The Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies presents:

Book Event: From Jihad to Politics: How Syrian Jihadis Embraced Politics

Thursday, April 17, 2025

12:30pm-2:00pm

1302 International Affairs Building

With author Jerome Drevon, Senior Analyst in Jihad and Modern Conflict, the International Crisis Group; Research Associate, Geneva Graduate Institute.

Moderated by Stuart Gottlieb, Adjunct Professor of International Affairs and Public Policy, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University.

Book description:

The Syrian regime unleashed unprecedented violence to suppress large-scale non-violent protests amid the Arab uprisings. Hundreds of armed groups formed throughout the country to defend the protesters and fight back. However, in contrast to other conflicts previously dominated by al-Qaeda and Islamic State, the two largest Syrian Jihadi groups, Ahrar al-Sham and then Jabhat al-Nusra, rejected global jihad and began to cultivate new ties with the population, other armed opposition groups, and even foreign states. This strategic shift is a response to the Jihadi paradox–a realization that while Jihadis excel at leading insurgencies, they fail to achieve political victories.

In From Jihad to Politics, Jerome Drevon offers an examination of the Syrian armed opposition, tracing the emergence of Jihadi groups in the conflict, their dominance, and their political transformation. Drawing upon field research and interviews with Syrian insurgents in northwestern Syria and Turkey, Drevon demonstrates how the context of a local conflict can shape armed groups’ behaviour in unexpected ways. Further, he marshals unique evidence from the Arab world’s most intense conflict to explain why the trajectory of the transnational Jihadi movement has altered course in recent years.

Speaker Biography:

Jerome Drevon is Senior Analyst on Jihad and Modern Conflict at International Crisis Group (ICG) and Research Associate at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID). Drevon received his PhD from Durham University before securing two fellowships at the University of Oxford and the University of Manchester. Drevon has conducted extensive field research in conflict zones, including Syria. He has interviewed hundreds of Jihadi militants and foreign fighters–from their military, political, and religious leaders to their foot soldiers–to gain a deeper understanding of their changing political views in armed conflicts.