Session 3

“Islamic State: Genesis, Innovations, Mistakes, Future”

By
Dr Gerard Chaliand
Political Scientist and Strategist

Chairperson
Prof Rohan Gunaratna
Professor of Security Studies and
Head, International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research,
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies

Event Abstract:
In this session, Prof Chaliand will cover the evolution of terrorism in recent history. In light of the collapse of the territorial strongholds of the self-styled terrorist Islamic State, he will also discuss the future prospects for IS and its activities in the Middle East and beyond. Dr Chaliand will also touch on the political dimensions and security implications of the current fight against terrorism.

About the Speaker:
Gérard Chaliand (born 1934) is an internationally renowned French expert in geopolitics who has published widely on irregular warfare and military strategy. He has a PhD in Political Sciences Sorbonne (Paris, France). Dr Chaliand has been a participant-observer in various guerrilla and war zones. His analyses of insurgencies in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, mostly based on his field experience with insurgent forces, have appeared in more than 20 books and in numerous newspaper articles. He has worked autonomously throughout his career in various different advisory and research positions apart from having spent more than five years as a Visiting Professor in the United States at Harvard, U.C.L.A. and U.C. Berkeley. His books include History of Terrorism From Antiquity to al Qaïda. (with A. Blin) University of California Press, 2007; The Art of War in World History, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994; Terrorism, Saqi Books, London: 1987, and Guerrilla Strategy. A Historical Anthology From the “Long March” to Afghanistan, ed. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1982.