Culture of fear in Mosul: The possible link between policy implementation and fear by the Islamic State in Mosul, Iraq

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Inge Ammerlaan - s1950924 Supervisor: Dr. Joery Matthys Second reader: D. Weggemans

Culture of fear in Mosul

The possible link between policy implementation and fear by the Islamic State in Mosul, Iraq

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1. Introduction

1.1 Problem Outline

Located in the north of Iraq along the Tigris River you will find the second largest city in Iraq named Mosul. An ethnically diverse city, with a population of nearly 1.8 million people. The western half of the city belongs to the Sunni Arabs, while the eastern half of the city belongs to the Kurdish population (Hamilton, 2008). With a combination of medieval cruelty and twenty-first century media expertise, the Islamic State (IS) has dominated the news from the Middle East since 2014. That year in June, many fighters of the Islamic State took over Mosul. Many of the inhabitants fled, but the ones who stayed behind had to undergo the Islamic State’s limitative civil and social policies. Shortly after taking over Mosul, the establishment of the Caliphate was announced by their leader Baghdadi.

The Caliphate is committed to a rival vision of international society. The only legitimate mode of governance is Islamic, according to the Caliphate. That they were capable of forming a governing institution was a surprise. Given the importance in Jihadist thoughts regarding their state, the character of legislation and justice in the Islamic State is of outstanding importance to their claim to provide an applicable form of government. Their way of creating fear and their use of violence to control their territories was well understood (Friis, 2015).

Theory shows that: “Fear of each other (‘homo homini lupus’) becomes fear of the authority and its absolute right to punish everyone who disobeys its rules” (Marko, 2013, pp. 201 - 202). Also, conviction works best among people who belong to the same group in terms of ideology, ethnicity and culture. “Therefore, fear matters. And for its successful exercise, it is important to define who / what is the object of fear (whom or what to be scared of) and who is the subject (who has to feel fear), and who is the mediator (who controls the flow, degree and nature of fear in public space)”. (Marko, 2013, p. 202) Meanwhile, in security studies, the link between fear and security as well as the role of emotions like fear have been ignored. Since the Islamic State’s Caliphate was capable of forming a governing institution, the writer wonders if there is a possible link between the concepts policy implementation and fear. Therefore, the central topic of this study is to investigate the possible link between policy implementation and fear in the city of Mosul.

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1.2 Central research question and sub-questions

In this research, the topic ‘fear’ is specified as the creation of fear by the Islamic State, between 2014 and 2017. This study will investigate the possible link between ‘fear’ and governance by the Islamic State. The research question will be exploratory because this study will research a first exploration of a new phenomenon for which there are not yet validated theories or academic insights. The central research question of this study is:

To what extent is there a link between policy implementation and the creation of fear in Mosul (Iraq) in 2014 - 2017?

To understand the possible link between ‘fear’, policy implementation and the Islamic State, questions must be answered. First, how has the Islamic State created fear? This question gives an indication of how the emotion ‘fear’ can be used. The second question ‘How has the Islamic State used fear?’, will give more information about their acts of violence in order to accomplish their mission. To be able to answer the research question, the next question ‘How has the Islamic State governed Mosul’ has to be answered to be able to link the concepts ‘fear’ and ‘governance’. Finally, ‘How did the inhabitants of Mosul experience the period the Islamic State was governing their city?’ will contribute to adding personal information regarding the subject.

To be able to answer the central research question of this study it is necessary to answer the following sub-questions:

1. How has the Islamic State created fear? 2. How has the Islamic State used fear? 3. How has the Islamic State governed Mosul?

4. How did the inhabitants of Mosul experience the period the Islamic State was governing their city?

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1.3 Academic relevance of the study

The role of emotions in security studies has been ignored. The way emotions, in this case ‘fear’, interact with security remains unclear. However, there are essential reasons to study emotions. “Fear and other emotions are not only attributes of agents, they are institutionalized in the structures and processes of world politics” (Crawford, 2000, p. 119). Since the role of emotions has been largely neglected, existing literature shows to this day that no link has been made between the emotion of ‘fear’ and ‘governance’. Therefore, this research will focus on the possible link that can be made between policy implementation and fear. This study aims to map the use of ‘fear’ and the way fear interacts with security, which is still poorly theorized (Crawford, 2000). This research is linked to the field of Crisis and Security Management, because this research will look at the wealthiest militant organization and one of the most outstanding challenges to international and national security, the Islamic State (United Nations, 2019).

Also, it is academically relevant for several reasons, to study the concept of ‘fear’ and the possible link between policy implementation and fear. First, research into discourses on terrorism has been the subject of several studies, but research focused on the creation of fear by terrorist organizations themselves is limited. This research aims to close this knowledge gap by investigating if and how the Islamic State used ‘fear’ to implement policies and to govern the city of Mosul. This study attempts to increase and enrich knowledge about the role of creating fear used for policy implementation. More specifically, this research will increase the knowledge of the Islamic State and their governance. The conceptualization of fear, creation of fear and policy implementation in this study will provide ideas which could be useful for future academic research.

1.4 Societal relevance of the study

Terrorism is a big threat to the security of nation states. This particular study on the use of fear will be useful for academics, so scholars can become more aware of the way emotions can be used in the policy implementation process. More education about the effects of the creation of fear will help them decide whether they let the fear phenomenon change their mind, in cases like Mosul. Though, what makes it so important is to know how the use of emotions, in particular ‘fear’, can be used in governance for a broad field of studies. To be able to better understand the Islamic State, it is therefore important not only to investigate the violent strategies they use. Consideration must also

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be given to the way they promote their ideas and how they communicate with potential supporters. Terrorism should not only be viewed as a violent action aimed at enforcing political ends.

Terrorism is also focused on conviction. Although many books provide inside information regarding IS, they often lack academic literature with a theoretical framework from which the behaviour of IS can be understood. Why is it so important to know more about the possible link between policy implementation and fear for the field of Crisis and Security Management? To close the gap by focusing on behaviour and the process related to the creation of fear.

1.5 Reading guide

This study starts with a problem outline, which led to the central research question and sub questions. The first chapter explains the academic and the societal relevance, followed by the body of knowledge, which shows the literature review regarding the main literature and theory. The next chapter is about the methodology which starts with the research design followed by the case selection. Then, the research method as well as the data collection method will be explained. This chapter will also describe and discuss limitations in terms of validity and reliability. This chapter will also specify the operationalization of the terms and the specific time frame. The fourth chapter contains the analysis of the collected data. Part I of the analysis, will explain what happened in Mosul, the rise of the Islamic State and their governance structure. Part II of the analysis will explain the use of fear, propaganda structures and experiences from inhabitants gathered trough in-depth interviews. Part III will explain Hood’s NATO model and the possible link between policy implementation tools and fear. Finally, the conclusion chapter of this study will provide an answer to the central research question. After all, the last chapter contains recommendations for future research.

