The Hybrid Nature of Jabhat Al-Nusra through the lens of its magazine Al-Risalah

Abstract

Nicola Fedeli Dissertation Abstract With most literature focusing on IS's Dabiq and Al-Qaida's Inspire, little attention has been devoted to analysing the propaganda output in English of more localised jihadist groups such as Jabhat Al-Nusra. Often described simplistically as a mere extension of Al-Qaida in Syria due to its ideology and affiliation, the group's evolution and strategy displayed characteristics that can make it a third way between IS's extremism and AQ's cautiousness. The paper analyses Jabhat Al-Nusra's English language magazine Al-Risalah to assess its relationship with the two leading jihadist groups worldwide. On the one hand, the information campaign against IS is examined to determine the causes of friction and affinities with the group as they emerge from the magazine. At the same time, articles and images in Al-Risalah are explored to highlight the patterns of the relationship between JAN and its parent organisation AQ. In particular, the research focuses on detecting potential signs of preference diversion and loose command and control that Byman (2014) identified as the key obstacles undermining mergers and acquisitions in the jihadist world. The research combines multiple layers and subjects of analysis in order to evaluate whether results from Al-Risalah are consistent with the...