Can ISIS be classified as a country?

Historically, this is not the first time an organized criminal gang has temporarily seized territory. That is hardly sufficient to be considered a country. 1. No allies. 2. No trading partners. 3. No international recognition. read more

Some of the other answers to this question explicitly classify ISIS as a country, so apparently, yes, ISIS can be classified as a country. You didn't ask if ISIS is a country. ISIS is certainly like a country when you compare it to things that people usually call countries. read more

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL; Arabic: الدولة الإسلامية في العراق والشام‎), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS, /ˈaɪsɨs/) or theIslamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham, Islamic State (IS), or Daesh (داعش,Arabic pronunciation: [ˈdaːʕiʃ]), is a Salafi jihadist extremist militant group and self-proclaimed Islamic state and caliphate, which is led by and mainly composed of Sunni Arabs from Iraq and Syria. read more

But ISIS is not al Qaeda. It is not an outgrowth or a part of the older radical Islamist organization, nor does it represent the next phase in its evolution. Although al Qaeda remains dangerous—especially its affiliates in North Africa and Yemen—ISIS is its successor. ISIS represents the post–al Qaeda jihadist threat. read more