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How Hamas and the Islamic State Advance Their Political Objectives on a Virtual Battlefield

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How Hamas and the Islamic State Advance Their Political Objectives on a Virtual Battlefield Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author. NEW IMAGINARIES OF WAR: HOW HAMAS AND THE ISLAMIC STATE ADVANCE THEIR POLITICAL OBJECTIVES ON A VIRTUAL BATTLEFIELD A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy (College of Humanities and Social Sciences) at Massey University, Albany Campus, New Zealand Francesca Annemarie Mold 2017 ABSTRACT This thesis argues that Hamas and the Islamic State, two non-state armed groups located in the Middle East, each carefully calibrate their own war-fighting activities with their communications approaches in order to achieve their respective political objectives. Drawing on scholarship focusing on non-state armed groups and political communication, as well as other secondary sources such as specialist journalism, the thesis critically analyses online communications material distributed by Hamas and the Islamic State through official and affiliated websites, digital publications, YouTube clips, tweets, and other social media platforms. While there is a striking degree of conformity between the sophisticated, comprehensive, and disciplined communications approaches used by these two groups, the thesis argues that key differences during especially intense periods of conflict — specifically, between June and October 2014 — reflect the divergent ways in which Hamas endorses, and the Islamic State disrupts, the prevailing world order as each pursues their own cause. It also notes that much of the recent scholarship highlighting the use of social media by non-state armed groups overestimates the impact of the virtual world on the actions of their followers in particular and attempts to influence the hearts and minds of a global audience more broadly. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My thanks go to my supervisors, Dr Nigel Parsons and Associate Professor Grant Duncan, for agreeing to supervise this project, as well as to Dr Vicky Walters for her expert guidance in helping me shape the research proposal. Particularly useful were the fantastic resources provided by the Massey University library and its staff who kindly helped me navigate my way through the research phase from a distance. The academics who dedicate their energy to critical studies on terrorism are appreciated for opening my mind to a new way of thinking about the world. I also pay tribute to the journalists who operate in the battlegrounds of the Middle East, risking their lives searching for a truth that may not actually exist. To my parents, Anne and Jim Mold, thank you for believing in me, despite being constantly surprised, and often dismayed, by my predilection for taking risks. Without you, I would not have achieved this or much else in my life. I’m also grateful to my wider family — Antoinette, Peter, James, Ruth, Caleb, Arianna, Luke, and Andrew as well as Lois Holden — for your unwavering support and patient acceptance of my absence from your lives. My gratitude goes to Trisha McLean for her wise counsel during dark times and my furry babies are thanked too for the constancy of their love (even if it is of the cupboard variety). Most of all, my immeasurable gratitude goes to Dr Damien Rogers for, firstly, his professional support in proof-reading drafts and giving free-and-frank feedback, as well as allowing me to pillage his extensive collection of international relations and conflict literature. Secondly, for being my companion in life, inspiring me with his intimidating intellect, critical and creative thinking, passion for the things that are good and right about humanity, constant thirst for knowledge, and search for ways to be a better person. I thank you because, with you, I am the best that I can be. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………………… ii Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………………… iii Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………………………… iv Acronyms and Abbreviations…………………………………………………………………….. vi Glossary of Arabic Terms…………………………………………………………………………... vii 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………… 1 2. Literature Review: Conceptualising Non-State Armed Groups 11 3. Research Methodology and Analytic Approach…………………… 18 4. Hamas and the Islamic State: Searching for Statehood……….. 26 (a) Historical Contexts (b) Governance Arrangements (c) Political Objectives (i) Statehood (ii) Jihad (d) War-Fighting Capabilities 5. Hamas and the Online Frontline……………………………………….. 50 (a) Political Communication (b) Frame 1: Statehood (i) Self-determination (ii) Islamic Reference (iii) Place in the World (c) Frame 2: Jihad (i) Conflict (ii) The Enemy (iii) Victimhood iv 6. Islamic State and the Online Frontline………………………………. 