Algonquin village, complete with a fishing net and tiny spears, to wanting to read over my graduate school essays to find any and all typos, your willingness to encourage me every step of the way means more than you’ll ever know. From Oyster Bay Co-Op, to Bayville Elementary, LVHS, Lafayette, Hofstra, and finally Oklahoma…I would not be graduating today if it were not for your unyielding support. John, I am certain this will be the last graduation you will have to sit through for me. Thank you. I am so proud of you. You’re going to live up to Dad’s legacy as a brilliant and amiable engineer, and I couldn’t be more proud to be your sister. Thank you for listening to my rants and complaints, and for always being there—no questions asked. To my cohort! Bobbi, Chris, Eryn, Jan, Kathryn, Mike, Roni, Sachiko, and Stacie…there is no doubt in my mind that I would not have made it through this program without your love and friendships. It has been a great four years, with so many memories! I am so excited to be able to reunite each and every year at NCA. To all of my friends here at OU have made this experience more than just “school,” and for that, I can never thank you enough. Especially Bobbi—my first OU friend—I owe you a huge thank you. Without your know-how, I definitely would not be here today. I’d still probably be trying to figure out what IRB is. To my dissertation committee: thank you for your willingness to invest your time and energy in my career and for your tremendous flexibility at the end of such a iv busy semester. I appreciate all of the feedback and support you have given me throughout this process, and I have learned so much from each one of you. Ioana, I want to especially thank you for being so intuitive and perceptive. Thank you for always being there to talk to and knowing just the right advice to give. I want to also express my sincerest gratitude to my advisor, Ryan. Thank for taking me on as an advisee so late in the game. Although it took me a while to figure out who I was as a scholar, I am so grateful that I was able to figure that out, and then have you serve as my chair, mentor, advisor, co-author, and friend. I’ve learned so much from you this past year that I will be forever grateful for. Because of your mentorship, I will not only be a better researcher and writer, but I will be a better a teacher and advisor as well. There is more to students than just their academic progress, and your ability to understand that will stick with me as I move forward in my career. And finally…my acknowledgements would not be complete if I did not reach out and thank my dog, Scout. Grad school had its great days, and miserable ones, but good day or bad, Scout was always there to greet me at the door. And now we’re off on our new adventures in Oneonta! v Table of Contents Acknowledgments……………..…………………….………………………………….iv List of Figures……………..…………………………………………………………..viii Abstract……………..…………………………………………………………………..ix Chapter 1: Introduction………..……….………………………………………………...1 Preview and Rationale…………………………………………….……………..3 Chapter 2: Literature Review……………..……………………………………………..8 CCO……………..……………………………………………………………….8 Sociomateriality.……………..…………………………………………………17 The Social Construction of Legitimacy.……………..…………………………21 Organizational Legitimation.……………..…………………………………….28 Organizational Image and Identity.……………..……………………………...31 Confrontational Rhetoric.……………..………………………………………..33 Chapter 3: Organizational Context……………..………………………………………36 Organizational Context: ISIL.……………..…………………………………...36 The Study of ISIL and Legitimacy: Organizational Exigency…………………45 Chapter 4: Method……………………….…………………………………………..…54 Description of Texts.……………..………………………………………….…54 Analysis.……………..…………………………………………………………55 Qualitative rigor and moving beyond “themes”………………………………..62 Chapter 5: Findings.……………..……………………………………………………..66 Material Appeals to Institutional Legitimacy…………………..………………67 Religious Appeals to Institutional Legitimacy…………………………………86 vi Confrontational Appeals to Institutional Legitimacy………………………..…96 Chapter 6: Discussion ………...………………………………………………………109 Chapter 7: Conclusion ………………………………...……………………………...124 Limitations and Further Research……………..……………………………...128 References…………………………………………………………………………….132 Appendix A: ISIL’s growing Infrastructure and Population (Selected Images)……...145 Appendix B: ISIL’s AlHayat Media Center ………………………………………….146 Appendix C: ISIL’s Hospitals and Medical Infrastructure……………………………147 Appendix D: ISIL’s Civilian Resources……………………………………………....148 Appendix E: “The spark has been lit here in Iraq”……………………………………149 Appendix F: Endnotes…………………………………………………….…………..151 vii List of Figures Figure 1. Explanation of the Four Flows Model (McPhee & Zaug, 2000)…………….12 Figure 2. Transactional Organizational Identity Narrative………………..……………66 viii Abstract This dissertation explores how organizations attempt to construct their ontology and legitimacy through external messages, known as institutional positioning. Constructing an image of legitimacy is particularly important, yet complicated, for groups thought to be illegitimate, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)—an organization that is emerging as a de facto nation state. Analysis of Dabiq, ISIL’s recruitment and propaganda magazine series, revealed ISIL’s institutional positioning conformed to a communication pattern I define as a transactional organizational identity narrative. This pattern is comprised of a set of legitimacy appeals that, together, socially construct the unfolding of a collective’s defining characteristics across time, and anticipate and refute other collectives’ delegitimation attempts. Across the pages of the magazines, the transactional organizational identity narrative consisted of three broad categories of institutional appeals: material, religious, and confrontational. Implications for communication constitutes organizing (CCO) theory and the social construction of organizations are included. Keywords: terrorist organizations, CCO, sociomateriality, identity ix Chapter 1: Introduction On February 18th, 2015, President Obama declared, “al Qaeda and ISIL and groups like it are desperate for legitimacy. [...] That’s why ISIL [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] presumes to declare itself the ‘Islamic State’” (Office of the Press Secretary, 18 February 2015, n.p.; emphasis added). Legitimacy and, more importantly, perceptions of legitimacy, are entirely powerful in not only the formation and maintenance of organizations, but also in their dissolution and destruction. The more legitimate an organization is perceived to be, the more powerful its status becomes within its institutional field (Parsons, 1951). Bitektine (2011) explains issues surrounding the symbolic construction of organizational legitimacy, reputation, and status are key to understanding organizational theory and the constitution of organizations. To be considered a substantial threat on an international stage, terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda and ISIL must construct perceptions of legitimacy if they are to be taken seriously by enemies, allies, members, and potential recruits. Therefore, attempts at legitimation are likely at the forefront of ISIL’s organizational agenda. So, how does an organization create perceptions of legitimacy? Organizations model themselves after similar organizations that are perceived to be more legitimate or successful (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983). According to a report published by the Institute for the Study of War in August of 2014, ISIL has attempted to do just that. Caris and Reynolds (2014) posit, “through the integration of military and political campaigns […] [ISIL] has built a holistic system of governance that includes religious, educational, judicial, security, humanitarian, and infrastructure projects, among others” 1 (p. 4). As will be discussed throughout this dissertation, ISIL’s access to resources