ABSTRACT
The history of modern jihadism oscillates between the struggle against apostate regimes and the struggle against Western powers. This chapter shows that this strategic priority depends to a large extent on the history of contemporary jihadi dynamics. Indeed, a historical perspective allows us to distinguish two distinct sources of jihadism, one drawing on the Wahhabi heritage, the other on anti-Western militancy. These can account for the respective specificities of al-Qaeda, on the one hand, and the organization Islamic State, on the other.
