University of Mississippi eGrove Honors College (Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors Theses Honors College) 2017 The uturF e of ISIS and US Counterterrorism: A Study of ISIS, Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab, and the US Policy Response Luke Phillips University of Mississippi. Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis Part of the Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons Recommended Citation Phillips, Luke, "The uturF e of ISIS and US Counterterrorism: A Study of ISIS, Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab, and the US Policy Response" (2017). Honors Theses. 597. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/597 This Undergraduate Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Honors College (Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College) at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. THE FUTURE OF ISIS AND US COUNTERTERRORISM: A STUDY OF ISIS, BOKO HARAM, AL-SHABAAB, AND THE US POLICY RESPONSE by Luke Phillips A thesis submitted to the faculty of The University of Mississippi in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College. Oxford May 2017 Approved by ________________________________ Advisor: Dr. Weixing Chen ________________________________ Reader: Dr. David Bath ________________________________ Reader: Dr. Joshua First © 2017 Luke Phillips ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2 ABSTRACT This study is comprised of two parts. Part 1 focuses on ISIS, Boko Haram, and Al-Shabaab, examining the structures, tactics, and motivations of the groups. Each group seeks territory in its respective region. After losing territories, Boko Haram and Al- Shabaab both turned to guerilla attacks and suicide bombing, destabilizing the areas formerly under their control.