Intersectional analysis of rebel governance

: impacts of Islamic State rule on local women in Iraq and Syria, 2013-17

Abstract

This thesis explores the realities of life under Islamic State rule in Iraq and Syria through intersectional analysis of the group’s governance policies and practices. Through collation and examination of a unique dataset of IS’ governance media, as well as extensive semi-structured interviews with local Iraqi, Syrian, and Kurdish women who lived under IS rule, it answers a central research question: how did Islamic State governance impact local women under its rule in Iraq and Syria between 2013 and 2017? In-depth analysis of both Sunni Muslim and Yazidi women’s first-hand accounts of their experiences – compared and contrasted with IS’ own documented narratives of its governance activities – provide unique insight into the power dynamics and interconnected systems of domination at the heart of this case of rebel governance. The structure of the thesis follows the trajectory of the group’s increasing control of its ‘citizens’ and captive populations, delineating IS governance into four overarching (inter-related) thematic categories: militarisation of society; law and order; goods and services; and intervention in private life. The women’s diverse accounts testify to disproportionate controls and inequalities of the group’s governance policies according to gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, age, sexuality, class, and group affiliation. This resulted in multiple intersecting divides between insiders and outsiders and among its governed population. Through intersectional analysis that deconstructs the category of ‘woman’ in Islamic State’s governance, this thesis finds that eligibility for ‘citizenship’, security, ‘protection’, and entrance into the (semi-)public sphere is not universal among women, but requires the temporary disguise or permanent erasure of certain markers of difference. As such, through extensive fieldwork and analysis of unique empirical data, this study seeks to contribute to feminist inquiries of (in)security, terrorism, and rebel governance.

Date of Award	1 Mar 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	King's College London
Supervisor	Peter Neumann (Supervisor) & Shiraz Maher (Supervisor)