MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY WORKING PAPERS WORKING PAPER NO. 169 CHRISTOPH GÜNTHER TOM KADEN THE AUTHORITY OF THE ISLAMIC StatE Halle / Saale 2016 ISSN 1615-4568 Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, PO Box 110351, 06017 Halle / Saale, Phone: +49 (0)345 2927- 0, Fax: +49 (0)345 2927- 402, http://www.eth.mpg.de, e-mail:
[email protected] The Authority of the Islamic State1 Christoph Günther and Tom Kaden 2 Abstract This paper provides an analysis of the sources of authority that the Islamic State employs locally and globally in order to further the establishment of a worldwide caliphate. To allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the propositions the Islamic State makes towards its audiences, we argue that it can be regarded as a sociopolitical movement and a de facto state with different sources of authority and means of power pertaining to each. Both realms of authority guarantee and reinforce each other, thus providing the Islamic State with a stability that is often overlooked in public debates about its prospects. 1 The authors wrote and conceptualised this paper equally and should both be considered first authors. The authors would like to thank Günther Schlee, Markus V. Höhne, and Ibrahim Can-Sezgin who provided valuable suggestions and comments on an earlier version of this paper. 2 Christoph Günther, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, P.O.Box 110357, 06017 Halle/Saale, Germany; phone: (+49)-(0)345-2927-177; fax (+49)-(0)345-2927-502; e-mail:
[email protected]; Tom Kaden, Institute