Jabhat Fatah al Sham's Implication on the Syrian Civil War and Beyond

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the history, organization, and activities of Jabhat Fatah al Sham, formerly the Al Nusrah Front, the official al Qaeda branch in the Syrian Civil War. This group will be analyzed through predominately economic and Western security-oriented lenses to show that ultimately Jabhat Fatah al Sham is following the larger trend of al Qaeda-led Islamic insurgencies around the world. This is important to note within the context of the competition between al Qaeda and the Islamic State, its offshoot, for the reigns of the global jihad movement.