| Summary/Abstract |
MANY GROUPS ASPIRE TO GOVERN TERRITORY, but few actually followed through with it to the extent that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) had. In addition to the brutal executions and disfigurements, ISIS also came to be known for fixing potholes, installing power lines, administering polio vaccines, and establishing schools, post offices, roving police forces, food kitchens, and even a consumer protection bureau.
Welfare was an important component of ISIS's “stateness”2 and was widely viewed as a means by which the organization targeted the hearts and minds of the local population. However, not all militias with territorial aspirations provide public goods. Tehrik‐e‐Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is a case in point. The TTP is the largest jihadi group operating in Pakistan, with the ultimate goal of installing a caliphate. While active mainly in a region where state provision of social services is poorest, the TTP has shown little regard for its inhabitants’ welfare. Surprisingly little of the militia's inordinate wealth has been allotted to taking care of the local population. Why do some militias provide welfare while others do not?
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