Leading jihadist groups such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State dominate through cooperation in the form of knowledge sharing, resource sharing, joint training exercises, and operational collaboration. They build alliances and lesser partnerships with other formal and informal terrorist actors to recruit foreign fighters and spread their message worldwide, raising the aggregate threat level for their declared enemies. Whether they consist of friends or foes, whether they are connected locally or online, these networks create a wellspring of support for jihadist organizations that may fluctuate in strength or change in character but never runs dry. Nexus of Global Jihad identifies types of terrorist actors, the nature of their partnerships, and the environments in which they prosper to explain global jihadist terrorism's ongoing success and resilience. Nexus of Global Jihad brings to light an emerging style of "networked cooperation" that works alongside interorganizational terrorist cooperation to establish bonds of varying depth and endurance. Case studies use recently declassified materials to illuminate al-Qaeda's dealings from Iran to the Arabian Peninsula and the informal actors that power the Sharia4 movement. The book proposes policies that increase intelligence gathering on informal terrorist actors, constrain enabling environments, and disrupt terrorist networks according to different types of cooperation. It is a vital text for strategists and scholars struggling to understand a growing spectrum of terrorist groups working together more effectively than ever before.

About the Author
Assaf Moghadam is associate professor at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (IDC) and director of academic affairs at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT). He is also a fellow at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. He is the author of The Globalization of Martyrdom (2008) and coeditor of Fault Lines in Global Jihad (2011).

Reviews
A great book for anyone who wants to study al-Qaeda's and ISIS's affiliate network. By developing a comprehensive and convincing typology of terrorist cooperation, Moghadam adds substantially to our knowledge of the phenomenon. -- Guido Steinberg, author of German Jihad: On the Internationalization of Islamist Terrorism An impressive achievement. Moghadam's book is destined to become the standard reference on the subject of terrorist cooperation for the foreseeable future. -- Ely Karmon, author of Coalitions Between Terrorist Organizations: Revolutionaries, Nationalists, and Islamists Nexus of Global Jihad offers an unparalleled look at the many dimensions of terrorist group cooperation, with a particular focus on the greatest threat today-the global jihadist movement. Moghadam's work is theoretically informed and empirically rich, greatly advancing our knowledge of terrorism in general and clandestine cooperation in particular. -- Daniel Byman, Georgetown University What explains changing patterns of cooperation among terrorists-who cooperates, how, and in what political contexts? Relying on an impressive range of examples as well as established theory, Assaf Moghadam expertly answers this critical but rarely addressed question and in doing so illustrates the complexity of a dynamic and shifting threat. Understanding these interactions within the jihadist universe is essential to an appropriate response to contemporary terrorism. -- Martha Crenshaw, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University Nexus of Global Jihad is a major contribution to the field of terrorism studies. It is refreshingly free of academic jargon, but it is also a work for first class scholarship and deep research. Highly recommended. -- Peter Bergen, Author of United States of Jihad: Investigating America's Homegrown Terrorists



Book Information
ISBN 9780231165372
Author Assaf Moghadam
Format Hardback
Page Count 400
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press