Islamic State

Displaced Iraqi children from the former embattled city of Mosul attend school at the Hasan Sham camp, east of Erbil in northern Iraq, on November 20th, 2017.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

A government soldier watches as journalists tour the ruins of what was the main battle area in Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao on October 25th, 2017.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

Afghan protesters shout against the Islamic State group following a mosque attack that killed 33 people in Herat on August 2nd, 2017.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

It isn't fear mongering to properly prepare the public.

• By Michael Soussan

Coordinated bombings in Brussels may have been in the works for some time, aided by an underworld where crime and extremism blur together.

• By Sebastian Rotella

President Obama mentioned foreign and defense policy more than ever before in his State of the Union address. Here's why that shift in the quantity needs to come with one in the quality of our thinking on the issues.

• By Jeff Eggers

When will this war end? And how?

• By Chris Heller

Most acts of terror within the United States are carried out by right-wing domestic extremist groups. But that isn’t how Americans imagine terrorists. Our flawed perceptions are leading to poor policy.

• By Jeff Eggers

Journeys away from Islam are just as dramatic, and in some cases perilous, as those toward its violent fringes.

• By Simon Cottee

From ISIS to the Christian right, three new books explore the modern urge to go back to an original, uncorrupted version of faith.

• By Alex Strick van Linschoten

What makes women join the Islamic State? It's a complicated question that challenges our notion of feminism, culture, and religion, but it's crucial if we are going to defeat ISIS.

• By Elizabeth Weingarten

Defeating groups like ISIS and Boko Haram increasingly relies on women. Not only are women playing a greater role in these organizations, but they are also playing a greater role in stopping them. And until the United States matches its rhetoric on prioritizing women in the fight against violent extremism with action, we won't fully eliminate this kind of terrorism.

• By Michelle Barsa

The brutal violence the Islamic State has used to control its territory is as much as part of its establishment of a state in Syria and Iraq as are the services it provides.

• By Daniel Solomon