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2. Body of Knowledge

This study is going to talk about the concept of governance, policy implementation and the concept of fear, after which the writer is going to link the two concepts together in a conceptual framework. To understand the possible connection between the emotion fear and policy implementation regarding the Islamic State in Mosul.

This study will use the term governance. Governance entails a new governing process or a changed condition of rules or method (Rhodes, 2007). Governance contains both public administration and public policy. Governance is broader than government, covering non-actors, therefore governance is linked to interdependence between organizations. The boundaries of a state will change if the boundaries between private and public are shifted. Governance is all about interaction between the members of the network, because of their need to trade resources and discuss. According to Rhodes (as cited in Rhodes, 2007) “Here, public effort is devoted to influencing the preferences and actions of societal members, rather than just informing the public about a situation with the hope that behaviour will spontaneously change in a desired manner” (p. 4).

The reason this study will use ‘governance’ is because of the way the Islamic State governed the city of Mosul. Since governance comes with a powerful degree of autonomy from the state, it will be investigated how the Islamic State has ensured this autonomy. Therefore, this study will have a closer look at the emotion of fear and how this emotion could be used to implement policy to govern the city of Mosul. The emotion of fear is one of the eight primary emotions a person can experience (TenHouten, 2007). “The emotion fear is aroused when a serious and personally relevant threat is perceived” (Witte, 1994, p.114).

To be able to study the link between the concept of policy implementation and fear, the current state of academic knowledge about ‘fear’, policy implementation and IS will be examined. Academic literature will be analysed to create an overview regarding the emotion fear, terrorism, IS and governance. As well as the connection between the concepts. Finally, this research will draw on process tracing as theoretical framework.

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2.1 Literature review 2.1.1 Governance

Governance entails a new governing process or a changed condition of rules or method (Rhodes, 2007). Governance is linked to the relation between organizations. The boundaries of a state will change if the boundaries between private and public are shifted. The need to exchange and negotiate leads to interaction between the members of the network. “Governance is about establishing, promoting, and supporting a specific type of relationship between governmental and non-governmental actors in the governing process” (Howlett & Ramesh, 2015, p. 302). It is what governments do, controlling allocations of resources among social actors. Also, governance comes with a powerful degree of autonomy from the state, which means providing sets of rules.

Howlett & Ramesh (as cited in Steurer, 2013) suggested:

These three basic governance actors can be portrayed as interacting within a set of inter-related spheres of activity generating at least four ideal governance arrangements at their intersections: market governance between governments and business, civil society governance between governments and non-governmental actors, private governance between market and civil society actors, and network governance between all three. (Steurer, 2013)

For the purpose of this study, governance is regarded as synonymous with the broad notions of steering and regulation.

Success of governance

The success of governance is closely connected to policy success and policy capacity. Behind this formulation lies a world of analysis and authority. Before discussing different models of governance, it is important to propose a working definition of public policy. It entails anything a

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Policy could be influenced by non-governmental actors, however, the actions of such actors do not in themselves constitute public policy. Also, public policy making involves a fundamental choice on the part of governments to act or not to act when there are problems. This decision is always made by government officials and elected politicians (Howlett & Ramesh, 2015).

Policy implementation

Public policy is always about a choice made by a government. However, there is a difference between policy making and policy implementation. The choice of policy instruments or the policy design is the beginning for effective policy. To resolve policy problems, policy implementation is necessary, this involves applying policy tools. Regardless whether you study the implementation as a bottom-up or top-down process, the process always involves choosing among the available tools which contribute to improve policy (Howlett, Perl, & Ramesh, 2009). Thus, as said by Howlett et al. (2009) policy implementation refers to the following: “The effort, knowledge, and resources devoted to translating policy decisions into action comprise the policy cycle’s implementation stage” (p. 160).

Policy making

It is important to identify problems and look for matching solutions. Moreover, an analysis of problems and solutions is also constrained by the existing state of knowledge about social and economic problems, as well as policy actors’ ideas, principles, and norms to what policy-makers consider to be appropriate. In order to function effectively, governance requires a high level of state and actor capacity (Bullock, Mountford, & Stanley, 2001). “When policy-makers are exploring policy options, they consider not only what to do but also how to do it” (Howlett et al., 2009, p. 114).

Policy Tools

Hood (as cited in Howlett et al., 2009) proposed that all policy tools use one of four broad categories of governing resources. “These policy tools, also known as policy instruments and governing instruments, are the actual means or devices that governments make use of in

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model. Through the use of information governments encounter public problems. They do this with nodality as a policy actor, with authority with help from their legal powers, with money or the available organizations. It is also possible that a government will use all of them. To manipulate policy actors, government can use these resources. Next, “Policy formulation refers to the process of generating options on what to do about a public problem. . . . Formulating what this course of action will entail is the second major stage in the policy cycle” (Howlett et al., 2009, p. 110).

“The first category of policy tools that Hood drew together involves the use of information’s resources at the disposal of governments” (Howlett et al., 2009, p. 117). Nodality or information based instruments. Public Information Campaigns: Social activities through both routine reporting and special studies are important for a government. Government chronicles a great deal about societal activities through both routine reporting and special studies. . . . It is not uncommon, therefore, for government to disseminate information with the expectation that individuals and firms will change their behaviour in response to it. (Howlett et al., 2009, p. 117)

Information is often fairly general so that societal actors get more knowledgeable to that they can make informed choices. It is possible that public information can be used to provoke a particular response. However, in either way, there is no obligation on the public to respond in a particular way (Howlett et al., 2009). Findings on public information campaigns suggest that disclosure will not automatically lead to a change of policy.

Exhortation: According to Salmon (1989a), as cited in Howlett et al. (2009) “Here, public effort is devoted to influencing the preferences and actions of societal members, rather than just informing the public about a situation with the hope that behaviour will spontaneously change in a desired manner” (p. 118).

