Letter from the editor

Abstract

Dear Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict Readers: Welcome to the thirteenth volume, first issue of the Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict: Pathways towards Terrorism and Genocide Journal. We have five exceptional articles to share with you in this Issue, ranging from Carol Winkler and colleagues’ analysis of alQaeda in the Arabian Peninsula visual media campaign to Kyle Kattelman’s research on the relationship between the Global War on Terror and terrorist attack frequency. While the authors vary in academic specializations, there are three themes across the articles in this Issue. The first theme is the focus on communication and media usage among violent nonstate actors. For example, in the first article, Carol Winkler and colleagues examine changes in al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s visual media campaign during the 2016–2017 military operations to retake Mosul and Raqqa from the Islamic State. After analysing over 4000 images from Inspire, Jihad Recollections, and al-Masra, the authors found that significant changes in the visual content related to institutional power structures as opposed to identity markers. Authors also found significant changes in languagebased strategies between English and Arabic before to during battles. The second article by Muhammad Feyyaz also touched on the theme of communication and media usage among violent non-state actors. More specifically, his research explores the strategic communication by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and Jammat ul Ahrar. He finds that both terrorist organizations are communication un-savvy due to their increasingly rhetorical nature and emphasis on religious and secular claims. In addition, the brutalization of civilians lessens the influence of their strategic communication. The second theme in this Issue focuses on the factors that enhance asymmetric conflict. More specifically, in the third article, Michael Burch and Leslie Ochreiter examine why rebel groups fractionalize during intrastate conflict. In other words, their study focuses on why rebel groups fragment and engage in their own violent campaign as opposed to continuing to share resources within a larger group. The authors find that the organizational characteristics related to mobilization, central command, and territorial control drive the decision to fractionalize among rebel groups. The fourth article by Kyle T. Kattelman also emphasizes the second research theme underlying this Issue. This study uses terrorist attack data from 53 countries to examine how the Global War on Terror has influenced terrorist attacks perpetrated by Al-Qaeda and its affiliates against the citizens of coalition states. His findings suggest that military contributions to the Global War on Terror increase the frequency of terrorist attacks from Al-Qaeda and its affiliates suggestive of a backlash effect. The final theme in this Issue focuses on defining what is (not) asymmetric conflict. In particular, research by Christofer Berglund and Emil Aslan Souleimanov tracks the meaning of the concept of asymmetric conflict and its usage among academics and DYNAMICS OF ASYMMETRIC CONFLICT 2020, VOL. 13, NO. 1, 1–2 https://doi.org/10.1080/17467586.2020.1726044