Understanding Media Jihad (Routledge Studies in Political Islam)

Understanding Media Jihad offers a comprehensive examination of how Salafi-jihadi organisations use the internet as a tool of strategic communication.

Drawing on multiple research projects conducted since 2020 and employing methods such as open-source intelligence, social network analysis, and comparative content analysis, this book traces the origins, evolution, and defining features of contemporary media jihad. It analyses how violent extremist organisations construct and sustain complex online information ecosystems, attract and radicalise audiences, and produce and disseminate propaganda across diverse digital platforms. Based on an unprecedented dataset comprising nearly 1,300 communication channels and more than 29,000 propaganda releases, the study examines both visible and less evident dimensions of online jihadist activity, including thematic messaging, recruitment strategies, operational security standards, and evasive techniques designed to circumvent counterterrorism measures.

This book will appeal to scholars and students of terrorism studies, security studies, media and communication, and Middle East politics, as well as policymakers and practitioners concerned with countering violent extremism in the digital age.

Miron Lakomy is a professor at the Institute of Political Sciences, the University of Silesia, Poland, and a non-resident fellow at the ITSTIME research centre in Italy. He is an open-source intelligence investigator with over fifteen years of experience in analysing online terrorist operations. During his academic career, he held visiting research positions at the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, the European University Institute, and the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan. He is a member of the EU Knowledge Hub on Prevention of Radicalisation Research Committee.