Theorising Isis

To mark the launch of Professor Mohamedou’s new book, A Theory of ISIS: Political Violence and the Transformation of the Global Order, the Graduate Institute is pleased to invite you to a Lunch Briefing on 7 December at 12:30. Considered the most dangerous terrorist organisation in the world, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has become shrouded in numerous narratives, which often fail to grasp its deeper social sciences significance. By tracing the group’s genealogy and documenting its evolution in Iraq and Syria, Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou argues that ISIS has now mutated into an unprecedented hybrid form that distils postcolonial violence, postmodernity and an emerging post-globalisation international order.

Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou is Professor of International History at the Graduate Institute. Previously the Associate Director of the Harvard University Programme on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research, he also teaches at the doctoral school at Sciences Po Paris. His research focuses on political violence, state-building and political transition.