The Constructivist Strategy to Defeat ISIS

As the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria continues to hold their territory they have captured in Iraq and Syria a comprehensive plan must be formed to eliminate the threat they pose to the international community. By viewing this conflict through the lens of Realist Constructivism we are able to see the hostilities raised by ISIS through the creation of the other, the power politics necessary to maintain their state and ultimately the need for regional allies and enemies alike to band together.  By creating an Islamic Caliphate all infidels become the other.  

            ISIS fighters are vicious and have an extreme dedication to the creation and preservation of an Islamic state. Through their ferocity they were able to take the city of Mosul that was defended by 30,000 Iraqi soldiers with a mere force of 800 fighters. The Iraqi army was so terrified of ISIS they abandoned the city. While it may seem surprising that such a small force was capable of this feat the factors were always in ISIS’s favor. ISIS was able to get many of their fighters from the discontent created by the Iraqi government. The Shiites in the government excluded most Sunnis from holding public offices creating resentment of the Sunnis who felt discriminated against. ISIS took advantage by first painting the Iraqi government as the enemy that must be toppled at all cost to preserve the Sunni strain of Islam. After their gains in Iraq they painted the rest of the world that did not believe in their specific fundamentalist strain of Islam as the enemy that must be crushed for Allah. When the U.S entered the fight and began to create a coalition for defeating ISIS it only further inflamed more arabs to join the fighters. No one wants the Great Devil, the U.S, to reengage in Iraq. ISIS fighters are will stop at nothing to secure and preserve their state against the infidels.

            ISIS realizes that the preservation of their caliphate is dependent on the relative gains that they continue to achieve. As powerful as ISIS’s fighters are they are no match for the full force of a highly trained military. By taking territory city by city they are able to entrench and repel enemy forces. By only taking small portions of the surrounding countries they are able to prevent a massive retaliation from any of the other nations. By playing smart power politics they are able to make relative gains in all the surrounding countries while preserving their main force.

            The U.S’s current plan will never be to root out ISIS. For every fighter we kill two more will take the persons place. A western led coalition is too easy a target for ISIS to demonize. The proper solution would be to get the local countries around the caliphate to invade the Islamic state. Only regional power will be able to effectively rout ISIS and turn local opinion against them. The Western powers would still be able to fund their armies but U.S troops cannot be involved. Only once countries such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iran actually contribute a significant amount troops, which Iran has started to do, can ISIS be truly stopped.

By understanding the tactics ISIS is using to recruit and stay in power we can start to use their own tactics against them. Constructivists understand that ISIS is uniting their forces by making the West and those who do not share their extreme views the other and continuing to gain territory by making relative gains in Iraq and Syria. By making a local coalition to fight ISIS the U.S can prevent more recruitment and roll back their gains with one large invasion force of Arab countries.