Benchmarking and Performance Indicators are a public sector process-oriented information gathering technique. It enables structured comparison which enhances opportunities for policy learning by presenting government insights. Commissions and Inquiries: “Governments often

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The second category of policy tools of Hood, Authority-based Policy Instruments, involves the use of regulations and committees. Command and Control regulation: According to Kerwin (1994, 1999), as cited in Howlett et al. (2009): “Regulation is a prescription by the government that must be complied with by the intended targets; failure to do so usually involves a penalty” (p. 119). It is seen as a government type named rule-making regulations include rules, laws, orders, standers and permits. However, the nature of regulations varies depending on whether they are targeted at social issues or economic issues. Social regulation refers to controls in matters of societal behaviour, civil rights and discrimination. They have to do with the physical and moral well-being. Economic regulations focus on the control of specific aspects of the market economy.

Regulation as a policy instrument has many benefits. First, to establish regulation, less information is needed compared to other tools. Second, concerned activity is deemed entirely undesirable, therefore easier to establish prohibiting regulations. Third, because of regulation there will be a better coordination and planning of government efforts. Fourth, when an immediate response is needed during an emergent situation, the predictability of regulations makes it a more suitable instrument. Fifth, it is less costly to have regulations than other instruments.

Delegated or Self-Regulation: Delegated government means that the governments allow non-governmental actors to regulate themselves. Advisory Committees: The advisory committee tool involves governments to select representatives to be part of committees (Howlett et al., 2009).

The third category of policy tools of Hood, Treasure based Policy Instruments, involves the use of financial resources and relies not so much on government personnel or governmental authority but rather on the financial situation. This refers to all kinds of financial transfers. One of the most prominent forms are grants, tax incentives and subsidies (Howlett et al., 2009).

The fourth category of policy tools of Hood, Organization based Policy Instruments. Most public policy involves bureaucratic action. Also, much of the policy output of government is delivered by government and its bureaucracy, including national defence, social security and public health services.

Policy formulating is about choosing types of policy instruments to address policy problems. For decision makers, feasibility is necessary to make decisions in the next stage of the policy process. Which policy instruments will be selected depends on the nature of the problems’ context, the

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of possible choices and mixes of policy instruments. According to Majone, as cited in Howlett et al. (2009): “Some options call for new, substantial, or dramatic policy change, while other involve only minor tinkering with existing policies and programs” (p. 135). Also, Hall (as cited in Howlett et al., 2009) identified three different possible types of change: “First-order change in which only the settings (or calibrations) of policy instruments varied; second-order change in which change occurred in the basic types or categories of instruments used to effect policy; and third-order change in which the goals of policy were altered” (p. 135).

Thus, Hood’s NATO model makes the distinction Nodality, Authority, Treasury and Organization's basis, as a means, for government action. The types of instruments always involve other activities from the government. The use of the instrument is very effective because conditions are attached to these activities.

2.1.2 Fear

When it became clear that emotions are not simply ‘feelings’ the era of emotion research started. Emotions are accompanied by behavioural and physiological changes. The modern view of emotions shows that there are different levels to experience emotions. These levels are the psychological level, the mental level and the behavioural level. These levels are present in basic emotions, such as fear or anxiety (Barlow, 2001).

Is there a difference between ‘fear’ and ‘anxiety’? Barlow (2001) has argued that the differences between ‘fear’ and ‘anxiety’ are about response patterns and time courses. They can make the body ready for different actions by giving alerting signals:

Fear is a primitive alarm in response to present danger, characterized by strong arousal and action tendencies . . . By contrast, anxiety seems best characterized as a future-orientated emotion, characterized by perceptions of uncontrollability and unpredictability over

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What is fear?

The definition of the concept of ‘fear’, as said by Crawford (2000) is as follows: “An inner state that individuals describe to others as feelings, and those feelings may be associated with biological, cognitive, and behavioural states and changes; emotions are first of all subjective experiences which have physiological, intersubjective, and cultural components” (p.125). How does ‘fear’ start? According to Crawford (2014): “Fear starts with a sensory perception, narrative, or memories that prompt a cascade of reactions and consequences in the brain and the rest of the body. . . . Fear changes what we look for, what we see and the way we think” (pp. 539- 540).

Effects of fear

Before focussing on the creation of fear, the effects of fear matter. “In sum, the effects of fear are potentially self-reinforcing. Initial fear may be institutionalized in the adoption of an emotional attitude about the other and the world (that it is threatening), which affects the intelligence gathering and assessment functions of organizations” (Crawford, 2014, p. 549).

Also, a group of people that needs to be convinced works best when they all have the same culture. Defining who the object of fear is, is therefore important. Who has to feel fear? Whom to be scared of? Who is in charge of it? (Marko, 2013).

Fear is the reaction to an apparent situation. Freud (as cited in Barlow, 2001) saw fear as a psychical reaction to danger and defined a dangerous situation as a situation which menaces a person with helplessness regarding the threat. Studies regarding ‘fear’ found that it has become very clear that fear disorders are chronic. They could even last for decades or a lifetime in the absence of medical care. “Neoevolutionary emotion theorists inform us that fear is a distinct and basic emotion and human experience in general would seem to validate this . . . Fear is a primitive alarm in response to present danger, characterized by strong arousal and action tendencies” (Barlow, 2001, p. 104).

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Also, fear is conditional because it only occurs during certain conditions. According to Hollander (2004), as cited in Marko (2013):

There are various types of fear and various forms of its control. Hollander distinguishes among acute and chronic, personal and collective. While he claims that acute fear was studied by Darwin, as an emotion or instinct, chronic fear could be considered a condition. (2013, p. 201)

In this study: “Acute fear is similar to what Hobbes describes as the permanent human fear that has its pure demonstration in the state of nature” (Marko, 2013, p. 201). This means that inhabitants would give up their own freedom to be safe. Finally, “Fear of each other (‘homo homini lupus’) becomes fear of the authority and its absolute right to punish everyone who disobeys its rules” (Marko, 2013, pp. 201-202).

Fear in social sciences

Till today, social sciences have ignored the role of ‘fear’. The lack of theory regarding ‘fear’ can be seen in the extending risk researches. Although fear could be described as risk in some studies, the concept ‘fear’ is much neglected. In most research the focus is on the theory of risk rather than the theory of fear (Furedi, 2007). Moreover, the impact of fear is driven by the situation and part of the social construction, fear is decisive by interaction. It is also determined by culture, because the culture of people shapes the people on how to respond to fear. This means the culture of a specific group of people needs to be evaluated to measure their ideas regarding their culture on fear (Altheide, 2002). Thus, the role of fear is extremely important, since there is a lack of theory regarding ‘fear’. Also, the role of fear is considered to be a very important pillar regarding today’s risk literature.

