{"546081":{"#nid":"546081","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Tobin Harshaw: The Danger of Killing Islamic State\u0027s Caliph","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA study by Jenna Jordan, assistant professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, was quoted in\u0026nbsp;\u201cTobin Harshaw: The Danger of Killing Islamic State\u0027s Caliph\u201d for\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EThe Commercial Appeal\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E(\u003Cem\u003EBloomberg\u003C\/em\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EExcerpt:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003EConsider a 2014 study by Jenna Jordan of the Georgia Institute of Technology on so-called decapitation strikes against major terrorist groups. On the death of al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden, she writes, \u201cdecapitation is unlikely to diminish the ability\u0026nbsp;of al-Qaida,\u0026nbsp;rather, it may have counterproductive consequences, emboldening or strengthening the organization.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe bases her claim on the theory of \u201corganizational resilience,\u201d which may be more familiar to business school graduates than to counterterrorism operatives. Jordan doesn\u0027t buy the argument that a cohesive group sharing an intense belief in a goal depends on the \u201ccharismatic leadership\u201d (to use Max Weber\u0027s phrase) of a single person like bin Laden or Baghdadi. Instead, she sees many clandestine groups as being bureaucracies often impervious to changes at the top. Such organizations \u201care diversified, have a clear division of administrative responsibilities and functions, follow rules and procedures, and are thus more likely to withstand the sudden removal of a leader or leaders.\u201d All of those characteristics apply far more accurately to Islamic State than to the relatively decentralized al-Qaida.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003EYou can read the full article \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.commercialappeal.com\/opinion\/national\/tobin-harshaw-the-danger-of-killing-islamic-states-caliph-356b82d7-6222-4a58-e053-0100007fcd2e-383373331.html\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"32716","created_gmt":"2016-06-20 11:43:58","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:28:14","author":"Hayden Russell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"Stephanie Broxton","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/www.commercialappeal.com\/opinion\/national\/tobin-harshaw-the-danger-of-killing-islamic-states-caliph-356b82d7-6222-4a58-e053-0100007fcd2e-383373331.html","dateline":{"date":"2016-06-17T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-06-17T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"385641":{"id":"385641","type":"image","title":"Jenna Jordan","body":null,"created":"1449246262","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:24:22","changed":"1475894398","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:39:58","alt":"Jenna Jordan","file":{"fid":"75404","name":"jennajordanweb.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/jennajordanweb.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/jennajordanweb.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":132872,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/jennajordanweb.jpg?itok=JKvcK9UM"}}},"media_ids":["385641"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"108321","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts; Sam Nunn School of International Affairs;"},{"id":"9369","name":"Jenna Jordan"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}