Abdel Bari Atwan, Paul Rogers

Abdel Bari Atwan, an internationally recognised expert on al-Qaeda and one of the few people to have interviewed Osama Bin Laden in the caves of Tora Bora, talks to Professor Paul Rogers from the Department of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford. Atwan draws on his unrivalled knowledge of the global jihadi movement and Middle Eastern geopolitics, to reveal the origins and modus operandi of Islamic State. Based on extensive field research and exclusive interviews with IS insiders, Atwan offers a comprehensive review of the group’s organisational structure and leadership, strategies, tactics and diverse methods of recruitment. Atwan also shows how the group’s rapid growth has been facilitated by its masterful command of social media platforms, blockbuster-style videos, and even jihadi computer games.

Abdel Bari Atwan will be speaking to Paul Rogers, Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford.