Surviving the Islamic State

Surviving the Islamic State is a well-written, detailed, interesting study of how Iraqis used heuristics around social identity, reputation, and behavior to determine their responses to the Islamic State. The study explores how responses change, depending on individuals’ circumstances and community contexts, raises important questions around volition and agency, and points to potential long-term implications of politicized identities and socioeconomic inequalities. In doing so, it provides insights that extend beyond the study of conflict. -- Ellen Lust, author of <i>Everyday Choices: The Role of Competing Authorities and Social Institutions in Politics and Development</i> Knuppe’s book is a major contribution to our understanding of civilians' repertoires of survival during wartime. Through his interviews and survey data he takes readers deep inside Iraqi society. He shows how civilians assess insurgent groups and weigh the risks of retaliation as they decide whether to acquiesce, mount 'everyday resistance,' or pursue even more active forms of opposition. The text is an indispensable resource for scholars and students focusing on the Middle East and civilian-insurgent interactions. -- Oliver Kaplan, author of <i>Resisting War: How Communities Protect Themselves</i> Surviving horrors of war is one of humanity’s timeless and gripping tales. Knuppe tells the story afresh, with important new evidence from Iraq that is at once intimately local and tragically universal. Important new data from surveys and interviews share the voices of ordinary Iraqis trying to survive the rise and fall of the Islamic State, with crucial insights for our understanding of political violence everywhere. -- Richard A. Nielsen, author of <i>Deadly Clerics: Blocked Ambition and the Paths to Jihad</i>