Jihadism: Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Broader Region - Book Launch

Pakistan hosts the largest concentration of jihadist groups in the world. Since the 1980s, the Pakistani state has been accused of sponsoring local jihadist groups and sending Pakistani volunteers to support them.

Dr Antonio Giustozzi’s new book, Jihadism in Pakistan, is based on almost 114 interviews, conducted mainly in Urdu and Pashto, with individuals from Al-Qaeda and affiliated jihadist groups. It examines the relationship between the Pakistani security agencies and Al-Qaeda, and how they both became entangled with and used by the local jihadists they were trying to exploit. The interviews paint a picture of the shifting strategies and priorities of the different jihadist groups in the early 21st century, covering their ideological objectives, their agreements and disagreements over tactics, as well as pressure from rival militant groups and internal factionalism.

The book is the most in-depth study of jihadism in Pakistan, and Dr Giustozzi highlights the strategies global jihadists deployed after 9/11 and how Al-Qaeda tried to manage the largest jihadist group in Pakistan, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. In this event, jointly hosted by RUSI and the Embassy of Italy in London, Dr Giustozzi will also discuss the difficulties of doing research on the topic of jihadism, and the state of current research.

The event will be chaired by Emily Winterbotham, Director of the Terrorism and Conflict research group at RUSI

This event is open to RUSI Members only. To take part you must pre-register no later than 22 March using the ‘Register Now’ button above. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining this event.