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2.2 Conceptual framework

This study stated that there is not enough academic literature with a theoretical framework from which the behaviour of the Islamic State regarding governance can be better understood. The study of the possible link between policy implementation and fear is therefore characterized by a knowledge gap. Therefore, the writer wonders how both concepts, ‘policy implementation’ and ‘fear’, can be linked to each other. Then it will become clear through an analysis whether that link is indeed there or not. The intention of this study is to see whether the two concepts can indeed be linked to each other. The process of conceptualization gives the definition and meaning of the concepts that will be studied. It will also present indicators which show whether the concept is present or not regarding the case. Governance determines the way in which rules are executed by state actors to resolve difficulties (Kooiman, 2000). The governing process is all about the promotion and support of specific types of relations between non-governmental and governmental actors. Also, by controlling allocations of resources among social actors. This means providing a set of rules to decide how sources will be divided among the people.

To focus on policy tools used in the governing process, it is important to understand policy implementation. “The ‘instrument choice’ or ‘policy design’ approach to understanding policy implementation began from the observation that, to a great extent, policy implementation involves applying one or more of the basic techniques of government, variously known as policy tools, policy instruments, or governing instruments” (Howlett et al., 2009, p. 168). The choice of policy tools usually starts with identifying policy tools and to draw a distinction among them. Such a distinction can be applied to the NATO policy tool scheme from Hood for example. After generating a basic inventory of policy tools, the tool choice perspective on policy implementation then addresses the question of why implementers should choose a particular tool.

This study will make use of the NATO governance model from Hood, to test the possible link between policy implementation and fear. Hood’s NATO model makes the distinction Nodality, Authority, Treasury and Organization's basis, as a means, for government action. The types of instruments always involve other activities from the government (Howlett et al., 2009). The use of the instrument is very effective because conditions are attached to these activities. To investigate the link between policy implementation and fear, each instrument will be tested separately. This means that each part of the NATO model will be tested separately according to the Islamic State’s ‘way of work’.

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The definition of the concept of ‘fear’ is as follows: “An inner state that individuals describe to others as feelings, and those feelings may be associated with biological, cognitive, and behavioural states and changes; emotions are first of all subjective experiences which have physiological, intersubjective, and cultural components” (Crawford, 2000, p.125). How does fear start? “Fear starts with a sensory perception, narrative, or memories that prompt a cascade of reactions and consequences in the brain and the rest of the body” (Crawford, 2014, p. 539). Thus, “fear changes what we look for, what we see and the way we think” (Crawford, 2014, p. 540).

Finally, the process of government decisions always involves choosing among several tools that could each make a contribution to advancing policy. Figure 1 aims to define the main concepts of governance, NATO model, fear and the possible link.

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3. Methodology

This chapter will describe the methodology. To start, the basic research design will be described as well as the justification for the case selection. Next, the research methodology is explained followed by the way data collection and analysation took place. The chapter ends with describing the limitations of the research in general just as the limitations in terms of validity and reliability. Finally, this methodology will focus at the analysis of this study. Which describes what happened in Mosul and the rise of the Islamic State, followed by a chapter called ‘the use of fear’. This chapter describes the concept of ‘fear’ as well as propaganda structures and experiences. Followed by a new chapter about the concept policy implementation. This chapter divides several concepts: governance, NATO model Hood, governance structures, (sharia law). Finally, this methodology will focus at ‘fear’ and 'policy implementation’ and the possible link between both concepts.

3.1 Research design

The central research question of this study is, to what extent is there a link between policy implementation and the creation of fear in Mosul (Iraq) in 2014 - 2017? Qualitative research is necessary in order to answer the research question. This kind of research is most suitable for this study because of the single research unit (Mosul).

This study is qualitative because: “Qualitative research is based upon the observations and interpretations of people’s perception of different events and it takes the snapshot of the people’s perception in a natural setting” (Guba, Lincoln & Newman, as cited in Khan, 2014, p. 225).

Because this study wants to investigate the possible link between fear and policy implementation by the Islamic State, Hood’s NATO model will be used. Each tool of the model will be tested separately. Doing so will provide information about a possible interaction between policy implementation and fear. This means that each part of the NATO model by Hood will be tested separately according to the Islamic State’s way of work. Since this study expects a possible link between policy implementation and fear, it is necessary to test the visualization.

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3.1.2 Case study & case selection

This study does research to a single case: Mosul in Iraq. This study will use a holistic single case study design to better understand the possible link between fear and policy implementation. Yin (2003) proposed the single-case design and the multiple-case design as primary types of case studies. The difference between the two is the contextual condition. A single-case case looks at one specific set of contextual conditions while a multiple-case method is beneficial when analysing multiply contexts and situations. This study analyses a multiple-case method, policy implementation and fear. It is important to analyse the concept ‘fear’ and the concept ‘policy implementation’ within the context of Mosul. While this approach does not allow for comparisons across other cases, it does allow for more in-depth analysis.

Within these types of case study designs, there is a difference between an embedded case study and a holistic case study. A holistic approach is beneficial when the nature of the topic itself is holistic (Yin, 2003).

In addition, due to the broad nature and expansive research on the topic of fear, this is a holistic singe-case study. This approach is a study that addresses “what” and “how” questions. Each of these parts provide a specific element to the case, who’s overall purpose is to analyse the possible link between policy implementation and fear, in Mosul Iraq by the Islamic State. Given the multiple perspectives analysed as part of this study, a single case design using holistic evidence fits best. Since this study does not focus on other terrorist groups, it is important to gain in-depth understanding of this particular group (IS) and the phenomenon to completely understand it. Furthermore, because of the limited time period there has been chosen to study Mosul only because it would not be possible to answer the central research question for more than once case. The choice for the case of Mosul was made because this city in Iraq was the largest city to fall under the control of the Islamic State. Further, Mosul was the starting point for their caliphate which seized Iraq and Syria. In addition, Mosul had been a stronghold for a very long time, the city had also given the group a hiding place when they were threatened with extermination.

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Why the Islamic State?

“The self-proclaimed Islamic State is a militant Sunni movement that has conquered territory in western Iraq, eastern Syria, and Libya, from which it has tried to establish the caliphate, claiming exclusive political and theological authority over the world’s Muslims” (Laub, 2016). A terrorist group with supporters and sympathizers worldwide (Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties, 2019). “The presence of high numbers of foreign jihadist fighters in Syria and Iraq, among them many Europeans, has raised serious concerns in many Western European countries” (Bakker & de Roy van Zuijdewijn, 2015, p. 7).

