I like the idea of viewing ISIS/Daesh as a pirate state, given its deep involvement in plunder and illicit resource trafficking. But I think it's closer to the Italian Mafia or Medellin Cartel at its peak - entities with pretensions of socioeconomic improvement for the masses and de facto control over territory. Like those groups, Daesh entices alienated young men with promises of loot and sex in return for loyalty and killing. And, of course, terrorism is intended to brutalize populations into fear and submission.
I like the idea of viewing ISIS/Daesh as a pirate state, given its deep involvement in plunder and illicit resource trafficking. But I think it's closer to the Italian Mafia or Medellin Cartel at its peak - entities with pretensions of socioeconomic improvement for the masses and de facto control over territory. Like those groups, Daesh entices alienated young men with promises of loot and sex in return for loyalty and killing. And, of course, terrorism is intended to brutalize populations into fear and submission.