Jihad Dramatically Transformed? Sageman on Jihad and the Internet

Abstract

In his book 'Leaderless Jihad', Marc Sageman claims, as the title indicates, that Jihad in the modern world is changing from a centrally organized and structured activity into a more dispersed, decentralized movement in which small groups self-organize to carry out attacks. In making this argument, Sageman claims that the internet 'has dramatically transformed the structure and dynamic of the evolving threat of global Islamic terrorism by changing the nature of terrorists' interactions.'This essay looks at the available research and questions Sageman's claim that the internet is transforming how terrorists interact.