The Islamic State is a threat to international security. More than 60 countries are operating against them since September 2014. They embrace an extremist form of the fundamentalist Islam. Violence, especially fighting and dying for faith, is an important component of their ideology (United Nations, 2019). Their movement, supporters and sympathizers worldwide and their threat to international security makes it an extreme challenge to other countries. As well as the large scale of brutal terror attacks is what made them internationally notorious and unique compared to other armed groups. They distinguish themselves by their militarization and trans-nationality. Their evolution shows their capability to grow from a small underground group to a military force. Therefore, the choice for the Islamic State is based on specific interests in the organization and the relevancy for professional and academic purposes.

The time frame used in this study is between 2014 an 2017. Year 2014 is the starting point because on June 2014, Islamic State militants seized the city of Mosul. That day, their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared the Caliphate. This was also the year whereby they became internationally known (Hosken, 2015). In 2015 and 2016 , the Islamic State was at the height of their rebellion. Not only cities like Mosul in Iraq, their caliphate also seized regions in Syria and obtained parts from South-Asia to West-Africa. “Iraqi special forces first entered Mosul on 1 November 2016. But progress slowed as troops encountered fierce resistance from IS, including snipers, suicide bombers and shellfire. By January 2017 eastern Mosul was back under Iraqi government control, who announced its full liberation” (BBC News, 2017). Therefore, the writer chose the year 2017 as end point.

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3.2 Data collection

In this study in-depth interviews were used. Such interviews are unstructured and personal to identify emotions, feelings and opinions regarding a particular research subject. When using in-depth interviews, the goal is to seek information and knowledge. This information usually regards personal matters, experiences and perspectives. Also, since the topic of the interviews involves highly conflicted emotions (Gubrium & Holstein, 2001). As well as the use of academic articles, to gain more knowledge about the concepts fear and policy implementation but also about the Islamic State to understand more of their culture and activities.

Secondly, the books; ‘Empire of Fear: Inside the Islamic State’ written by Adrew Hosken (2016) and ‘Black Flags the rise of ISIS’ written by Joby Warrick (2015) are used to gather more information about the Islamic State, their organization and actions. Also, google search and online articles found on online news websites from the United Kingdom (BBC), from the United States (ABC news) and more. Finally, this study looked at reports, research papers and academic journals.

3.3 Data analysis

To be able to answer the central research question, sub-questions will be asked. These sub-questions will be answered by using the following methods: interviews and content analysis.

In a content analysis study, the writer will gather and analyse the content of text. Such as words, pictures, interviews, or other communication. Text means writings, something that is able to be seen with eyes, or something spoken which serves as a medium for communication. Firstly, the writer recognizes a body of material to analyse, after which a system will be created to focus on particular aspects of the content. The system might include phrases or quotes. After systematically highlighting what the writer finds, the analysing part starts. Also, the content analysis of this study will be qualitative since the writer already has some expectations regarding fear.

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In order to examine the possible link, the information gathered from the interviews with refugees who fled from Mosul will be used. This means that data gathering was performed by conducting face-to-face interviews. This study has looked for a possible link between fear and governance by the Islamic State in Mosul. Hereby, a mixed method approach will be a more accurate and reliable representation regarding the different concepts, over a single-method approach. The interviews show a personal view on the topics which is expected to show meaningful insights. The respondents for the interviews were selected on the basis of their experiences. The writer aimed to interview people who were living in Mosul and who were in direct contact with the Islamic State.

The interview was controlled with a small topic list as the main guide of the interviews, allowing for in-depth interviews. This way, the interviewees were able to express their thoughts which led to a deeper insight of the topics. Doing so, the writer allowed the interviewees to touch on any concept without an intervention from the interviewer. When the interviewee would be too emotional or did not know what to say, the list with questions led the interview back on track. The next questions were on the list: ‘How did you experience this?’, ‘Did you have an idea of how IS works?’, ‘According to you, has fear been used to rule?’. After the interviews, the writer chose for literal transcribing. This means that you write everything you hear, stuttering, stop words and hesitations such as ‘uhh’. This form of transcribing is really helpful if you not only want to analyse what someone is saying but also how someone is saying it. This is done for example when investigating behaviour and emotions.

The interviewees for the interviews were approached through a language coach working in the organization called ‘Taal ontmoetingen’. This organization works with volunteers who help non-Dutch speaking adults to better master the non-Dutch language by setting up language classes. In this way, ‘Taal ontmoetingen’ promotes social self-reliance and participation of the participants. Language meetings are fully conducted and led by volunteers. This organization brought the writer in contact with coordinator Ria. The topic of this study was presented to her, after which the writer was brought in contact with a lady named Mei, a woman who fled from Iraq herself a couple of years ago. Through her cooperation, network and friends, the writer came in contact with refugees who fled from Mosul recently. Together with Mei, as person of contact and interpreter, the writer had the opportunity to approach the family. Additionally, the interviewer took into account the fact that this subject is very sensitive to the interviewees. All fled from Mosul at the time of war, during the time that IS governed their city. They have not only witnessed and experienced heartbreaking

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about the situation in Mosul, to be able to understand the situation and look at it from a different point of view, the inhabitants themselves. A deeper insight can gain valuable knowledge, especially in answering the sub-question. Due to privacy reasons, the interviews were not recorded. For a verification of the content the writer asked feedback from the interviewees with help of the interpreter. Also, a report of the notes was written afterwards (Annex 1). To guarantee the anonymity and unrecognizability of two interviewees, all personal names have been changed into ‘interviewee’. Where necessary, to prevent recognizability, citations have also been changed.

3.4 Operationalization of terms

This part will describe the concepts used in this study. “Operationalization links a conceptual definition to a set of measurement techniques or procedures, the construct’s operational definition (i.e., a definition in term of the specific operations or actions)” (Neuman, 2013, p. 207). Thus, “Qualitative research operationalization largely involves developing a description of how we use working ideas while making observations” (Neuman, 2013, p. 210). To find out to what extent is there a link between policy implementation and fear in Mosul, two indicators need to be operationalized. Namely, policy implementation and fear.

Fear

The definition of the concept of ‘fear’ is as follows: “An inner state that individuals describe to others as feelings, and those feelings may be associated with biological, cognitive, and behavioural states and changes; emotions are first of all subjective experiences which have physiological, intersubjective, and cultural components” (Crawford, 2000, p.125). “Fear starts with a sensory perception, narrative, or memories that prompt a cascade of reactions and consequences in the brain and the rest of the body. . . . Fear changes what we look for, what we see and the way we think” (Crawford, 2014, pp. 539-540). Fear is seen as a reaction to a specific and noticeable danger, it is a personal alarm in response to dangerous situations. There are different types of fear and

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Policy implementation

Refers to the following: “The effort, knowledge, and resources devoted to translating policy decisions into action comprise the policy cycle’s implementation stage” (Howlett et al., 2009, p. 160). Policy implementation is important because it constitutes the ‘how to’ component. Also, implementation strategies are recognized as necessary for translating policy decisions into action. The choice of policy instruments or the policy design is the beginning for effective policy and to understand policy implementation.

