The COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted global operations in 2020 and 2021. The pandemic has also presented the Islamic State (IS) with unprecedented opportunities to regain its strength as a terrorist organization as it works to recover from its formal military defeat in 2019. The pandemic has continued to offer IS opportunities to validate its religious extremism, radicalize and recruit members, and exploit the current global distraction, which has hampered if not halted counterterrorism operations across the globe. Emma Schubart’s policy paper argues that IS still presents a global threat as a terrorist organization. As such, if IS is to be defeated, counterterrorism efforts must be revised and resumed.

Policy Paper – Emma Schubart, May 2021

Full text in PDF under the link below.