Ideology, Global Strategy, and Development of the Islamic State and its Influence on China’s “One Belt, One Road” Initiative

Abstract

The Islamic State is a Sunnite Islamic Jihad Salafist military organization. It originated from an Iraqi military branch loyal to al-Qaeda and has developed into a vital, regional military force in the area of Syria and Iraq since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011. The Islamic State is a new form of a religious, extremist organization whose existence and development are supported by the armed forces, the economic base, and other related factors. The ideology of the Islamic State was derived from Jihad Salafism in Islamic political thought. To achieve its political objectives, it tailors its global strategy to local circumstances. In the future, the political identity of the Islamic State will be shrinking, but its organizational identity will not disappear any time soon. The influence of the rise of the Islamic State on Chinese “One Belt, One Road” will probably center on national security, trade investment, and cooperation on energies. After five years of chaos in the Middle East, there is a growing desire for stability there. The Chinese word for crisis connotes both risk and opportunity. The current circumstances present more opportunities than risks for China to get involved in the Middle East.