State practices as a new motivation for terrorism: The case of ISIS

This study is written on the purpose of evaluating the possibility of the emergence of state practices as a new motivation for terrorism. It has been tried to examine the place of exhibiting state practices in the dominated territory in the way of developing spheres of influence that are important for terrorist organizations. For this purpose, within the scope of this study, primarily motivations for terrorism and war were determined, compared, and evaluated. Then, the cases of FARC, LTTE, Al Qaeda, and ISIS were examined and compared in terms of financial, military, ideological, and spheres of influence, then the relationship between state practices and spheres of influence in terms of these organizations was revealed. In order to measure the influence of the organizations, the potential to attract foreign terrorist fighters was determined as a reference point and comparisons were made between organizations according to these potentials. The starting point of this study is to reveal whether the high potential of attracting foreign terrorist fighters of ISIS has a relationship with the state practices it implements. As a result of the study, it has been observed that although the state practice is not sufficient on its own, it creates a multiplier effect on the spheres of influence of terrorist organizations when it is applied under certain conditions. Key Words: Terrorism, State Practice, Foreign Terrorist Fighters, ISIS, Al Qaeda