Halifat u diskursu Islamske države – politički mit
Caliphate in the Discourse of the Islamic State – A Political Myth

Author(s): Marko S. Jovanović
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Geopolitics, Politics and Identity
Published by: Институт друштвених наука
Keywords: The Islamic State; Caliphate; Political Myth; Political Discourse
Summary/Abstract: Even though the Islamic State basically suffered the defeat and lost all of the territories it once controlled, the idea of reestablishing the Islamic caliphate that this organization is advocating, remains attractive to some. For this reason, this paper aims to explore the political discourse of the Islamic State, the ways that caliphate is being used in it, as well as the ways in which the self-proclaimed caliphate is trying to present itself to its target group, the Muslim Ummah. As this discourse contains many elements of political myths, in order to do so, we will first try to briefly define political myths and point to their constructions, contents, basic functions and purposes. This will be followed by a short overview of the historical development of the institution of caliphate, created through numerous socio-historical processes and events that since the 7th century, have shaped the perception of this term and the mythical narrative on the caliphate. After providing a brief history of the so-called Islamic State, we will analyze the use of caliphate in its discourse and try to explain the main messages and the most important socio-psychological and political functions of this narrative. Finally, we will point out some factors and circumstances that contributed to the recent actualization of the caliphate myth and its growing popularity.

• Details
• Contents