ONLINE FIRST
published on April 18, 2019
Heather S. Gregg
https://doi.org/10.5840/jrv201941762
Understanding the ¡°Trinamic¡±
A Net Assessment of ISIS
Violent non-state actors are of particular security concern today and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. This article uses a net assessment approach to analyze the threat posed by religiously motivated, violent non-state actors and how governments can better understand these threats, their popular support, and how to minimize their effects. It proposes that the goal of governments should be to ¡°win¡± critical populations away from non-state actors that require their support to survive. Using ISIS as an example, the article demonstrates that a purely enemy-centric approach to countering violent non-state actors that use religion is likely to alienate critical populations whose support is necessary to defeating these threats.