New article in CTC Sentinel: On the Islamic State's 'Shadow Caliphs'

I have a new article in West Point’s CTC Sentinel on the Islamic State’s ‘caliphs’ since the demise of the group’s second ‘caliph’ Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi in February 2022, highlighting how the group’s leaders are deliberately shrouded in a veil of obscurity. Despite this obscurity, the group’s ranks around the world largely seem to have cohered.

You can read the article here.