The ‘instrument choice’ approach to understanding policy implementation began from the observation that, to a great extent, policy implementation involves applying one or more of the basic techniques of government, variously known as policy tools, to the resolution of policy problems in the form of a policy mix or blend of different instruments. (Howlett et al., 2009, p. 168)

Regardless of whether we study the implementation process in a top-down or bottom-up fashion, the process of giving substance to a government decision always involves choosing among several tools available that could each make a contribution to advancing policy. (Howlett et al., 2009, p. 160)

This study used the tools of the NATO model from Hood. “These policy tools are the actual means or devices that governments make use of in implementing policies” (Howlett et al., 2009, p. 114). The NATO model contains the following policy tools: nodality, authority, treasury and organization. The operationalisation framework below explains the definitions, indicators and the source of data regarding nodality, authority, treasury and organization.

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3.5 Limitations

During this study, some complex factors appeared which means there are limitations for this study. When researching the emotion of fear by using documents, it became clear that fear is embedded in cultures for centuries. Therefore, the writer should also look at the historically defined norms and values of the case. Just a few documents were used and only two interviews were held due the limited time frame and scope of this study. Therefore, this study can only provide part of the whole truth. Also, when doing research about the emotion fear, it is hard to analyse inner emotions of a group of citizens (Neumann, 2013).

However, by using the content analysis, this study does hope to measure emotions. Also, a limitation of this study is the difficulty that there were only a couple interviews possible with refugees who fled from Mosul. Not only was it very hard to find refugees who fled from Mosul in the specific time frame, there was also the willingness to engage. The willingness within this study is still attached to a voluntary choice to participate or not.

Finally, the information gathered during the interviews is now stretched to represent the entire community of Mosul. Therefore, the main limitation is the willingness. However, this is unfortunate as this information would have been the foundation for a scientific establishment regarding the possible link between policy implementation and fear.

3.6 Limitations of research in terms of reliability and validity

In order to explain the limitations this study might have, the reliability and validity of the study will be explained.

Reliability: “Recall that reliability means dependability or consistency. . . . One difficulty with reliability is that we often study processes that are unstable over time. Moreover, we emphasize the value of a changing or developing interaction between us as researchers and the people we study” (Neuman, 2013, p. 218).

Validity: “Validity means trustfulness. In qualitative studies, we are more interested in achieving authenticity than realizing a single version of ‘Truth’. . . . Authenticity means offering a fair, honest, and balanced account of social life from the viewpoint of the people who live it every day” (Neuman, 2013, p. 218).

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Validity can also be divided into external and internal validity: “Internal validity means we have not made errors internal to the design of a research project that might produce false conclusions” (Neuman, 2013, p. 221). Because this study is a single case study with in-depth information, the internal validity is high.

External validity: “Refers to whether we can generalize a result that we found in a specific setting with a particular small group beyond that situation or externally to a wider range of settings and many different people” (Neuman, 2013, p. 221). This study has a high external validity because the findings could be the case in other cities or countries during who are dealing with terrorist organizations. However, since this study only focused on the year 2014 - 2017 the external validity could be low.

Finally, this study may have some difficulties regarding the reliability and validity. It might be subjective since this study used content analysis; the interpretation of text can differ per person. Therefore, the external reliability is low since this study would be hard to copy. Another part could affect the external validity since a big part of this study is based on personal experiences. However, improving this study in terms of validity and reliability will be done by answering the sub-questions systematically.

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4. Analysis

Part I - What happened in Mosul

To analyse the case, a general view of the organization and what happened in Mosul will be described. Before the Islamic State entered Mosul, the city consisted of almost 2 million inhabitants, mostly Arabic and Christian. A big group of Islamic State soldiers took over Mosul in June 2014. Not every inhabitant could flee, the ones who stayed behind had to face their limitative civil and social policies. The remaining population of Mosul was estimated about 1.5 million. With help from Iranian forces, the Iraqi forces were able to retake a part of Tikrit. However, the Islamic State did not stop with seizing territory as they took over the strategic border between Syria and Iraq were many people used to cross (Fox, 2019).

Not long after taking over Mosul, their leader Baghdadi announced the establishment of the Caliphate, renaming the organization as the Islamic State. The city became the symbol of the new beginning of their organization. In Iraq, the Islamic State slaughtered 5000 of Yezidi men in Sinjar and forced more than 7000 women and girls into sexual slavery. In Syria, they massacred hundreds inhabitants, and they started to behead Western hostages in brutally choreographed videos.

In September, the United Stated build a coalition against the Islamic State and starts with air strikes to try to stop IS, they also build a coalition against them. Three years after the self-proclamation of the Islamic State, the soldiers were chased away from the territories they recently owned in Iraq. Many cities who recently belonged to their Caliphate, such as Tikrit and Sinjar had been fully liberated. This made it hard for the organization to keep faith in their ambitious motto: ‘baqiya wa tatamaddad’, which means remaining and expanding. The liberation of the last major stronghold of the Islamic State in the country is likely to write a new page in the history of Iraq. The country who had to deal with this situation since 2003 could use a military victory to get back their ground (Plebani, 2017).

Since 2014, the invasion of Mosul by IS has led to a major change regarding the conflict in Iraq and the region. In 2017, IS suffers a year of catastrophic defeats, in June they lost Mosul to Iraqi forces after months of fighting. Who are the people of the Islamic State? What is the Islamic State? To understand what happened it is important to understand the organization who made it all happen. Therefore, the following section will first and foremost focus on IS itself. It is beyond the scope of

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The rise of the Islamic State

This part will discuss the following periods: the outset (2001–2006), the decline of the organization (2006–2010), its expansion (2011–2014) and their time in Mosul (2014 - 2017). Because this research is mainly interested in certain years of the last period (2014 - 2017), the first periods will be discussed briefly. This time frame is chosen to focus on the rapid rise of IS and to understand its rapid expansion. To address the governance period of IS between 2014 and 2017, it is needed to zoom on its organizational structures and strategies in particular. Before expanding about the different periods, it is important to avoid any confusion about the many titles (ISIS, ISIL, IS, Daesh) of the organization. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the organization’s leader, proclaimed the establishment of the Caliphate on June 29, 2014, naming as the Islamic State (IS). At the same time, he proclaimed himself Caliph of this Caliphate. The EU, United Nations and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as many Muslim leaders reject the use ‘IS’. In mostly Arab speaking countries, the organization is called ‘Daesh’ (Warrick, 2013). This research will refer to the organization as ‘Islamic State’ or ‘IS’ except when explicitly discussing a period when the organization had a different name.

