Adil Rasheed – författare

More than four decades ago, the 26th UN General Assembly (UNGA) declared that "the Indian Ocean, together with the air space above and the ocean floor, as a zone of peace." It also called upon the littorals and the hinterland states of the Indian Ocean, the permanent members of the Security Council and other major maritime users of the Indian Ocean to "enter into consultations to implement this declaration through universal collective security and strengthened international cooperation." These declarations have not yet metamorphosed into reality, which reflects the complexity of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). It is also interesting to observe that the geographical limits of the Indian Ocean continue to remain diffused and unclear. The book focuses on aspects of emerging strategic cooperation, competition and conflict scenarios; security challenges and role of major stakeholders of the region.

The sudden emergence of the so-called Islamic State (generally referred to as the ISIS) in territories of Iraq and Syria in 2014, shocked the world with its gruesome acts of extreme violence and brutality, its blow to the Westphalian system of the nation state and its messianic drive to instigate a global war of apocalyptic proportions. With more wealth and fighters than Al-Qaeda, the ISIS has stolen the thunder from every other Islamist and Jihadist outfit by declaring the territory under its control as the Caliphate (which has always been the ultimate Islamist utopia). Various international organizations, government agencies and media outlets remain baffled to this day over the genesis, modus operandi, warfare and global outreach behind the ISIS' spectacular success. This book seeks to investigate and explore most of these questions and also recommends ways in countering the ISIS threat both ideologically and militarily.