Although International Coalition has defeated ISIS and ended its territorial control in Iraq and Syria, the group still conducts thousands of attacks in this region. After US withdrawal, ISIS has increased and broadened its activities in Afghanistan too. The recent ISIS attacks in Iran, Turkey, and Russia show that the group still has the capacity to conduct complicated attacks in distant parts of the world. In this respect, we discussed the current state of radical terrorism, particularly ISIS and al-Qaeda, with Research Associate Professor Dr. Mahmut Cengiz.
We also asked the impact of great power rivalry between US, China, and others over the global fight against terror. Do growing tensions between US, China, and Russia distract states from counterterrorism? Or is counterterrorism still an area of cooperation between those actors?
Dr. Cengiz discussed the success of Turkey's fight against ISIS too. Despite years of police crackdown, why is Turkey still a logistical hub for ISIS?
Mahmut Cengiz is a research associate professor with the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) at George Mason University. Holding two masters and two PhD degrees, Dr. Cengiz is the author of several books and articles. The Illicit Economy in Turkey: How Criminals, Terrorists, and the Syrian Conflict Fuel Underground Economies (2019) and Turkish Organized Crime: From Local to Global (2011) are two of his books.