Back in 2001, in times of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi started training radical combatants in Iraq, the origin of IS. At the time they were known as Jama’at al-Tawhid wa’al-Jihad [JTJ]. A little group of foreign fighters, the U.S. State Department classified them together as JTJ. After the United States overturned Saddam Hussein's government, JTJ became active in Iraq and was considered to be the most important group fighting against them. The main differences between JTJ and Al Qaeda were their preferred targets. Bin Laden's target was the West, especially the United States. Whereas Zarqawi preferred the ‘close enemy’, like Israel, the Jordanian government and the Iraqi Army (Kirdar, 2011). JTJ quickly became known for its ruthless tactics and experienced some a lack of support from the local population. In 2004, JTJ formally joined together with Al-Qaeda, and from then they were known as Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn which means “Based in Mesopotamia”, was mostly known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq [AQI]

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During this period AQI was able to rise because they were able to create grievances among the local Iraqi population and its beheading videos showed several elements of power and fear, later to be used as a strategy. It shows a group with well-thought-out strategic choices, which ensured them growth. However, it did not lead to support from the local population. From 2006 till 2011, AQI faced a decline from the community due pressure from Iraqi and U.S. troops. They changed their name to “Islamic State of Iraq” [ISI] in an attempt to gain new support, however they were still known as AQI. Abu Omar al Baghdadi took over the organization when Zarqawi was killed in a military airstrike led by the U.S. in 2006.

The change to call the organization ISI was to demonstrate that different fighting parties had to unite against the U.S. However, despite the change in leaders, more local Iraqis resisted their leadership. Many Sunnis started to cooperate and train with the U.S. to fight against ISI, with success. They were able to reduce the power of ISI and thousands of ISI members were imprisoned or killed (Stanford University, 2019). Campaigns were launched and local Sunnis were funded by the U.S. to fight ISI and destroy the organization. In 2011, most of the leaders of ISI were in prison or killed. This raises the question on how this destroyed organization managed to be a powerful state later on. Abu Bakr al Baghdadi was named the leader of ISI in May 2010 when he got out of prison. From then, the organization experienced better times. Having briefly discussed the developments of ISI, the focus will now turn to the creation of their Caliphate. In this period, ISI also began operating in Syria.

Since the coalition forces withdrew from Iraq, the number of ISI attacks increased. During the time Iraq was trying to form a new government, ISI started a campaign to free their members from prison and regain lost territory (Hashim, 2014). Meanwhile, ISI changed its name to ISIS. In June 2014, ISIS seized control of Mosul and started to spread jihadist propaganda (Stanford University, 2019). On June 29, ISIS announced the re-establishment of the Caliphate and named itself the Islamic State, with its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as the Caliph. As said before, ISIS began to operate in Syria. It all started with protests against the regime of Assad in 2011. Many leaders have urged President al-Assad to step down. However, Assad did not act as much against IS as desired. In 2014, IS took control of the city of Raqqa and proclaimed it to be the capital of the Caliphate, which is still seen as a significant and symbolic move. The weaker the legitimacy of the state, the bigger the political opportunity structures. The longer a conflict continues, the more opportunities are created for potential parties to seize power (Crocker, 2007).

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After the re-establishment of their Caliphate, IS was known all over the world because of its ‘sudden’ appearance and threat. This marked the start of their global strategy and organizing attacks. This strategy had two main goals, first creating chaos in the rest of the world and second to strengthen the organization by gaining territory in the region (Pichon, 2015). Despite attacks and airstrikes from the U.S., IS continued to spread its message through online propaganda. Its ideologies and power were spreading across countries like Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Libya. Even when they lost some territories in fights with enemies, the organization continued recruiting foreign fighters.

Governance structure

The governing institutions over which the Islamic State had the lead, represent the best approach of institutionalized governance for the millions of people under its rule. Islamic State’s number one goal was to expand where possible and to defend their territorial holdings in Iraq and Syria. The state build by the jihadist movement could not survive or expand without the provision of essential services like healthcare and sanitation.

Therefore, after the declaration of the Caliphate, and the introduction of Diwans, they systematized, bureaucratized and formalized their governance structures to operate consistent. This helped their governance to be far more advanced, so it could be applied in all of their territories (Revkin, 2016). The reason to do so was to offer civilians something what other nation state systems do. However, the organization used this in combination with extreme violence and the creation of fear to gain more prevalence. The Islamic State had a cabinet of deputies who managed the caliphate as well as their military operations. Their leadership structure was remarkable well-structured (Sherlock, 2014). Compared to the old state, the post 2014 state structure plans and law implementations are far superior. The Islamic State did live up to its own standards of governance and showed their ability to learn from experiences (Bokhari & McCants, 2016). The fact that the governance model

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Table 2 represents the various Diwans, with a brief description of each function (Al-Tamimi, 2015, p. 224).

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Part II - Use of fear

In part I the organization and what happened in Mosul was described, however, so far this did not provide insights to help answer whether there is a possible link between policy implementation and fear. That is why experiences from the people who witnessed the Islamic State itself needs to be laid down in this chapter.

The definition of the concept of ‘fear' is as follows: “An inner state that individuals describe to others as feelings, and those feelings may be associated with biological, cognitive, and behavioural states and changes; emotions are first of all subjective experiences which have physiological, intersubjective, and cultural components” (Crawford, 2000, p. 125). How does fear start? “Fear starts with a sensory perception, narrative, or memories that prompt a cascade of reactions and consequences in the brain and the rest of the body. . . . Fear changes what we look for, what we see and the way we think” (Crawford, 2014, p. 539 - 540).

“Fear changes what we look for, what we see and the way we think” (Crawford, 2014, p. 540), as explained in the theory by Crawford. “Fear starts with a sensory perception, narrative, or memories that prompt a cascade of reactions and consequences in the brain and the rest of the body” (Crawford, 2014, p. 539). Also, “fear was seen as a reaction to a specific, observable danger, while ‘anxiety’ was seen as a diffuse, objectless apprehension” (Barlow, 2001, p.7).

