Includes bibliographical references (pages 431-454) and index.

Breaking down the barriers: protest -- Underlying instability -- Syria's flirtation with jihadism -- March-December 2011: Jabhat Al-Nusra forms -- January-August 2012: Jabhat Al-Nusra emerges -- September 2012-March 2013: Jabhat Al-Nusra rises -- April-June 2013: the Islamic State joins the conflict -- July-December 2013: rising tensions -- January-April 2014: turning against the Islamic State -- May-August 2014: declaring a caliphate -- The Islamic State -- September-December 2014: strikes and divisions -- January-June 2015: tipping the scales -- The Syrian jihad.

"This book assesses and explains the emergence since 2011 of Sunni jihadist organizations in Syria's fledgling insurgency, charts their evolution and situates them within the global Islamist project. Unprecedented numbers of foreign fighters have joined such groups, who will almost certainly continue to host them. Thus, external factors in their emergence are scrutinized, including the strategic and tactical lessons learned from other jihadist conflict zones and the complex interplay between Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State and how it has influenced the jihadist sphere in Syria. Tensions between and conflict within such groups also feature in this indispensable volume."--Amazon.com.