Dabiq: An analysis of the usage of selective moral disengagement in terrorist-produced media

Abstract

The objective of this study is to examine the methods utilized by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria to leverage its English-language publication Dabiq as a tool for advancing its agenda and disseminating terror. The magazine has been widely published online, attracting a relatively large audience. In order to analyse the rhetoric employed in the magazine, a content analysis was conducted based on Albert Bandura’s theory of selective moral disengagement. The selected sample comprises the entirety of Dabiq issues, amounting to almost 1,000 pages. The findings indicate that all seven of Bandura’s mechanisms of moral disengagement are significantly present in the magazine’s rhetoric. The two most frequently employed mechanisms are moral justification and displacement of responsibility, observed in 95 percent of the sample. The study corroborates the hypothesis that ISIS utilizes moral disengagement strategies to sustain the allegiance, assistance and involvement of its in-group in the pursuit of its objectives.