Redefining Global Jihad and Its Termination: The Subjugation of al-Qaeda by Its Former Franchise in Syria

Abstract

The globalization of jihad has proceeded in several stages from the mobilization against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s to Islamic State’s current campaign. The end of global jihad is nonetheless less understood, including the conditions in which jihadi groups could reject al-Qaeda (AQ) or Islamic State (IS). This article examines this question through the trajectory of a former AQ franchise, jabhat al-nusra (JaN), that became hay’at tahrir al-sham (HTS) in 2017. This article argues that global jihad is not absolute. Global jihad exists on a spectrum of four inter-connected dimensions that can be disaggregated. In Syria, JaN was only partially globalist when it emerged. JaN’s rejection of IS and AQ resulted from its opposition to their strategic objectives against the backdrop of the evolution of the Syrian conflict, which eroded JaN’s globalism and made it particularly costly. This article is based on extensive field research and interviews with HTS’s leadership in Idlib and other insurgents that have interacted with the group over the years.