The Dark Side of the Economy: A Comparative Analysis of the Islamic State's Revenue Streams

The Islamic State’s ambitious goals have led to the organization obtaining a large amount of costs. However, the Islamic State does not have adequate revenue streams to maintain these expenditures. This paper compares the Islamic State’s costs and revenue streams with two similar organizations, Hizballah and Al Qaeda. The comparison will explain that the Islamic State’s revenue streams are not as efficient and diversified as Hizballah and Al Qaeda’s revenue streams have historically been. As a result of inefficient and unvaried revenue streams, the Islamic State will be forced to structurally change.