Roundtable “From Insurgency to Governance: Sunni Jihadi Groups in a Changing Middle East”

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F27590101%3A_____%2F25%3A00000294" target="_blank" >RIV/27590101:_____/25:00000294 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.pcmr.cz/2025/04/11/kulaty-stul-od-povstani-k-vladnuti-sunnitske-dzihadisticke-skupiny-na-menicim-se-blizkem-vychode/" target="_blank" >https://www.pcmr.cz/2025/04/11/kulaty-stul-od-povstani-k-vladnuti-sunnitske-dzihadisticke-skupiny-na-menicim-se-blizkem-vychode/</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

—

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Roundtable “From Insurgency to Governance: Sunni Jihadi Groups in a Changing Middle East”

Original language description

On April 10, 2025, the Prague Center for Middle East Relations of CEVRO University hosted a closed roundtable entitled “From Insurgency to Governance: Sunni Jihadist Groups in a Changing Middle East” with Aaron Y. Zelin, an expert on Sunni jihadism in the Levant, Africa and Central Asia for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and director of the Islamic State Worldwide Activity Map platform. Filip Sommer, Director of the PCMR, moderated the debate held under Chatham House Rules. During this event, we focused in particular on the current state and activities of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), whose remnants are still active in both countries. After the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime on 8 December 2024, a security vacuum was created within central Syria, which was filled by ISIS fighters. However, there is now very little activity in either country, with Islamists undertaking only occasional insurgent incursions, particularly against security forces in rural areas. The discussion also focused on the current form of governance of Hayat Tahrir ash-Sham (HTS) in Syria and the organization’s attitude towards the remnants of ISIS jihadists. In this context, the issue of the continued presence of detained ISIS fighters and associated families with children in al-Hol and al-Roj camps was then addressed. These are under the control of the persistent Autonomous Administration in Northern and Eastern Syria (AANES) administered by the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC). Further, the debate revolved around the aforementioned HTS, its internal structure, and the main domestic and foreign challenges. Last but not least, the issue of foreign fighters and the overall level of stability in Syria was discussed, especially from a European and American perspective. Background In the aftermath of the ISIS territorial collapse in 2019 and amid realignments across the Middle East, Sunni jihadi and Islamist movements are undergoing complex transformations. While transnational groups like ISIS have fragmented or reverted to insurgency tactics, others – such as HTS, have entrenched themselves locally, pursuing hybrid strategies of governance and militancy, and evolving from a non-state armed group into a de facto governing authority. At the same time, groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas move between politics and armed struggle, dealing with internal divisions and growing outside pressure in a region that is becoming more divided. These groups continue to adapt – ideologically, strategically, and structurally – shaped by state fragility, shifting alliances, and the broader currents of jihadist and Islamist activism.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

W - Workshop organization

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

50600 - Political science

Project

—

Continuities

N - Vyzkumna aktivita podporovana z neverejnych zdroju

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Event location

Praha

Event country

CZ - CZECH REPUBLIC

Event starting date

—

Event ending date

—

Total number of attendees

17

Foreign attendee count

2

Type of event by attendee nationality

WRD - Celosvětová akce