Islamic/State: Daesh’s Visual Negotiation of Institutional Positioning

ABSTRACT

In response to calls for more empirical studies in organizational communication to further develop the Four Flows Model of CCO, this analysis examines Daesh’s use of visual messaging strategies as a means of institutional positioning in the global communications environment. To do so, the study analyzes over 2000 religious and state images displayed in the group’s English/Arabic publications. The findings highlight the critical role of both the quantity and nature of visual output in the Four Flows Model. The study also expands current understandings of institutional positioning over time, through organizational expansion/constraint, and in relation to various targeted online communities.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

¹ Daesh is an organization that, at its height, governed more than 10 million people in its controlled territories (BBC, 2016). While it has adopted many state functions in relation to the citizens in its controlled territory, the international community through the UN never recognized it as a state. Daesh’s institutional context includes pledged alliances (e.g., Boko Haram, Hezb–e-Islami, Ansar al-Tawhid fi’Bilad al-Hind), supporters (e.g., fanboys, funders), and a media system (e.g., al-Furqan Media Foundation, Amaq News agency, al-Hayat Media Center, al-I’tisam Media Foundation, and as many as 35 provincial media offices at one time).