Podcast appearances and mentions of william mccants

Political Islam has been radically shifting in the past four years since the Egyptian coup and the emergence of ISIS, consequently challenging how we understand Islamist movements and their impact. To evaluate the evolution of mainstream Islamist groups and the obstacles they face in governance, Brookings Senior Fellows Shadi Hamid and Will McCants led an initiative to assess these movements across 12 countries, compiling field research from a group of leading specialists in their recently released book Rethinking Political Islam. Benjamin Wittes interviewed Shadi and Will on their book, discussing the scope of the volume, the common themes across the major movements, and the nuances of movements in countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Syria.

What happens when Islamists come to power? This is one of the pivotal questions in Shadi Hamid's new book, "Rethinking Political Islam". Hamid, a senior fellow in the Project U.S. Relation with the Islamic World at the Brookings Institution, and co-author William McCants examine the wide variety of Islamist movements across the Arab world and how these groups interact with democratic and western ideals. What does it say about us as a democratic society when we condemn Islamist groups who come to power through democratic means?

Drawing from newly declassified documents, counterterrorism expert Brian Fishman makes the case for a new history of the origins of the Islamic State. He says the US has made critical mistakes in understanding the terror group to this point. Fishman and expert William McCants discuss the hidden past of ISIS, and what the new U.S. administration needs to know about it moving forward.

In November 2015, NJOHSP and the New York State Intelligence Center, along with the NJ Regional Intelligence Academy and MAGLOCLEN, hosted a 1-day seminar joining together Clint Watts, Dr. William McCants, J.M. Berger, and Seamus Hughes, to discuss the current threat of violent extremists and how law enforcement and homeland security professionals may counter it. NJOHSP analysts had the opportunity to interview these experts and engage in valuable dialogue, surrounding a variety of terrorism-related topics. In Episode 3, Seamus Hughes discusses the different approaches the U.S. Government and its state and local partners are using to develop strategies towards countering violent extremism.

The Islamic State is one of the most lethal and successful jihadist groups in modern history, surpassing even al-Qaeda. Thousands of its followers have marched across Syria and Iraq, subjugating millions, enslaving women, beheading captives and daring anyone to stop them. Thousands more have spread terror beyond the Middle East under the Islamic State's black flag. How did the Islamic State attract so many followers and conquer so much land? By being more ruthless, more apocalyptic and more devoted to state-building than its competitors. The shrewd leaders of the Islamic State combined two of the most powerful yet contradictory ideas in Islam - the return of the Islamic Empire and the end of the world - into a mission and a message that shapes its strategy and inspires its army of zealous fighters. They have defied conventional thinking about how to wage wars and win recruits. Even if the Islamic State is defeated, jihadist terrorism will never be the same. William McCants discusses how religious fervor, strategic calculation and doomsday prophecy shaped the Islamic State's past and foreshadow its future. Speaker William McCants is Fellow for the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/event/1555

In November 2015, NJOHSP and the New York State Intelligence Center, along with the NJ Regional Intelligence Academy and MAGLOCLEN, hosted a 1-day seminar joining together Clint Watts, Dr. William McCants, J.M. Berger, and Seamus Hughes, to discuss the current threat of violent extremists and how law enforcement and homeland security professionals may counter it. NJOHSP analysts had the opportunity to interview these experts and engage in valuable dialogue, surrounding a variety of terrorism-related topics. In Episode 2, J.M. Berger discusses social media tactics and messaging by both foreign and domestic terrorist groups.

1-24-16 - William McCants - The Isis Apocalypse by Warm1069

1-24-16 - William McCants - The Isis Apocalypse by Warm1069

In November 2015, NJOHSP and the New York State Intelligence Center, along with the NJ Regional Intelligence Academy and MAGLOCLEN, hosted a 1-day seminar joining together Clint Watts, Dr. William McCants, J.M. Berger, and Seamus Hughes, to discuss the current threat of violent extremists and how law enforcement and homeland security professionals may counter it. NJOHSP analysts had the opportunity to interview these experts and engage in valuable dialogue, surrounding a variety of terrorism-related topics. In Episode 1, Dr. William McCants discusses the leadership structure of ISIS, to include current leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his significance to the future of the organization.

Joby Warrick, author of Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS, and William McCants, author of The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State, join Benjamin Wittes in the first Hoover Book Soiree. 

Benjamin Wittes interviews William McCants and Joby Warrick on their new books, The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State and Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS on the Islamic State including its history, the ideas behind it, and the people who made it happen and watched it happen.

INTERVIEW WITH SPECIAL GUEST: William McCants and Joby Warrick Benjamin Wittes interviews William McCants and Joby Warrick on their new books, The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State and Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS on the Islamic State including its history, the ideas behind it, and the people who made it happen and watched it happen.

This is the podcast in which War on the Rocks fixes the Middle East...ok, we kid, but it is a fascinating conversation with some of the most astute and informed U.S. experts on Iraq and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Have a listen!   We were joined by: J.M. Berger, author of the new book, ISIS: State of Terror (along with Jessica Stern) and a nonresident fellow in the Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World at the Brookings Institution. William McCants, author of the forthcoming book, ISIS Apocalypse, a fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy and director of the Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World at the Brookings Institution. Denise Natali, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University (her views do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. government). Douglas Ollivant, a senior national security fellow with the New America Foundation and a managing partner and the Senior Vice President of Mantid International. Ryan Evans, editor-in-chief of War on the Rocks, moderated with Lagavulin 16 neat in hand.

Hudson Institute hosted a panel discussion on the future of Egypt's Islamists and Tadros's two new reports featuring Mokhtar Awad of the Center for American Progress, William McCants of the Brookings Institution, and Eric Trager of the Washington Institute. Samuel Tadros moderated the discussion.

Hudson Institute hosted a panel discussion on the future of Egypt's Islamists and Tadros's two new reports featuring Mokhtar Awad of the Center for American Progress, William McCants of the Brookings Institution, and Eric Trager of the Washington Institute. Samuel Tadros moderated the discussion.

It looks increasingly likely that the United States will expand its military operations against ISIS to Syria. Mark speak with William McCants of the Brookings Institution about the prospects and pitfalls of a US-led international military campaign against the Islamic State in Syria. They also discuss the role of another Islamist rebel group, al Nusra, in Syria's conflict and what might befall about 40 UN Peacekeepers in the Golan who were abducted by this group. Have a listen!