Roundtable with
Dr. Nelly Lahoud,
IISS Middle East Senior Fellow for Political Islamism
May 25, 2016

On May 25, 2016, International Institute for Srategic Studies (IISS) Middle East Senior Fellow for Political Islamism, Dr. Nelly Lahoud, addressed GRF members at a meeting organized under the roundtable series on the Middle East and North Africa Region. In her speech titled “The ‘Islamic State’: Between Terrorism and State-Building”, Dr. Lahoud evaluated the success of the self-proclaimed “Islamic State” in terms of its state-building process, ideological dominion over the jihadi sphere, and broader appeal. Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the IS, she then stressed that evaluating the success of the organization on the basis of its ability to inflict harm would mislead the policymakers and the public. Following her speech, Dr. Lahoud answered the participants’ questions.