The international answer to the financing of contemporary Islamic terrorism

Abstract

In spite of losing control of all its territories in March 2019, ISIL continues to organize and claim responsibility for attacks around the globe. A reach this wide, unprecedented for any terrorist organization, was mostly possible due to ISIL's centralized funding of trillions of dollars. This paper compares ISIL's financing structure with that of its predecessors in terms of income sources and investment. The main difference with regards to sources of income is the considerably inferior place held by donations. At its prime, ISIL's financial success came from the “efficient” exploitation of lands and populations under their control. As a result, the previously-tried methods used to prevent international terrorist organizations from getting funding are insufficient. Once these territories were lost, it was necessary to adapt the strategy to the new phase of counter-terrorism. Therefore, this paper suggests using the notion of the international liability of private actors to stem the flow of income to ISIL. To do this efficiently, it is necessary to develop a method to identify those financers who would be held liable, to examine in what capacity they would be held liable, and to specify what actions they would be held liable for. Finally, this paper briefly evaluates the current international strategy for combating terrorism financing and its efficiency.