Thus, fear is a personal alert in response to a dangerous situation, defined by a strong feeling of a tendency to action. Fear is termed as conditional, since fear will only occur during certain situations. Hollander distinguishes: “Acute (such as fright) and chronic (such as dread), personal and collective”. “Acute fear is usually experienced more intensely, and for much shorter periods, than chronic fear” (Hollander, 2004, p. 865). In this study, acute fear is permanent human fear, the main reason why people are ready to give up part of their freedom for their own security. The theory also showed that: “A certain amount of fear breeds respect for a ruler”. “An object of fear might be the ruler (whether individual, or a group or class of any kind), or some entity facilitated or even manipulated by the ruler in order to gain "love" and respect and trust” (Hollander, 2004, p.

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This having said, how was the Islamic State able to govern many cities, among which Mosul? The question here is, did the Islamic State use fear to implement policy? It still remains unclear if there was a creation of fear. To cover this issue, this next section will be divided in ‘propaganda structures’ and ‘experiences’. These approaches are chosen because each aspect could explain a different part of the Islamic State’s way of work. This study will focus on the Islamic State itself because it is beyond the scope of this research to focus on external organizations.

Propaganda structures

The Islamic State creates fear not only by their actions but also trough its propaganda. Because propaganda is such a big part of their organization and their success, this study would like to highlight why their propaganda structures help them to create fear. They became internationally known for their brutal acts on video used for propaganda (Lister, 2014). Some propaganda even contained the presence of young children. The use of children as propaganda tools is not new, for years they have been brainwashing and using young children living within its territories. Since the declaration of their state, children have featured prominently in their propaganda (Horgan & Bloom, 2015). To potential foreign fighters IS portrays itself as the one and only faith and true solution and as a threat to Europe and the United States. Propaganda was a very important contribution for rise of IS, for example, the videos where IS executes Shia soldiers and lorry drivers. This caused demoralization and terrified Shia soldiers leading out to the capture of Mosul. The Islamic State found a very effective way to communicate by using social media. Also, as a tool to spread its messages, exploit international media attention and recruit potential fighters. This section will describe their use of social media regarding its online propaganda and how this is a strategy of fear. The Islamic State is considered to be the most media using militant group to emerge in the Middle East. They know that they have to be effective, so they need to terrorize people. The act of violence is almost as valuable as the act of communication which follows the act of violence. Their propaganda is very violent and is made to shock and terrorize populations, they achieve this by using extremely cruel methods and images. Their way of frightening opponents is a projection of terror, which is considered a military tactic. While this tactic is not a tactic they use on the battlefield, it does create a lot of fear which has an indirect and big impact. Who is behind this successful use of social media? Their former social media director is believed to be Ahmad

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organization since 2009. He speaks Arabic and English fluent because he grew up in France and Boston (McPhee & Ross, 2014). His skills came from his study in computer science. Not only did he use his computer skills working for IS as a media director, he also encouraged others to start using social media to promote the jihad. Many social media experts joined their organization to contribute with their own skills and to spread the message to others.

The Islamic State has still a very strong group of media experts who know how to create a lot of fear and also know how to emphasize this emotion with propaganda material. Using Twitter helped to spread the propaganda worldwide and to reach the public. Spreading their propaganda was extremely helpful to attract new recruits and inspire ‘lone wolfs’ to commit attacks (Berger , 2016). The Islamic State used the Twitter platform as a communication tool for inside as well as outside information. Afters years of communication trough Twitter, IS was banned by Twitter in an attempt to reduce their influence. Research shows that the suspension of the accounts had effect, their influence was indeed reduced (Berger & Morgan, 2015). Their use of social media created many opportunities for them to expand and easily speak to the world, however, this was only possible because the use of social media was new in the (inter) national field.

The propaganda videos created fear and with images of the Promised Land (Stern & Berger 2015). These propaganda mechanisms contributed to the creation of fear and provided the organization with new foreign fighters who were inspired by their propaganda. The successful social media campaigns and territorial victories like Mosul and Raqqa provided the organization with an attractive image for others to join IS. Their content seemed to be aimed towards their opponents to portray an image of terror, and towards their supporters’ fighters to portray the ‘Promised Land’. Their use of social media gave them an immense playing field, new ways to introduce themselves and to create fear.

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Experiences

To get to know more about experiences, this study gathered data by conducting face-to-face interviews. To show a personal view on the topic which is expected to show meaningful insights. The use of interviews is also used to provide extra information about the situation in Mosul and to look at it from a different point of view, the inhabitants themselves. The writer was able to talk to inhabitants from Mosul, who recently fled from the Islamic State. In this section the writer would like to use the interviews to explain the situation and to highlight their emotions.

Interviewee 1 and 2 were living in Sinjar, Mosul as a Jezidi family. Their religion includes elements from different beliefs like Christian, Islamic but also Jewish. Daesh, as we call the Islamic State, hates Jezidi’s and calls them ‘nonbelievers’. They heard from family and friends in other regions in Iraq about the cruelty of the Islamic State. Neighboring villages were warning them that soon their city would be attacked. Thousands of Iraqi fighters in Sinjar withdrew, leaving their civilians behind without a warning. Shortly after attacking the city, black and white flags filled the streets, as they began to kill random inhabitants they saw outdoors. All the inhabitants were brutally forced to gather at a public spot in the village. They were making groups of people, separating women and men, old and young. Elderly residents were killed almost immediately, because they were useless, according to IS. This was also an example of what would happen to the people who would disobey them, they said. Interviewee (1): They made clear that they had no problem with torturing us and that they would kill very easily. It was horrible. Many of my family members already died that day. Interviewee (2): I get goosebumps again when I think about it. All young women and children were separated from the others that day. The young girls were taken away from us. Afterwards I heard that they were sold as (sex) slaves. While separating families, IS kept threatening and killing. I have never been so scared.

The Islamic State demanded the inhabitants to swear allegiance, or they would be killed. The Yezidi inhabitants faced an impossible choice. Stay, convert to the Islam and become one with IS? Stay and risk being killed or imprisonment? Run away to the mountains in hopes of finding a safe place, facing starvation and thirst? Interviewee (1): Random people were murdered and hung in the streets to show what happened in case of disobedience. Convert to Islam or die! I saw dogs feeding off dead bodies.

The situation in the city got worse. Many inhabitants were being captured by IS, as they were exposed to the extreme heat, there was nothing to eat or drink. Interviewee (1) becomes very

Culture of fear in Mosul: The possible link between policy implementation and fear by the Islamic State in Mosul, Iraq