NewScientist (11 April 2015) reports on analysis of tweets issued from within ISIS held territories (paywall):
Documents include a new curriculum for the University of Mosul in Syria, which cancels all lessons in philosophy, English or French literature and tourism. Another account operated by ISIS administration in Iraq issues strict new rules about issues as prosaic as how waste should be disposed of: a 5000 dinar fine (£3) is to be levied for throwing litter from a car; a 25000 dinar fine is imposed on fly tippers.
Other tweeted documents are more surprising. One details a vaccination timetable for children. This suggests IS is a more modern group than the Taliban, says [Aymenn] Al-Tamimi. The Taliban banned vaccinations in Helmand province in Afghanistan last year over fears of spying.
Leading to this conclusion concerning ISIS:
For Al-Tamimi, these attempts to provide a governmental framework help ISIS control its territory, and might explain its dominance over other groups in Syria. “It’s a lot more complicated, much more developed,” he says. “The model we see brings a sense of order rather than civil war, that’s why you don’t really have any local rivals.”
There is nothing magical about most forms of government; it boils down to how peaceful of an environment do they offer, followed by questions concerning social advancement and freedom. Some systems naturally do not offer these social goods as well as others. Whoever is leading ISIS seems to understand that conquering is not enough, you have to give those conquered a reason to appreciate your presence.
Finally, we have to decide how to counter such a strategy. It may not be enough to use airstrikes; it may not even be enough to bring forth convincing evidence of their barbarity, as those who welcome them may be so tribalistic as to either not believe, or no care. So what’s the next step?
