The new basis for war: Jihadism

- Dagens Nyheter - 

Armed conflicts associated with militant Islamism, so-called jihadism, now account for over 50 percent of all people killed in battle. This is shown by new unique data from peace and conflict researchers at Sweden’s Uppsala University.

Syria dominates the jihadist war category. This is because the researchers have divided the complex Syrian opposition into merely three parties, the Kurds, ISIS and ”insurgents”. The latter constellation contains several Islamist groupings.
– We have made historic comparisons, always with the same definitions, and the change is striking, says Isak Svensson, professor at Uppsala University.

One reason for the surge in the number of deaths in conflicts where jihadism is a component, as well as a surge in the number of conflicts overall, is that ISIS has opened ”franchises” in a swathe of countries. At the same time, some rebel groups have changed their rhetoric from nationalist or socialist to jihadist.

Read mor HERE.