Digital Spaces of Internet and Social Media Technologies: An Information Warfare Analysis of Jihadi Organisations.

Abstract

The post-Cold War scenario transformed the scenario and landscape of the world war by shifting toward the information-based doctrine. It explored how, within this trend of information and communication technologies, there has emerged the modern character of warfare. For instance, as the two previous examples will elaborate, such emerging trends facilitated new strategic moves among non-state actors like the Taliban and Tehrik-E-Taliban Pakistan, TTP, to acquire advanced strategic gain out of them. Our research, drawing on the latest scholarship in War and Security Studies, International Relations, and Terrorism Studies, examines the shift from material to immaterial forms of power and underlines knowledge,connectivity, and digital collaboration as key determinants of the course and result of contemporary conflicts. According to Peters (2010), with the proliferation of free Internet telephony, open-source software, and global outsourcing networks, a whole broad spectrum of actors has been empowered to disseminate information and craft ideologies at unprecedented speeds and reaches. In this new form of warfare, control over information and technological resources has become critical. This paper focuses on how the Taliban and TP have exploited information sensitivity in strategic ways to further their agendas and challenge traditional state-centric approaches to conflict and warfare by analyzing the strategic use of these tools by jihadi groups. The findings underscore a significant change in the dynamics of power and warfare, revealing a landscape where mastery of information technology has become as crucial as military might.