69 (a) Political Communication (b) Frame 1: Statehood (i) Self-determination (ii) Islamic Reference (iii) Place in the World (c) Frame 2: Jihad (i) Conflict (ii) The Enemy (iii) Victimhood 7. Key Findings…………………………………………………………………… 89 8. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………… 96 References……………………………………………………………………………… 101 v ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS EU European Union IDF Israeli Defense Force IS Islamic State ISIL Islamic State in Iraq and Levant MEMRI Middle East Media Research Institute MENA Middle East and North Africa NSAGs Non-state armed groups PA Palestinian Authority PKK Kurdistan Workers Party UK United Kingdom UN United Nations UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNGA United Nations General Assembly UNWRA United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East US United States of America vi GLOSSARY OF ARABIC TERMS Ahlul-halli-wa’l-‘aqd people of authority Al-dawla al Islamiyya fi Iraq Islamic State in Iraq Aqidah creed Baqiya wa tatamadad remaining and expanding Bay’ah transaction or traditional contract Dawla state or dynasty Dhimmi protected person Din wa dawla an all-embracing governance system Fahish’ah fornication or adultery Fard ‘Ayn individual duty Hajj pilgrimage Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya The Islamic Resistance Movement Hijrah migration Hudud punishments mandated by Allah Intifada uprising against oppression Istishhadiyyin suicide bombers Jama’a congregation or congregational prayer Jama’at al-Tawhid w’al-Jihad The Group of God’s Unity and Jihad Jihad holy war Jizya tax Khalif caliph Khilafah caliphate Kuffar unbeliever Kufr denial of truth vii Majlis ash-Shoura Shura Council Manhaj path Muhajadeen one engaged in jihad Muqawama resistance through constant combat Nasheed vocal music Qu’ud abandonment of jihad Rafidah rejectionists/refusers Safawi pejorative term for Shi’ah Muslims Sahwa awakening Salafi adherents to ‘true’ Sunni Islam Salah prayer Sawm fasting Shahada bearing witness to Allah Shahid martyrdom Shari’ah legal system of Islam Shirk idolatry Shura consultation Taghut cross the limits/idolatry Takfir excommunication Tamkin consolidation Tawhid oneness of God Ummah community of true believers Usrat small organisational cells Waqf inalienable charitable endowment Wilayat province Zakat/Zakah alms-giving as a religious obligation viii 1. INTRODUCTION Non-state armed groups (NSAGs) have become more prominent in world affairs since the end of World War II. One reason for their rise is the sharp increase in the frequency, intensity, and duration of civil conflicts (Harbom & Wallensteen, 2007) conducted by an increasingly “assertive and brutal” range of actors described by the United Nations (UN) as a “new generation of belligerents” (Javan & Wieland-Karimi, 2014, p. 7), rather than by national armies. These groups also engage in organised violence that is transnational in nature, as globalisation facilitates flows of money and weapons across borders, and enables support drawn from diaspora sharing common religious values and political aspirations (Kaldor, 2012; Mulaj, 2010). This violence makes these groups central to questions of security in contemporary world politics, bringing them to the attention of the world’s Great Powers (Mulaj, 2010). NSAGs are worthy topics of scholarly inquiry because they can control significant territory and populations, have powerful war-fighting capabilities, and use violence that is “deliberately spectacular and terror-provoking” (Archetti, 2013, p. 7) in a manner that affects, and therefore resonates with, a global audience. Some of these groups seek power within the existing Westphalian world order where sovereign states are preeminent. These groups covet authority over territory inhabited by a fixed population that owes allegiance to a government capable of entering into relations with other states (Kilcullen, 2015). Other NSAGs seek a different form of statehood that is at once ancient and modern, such as those modelled on an Islamic khilafah (caliphate). They seek to disrupt the prevailing world order. While groups seeking either form of statehood are often depicted as “illegitimate deployers of coercion” (Mulaj, 2010, p. 15) by those wanting to maintain their own standing in the existing world order, they demonstrate legitimacy by becoming de facto governments in areas under their control, providing public and social services as well as economic development (Krause & Milliken, 2009; McQuinn & Oliva, 2014). In order to secure external recognition, NSAGs need substantial local and external support, often from a powerful state providing financial and political resources (Mulaj, 2010). They also need to have an attractive
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