| dc.description.abstract | Dissecting the methods in which the Islamic State has utilized hawalas is an important exercise in order to better understand the group's financial, behavioral, and structural patterns. However, most reports connecting hawala and terror finance are often too anecdotal to systematically assess how terror groups utilize hawalas as part of their operations. This paper seeks to rectify this knowledge gap by analyzing the Islamic State's financial operations and organizational structure, cross referencing this information against known hawala operational practices to create a theoretical framework for how hawala factored into the Islamic State's insurgency. It concludes that hawalas are an Islamic State center of gravity, functioning as the foundation of the group's informal economy, and presents a plausibility argument outlining how hawaladars could have served critical roles as facilitators and/or leaders in the Islamic State's administrative structure. | |
