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Introduction To The Special Issue, John, Lord Alderdice

New England Journal of Public Policy

This issue of the New England Journal of Public Policy, with Lord John Alderdice the guest editor, examines how, with the advent of sophisticated technologies & AI, the conduct of wars & peacemaking in the opening decades of the 21st century has changed with implications for the future of both & society at large.

The Importance Of Sunni-Iraqi Support In The Rise And Fall Of Isis In Iraq, Deja Meekins

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

ISIS, a Salafi-jihadist terrorist organization stationed in the Middle East, has had its fair share of "successes" and "failures," both of which have been present in Iraq. Toward the beginning of the development of ISIS, it garnered a very powerful supporter base in Iraq. However, that has changed since then; ISIS currently, in 2024, no longer has the support of the vast majority of the Iraqi people. What is the reason for this? This research paper will seek to analyze and answer two major questions: what role does the Iraqi Sunni population play in ISIS’s trajectory of successes and failures …

Propelling Separatism Into Transnational Spaces: A Critical Analysis On The Pro-Ltte Tamil Diaspora In Canada, D.G.Niruka Sanjeewani

Journal of Terrorism Studies

Despite being less discussed, the transnational spaces of diaspora communities are often used by terror groups to achieve their ideological and political targets. Their projection of separatist claims in association with terrorist groups threatens not only the territorial control of the home state but also the security and immigration policies of the host state. Linked to these scopes, pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) diaspora in Canada serving as a case study in this paper to illustrate the dissemination of its separatist ideologies. In addition, this paper also analyses the current rhetoric of the Tamil diaspora for ‘federalism’ that has …

Historicising Domestic Terrorism And Boko Haram Insurgency In The North East, Nigeria: Issues And Trends, Adesola Sa Adesote, Adekunle Sunday Akande, John Ojo Abimbola

Journal of Terrorism Studies

Since the return to civil rule in 1999, Nigeria has been battling with series of violent agitations from various geo-political zones in the country. These violent agitations which have taken terror dimensions have contributed to national security threat. Terrorists’ attacks have resulted in the killings of hundreds of people and wanton destruction of property that worth billions of naira through bombings. The major thrust of this paper is to investigate the challenge of domestic terrorism with major emphasis on the activities of the dreaded militant Islamic sect, popularly known as Boko Haram since 2009. The paper argues that most of …

Emerging Technologies And Terrorism: An American Perspective

Monographs, Collaborative Studies, & IRPs

In a world where technology is rapidly advancing and available to the masses, companies and policymakers face a daunting reality—non-state actors are using innovation for sinister purposes. While artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous systems promise enhanced threat detection, terrorist groups are exploiting these tools for recruitment and attacks. The future is concerning as AI becomes more widespread and autonomous systems and augmented reality redefine society.

A groundbreaking report is born from a collaboration between NATO COE-DAT and the US Army War College Strategic Studies Institute. This book unveils a grim forecast that terrorists are poised to exploit advances in artificial …

Guns, Bombs, And Pollution: Unraveling The Nexus Between Warfare, Terrorism, And Ecological Devastation In Iraq, Hogr Tarkhani

The Journal of Social Encounters

Iraq's environment has experienced significant pollution and degradation, earning it the dubious distinction of being one of the most polluted and degraded regions globally, according to the Globe Pollution Review. The past three decades of armed conflict have exacted a heavy toll on the country, resulting in widespread human suffering, including countless fatalities, injuries, and a massive displacement of people. Amidst this death and destruction, the ecosystem has also endured severe damage, and its decline carries long-lasting implications.

The environmental crisis in Iraq has been worsened by the presence of extremist groups such as the Islamic State (ISIS) and various …

Ideological Parameters For Deradicalization Programs To Measure Changes In Terrorist Ideology In Indonesia, Yudi Zulfahri, Aldi Nur Fadil Auliya

Journal of Terrorism Studies

The paper analyzes the inefficiency of the Deradicalization strategy implemented by The National Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT), causing the issue of recidivist terrorism in Indonesia. Although the occurrence of recidivism is common in various crimes, it poses unique challenges in terrorism cases, given that the government has allocated a specific budget and established a special agency, BNPT, to tackle terrorism-related issues. The high recidivism rate in terrorism cases has prompted public concern and criticism regarding the effectiveness of Deradicalization programs. Despite the ongoing debate, this paper argues that the success or failure of Deradicalization programs cannot be measured simply by …

Coverage Of Kidnapping In North-West Nigeria:An Analysis Of Daily Trust And The Guardian Newspapers, Amina Salisu Mohammed

Journal of Terrorism Studies

The study examined the coverage of kidnapping in North-West Nigeria by looking at the extent of coverage, prominence and major sources of news found in the stories in Daily Trust and The Guardian newspapers for the period of two years using content analysis research design. The findings indicated little attention to the interpretative role of the mass media, low prominence and too much reliance on Government/official news sources in reporting kidnapping in North-West Nigeria.

Keywords: Kidnapping, Terrorism, Insecurity, Coverage, Armed Banditry

The Unyielding Menace: Investigating The Global Impact Of The Islamic State (Is) And The Rise Of Non-State Actors In Modern Security, Sohail Ahmad, Maria Jawad Khan

CBER Conference

This research paper delves into the profound impact of the Islamic State on global terrorism and security dynamics. By exploring the origins, ideology, organization, recruitment methods, and operational strategies of the Islamic State, this research unravel the intricate web that fuels its rise. Through a case study approach, the research sheds light on the global reach of the Islamic State, its vast networks, and the powerful motivations behind its actions.

2023 Annual Estimate Of The Strategic Security Environment, Usawc Ssi

Monographs, Collaborative Studies, & IRPs

The Annual Estimate of the Strategic Security Environment serves as a guide for academics and practitioners in the defense community on the current challenges and opportunities in the strategic environment. This year’s publication outlines key strategic issues across the four broad themes of Regional Challenges and Opportunities, Domestic Challenges, Institutional Challenges, and Domains Impacting US Strategic Advantage. These themes represent a wide range of topics affecting national security and provide a global assessment of the strategic environment to help focus the defense community on research and publication. Strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China and the implications of …

Migration And Terrorism In Europe: A Nexus Of Two Crises, Shreya Sinha

International Journal on Responsibility

The migration surge into the borders of the European Union has become a major problem in Europe as it has led to several challenges to societal integration and political legitimacy. It is also a danger to cultural identity, domestic and labour market stability as well as internal security, such that a migrant is often perceived as a threat to European society. The first part of the paper attempts to throw light on this migration-security nexus in Europe and how migration has developed into a security issue. The second part discusses how the two crises of migration and terrorism have come …

Terrorism And Growth: Evidence From India And Egypt, Nibal Ezz Eldin Attia Nibal, Ahmed Sabry Abou Zaid

Future Journal of Social Science

The impact of terrorism is different in developed and developing countries, according to many economists. But what leads to variation in the consequences of terrorism among two developing countries? This paper takes into account two developing countries from two different continents and quantifies the impact of terrorism on GDP per capita. The data is extracted and arranged from the Global Terrorism Index (Humanity, n.d.) for India and Egypt from the years 1975-2018 and 1977-2018, respectively. A set of statistical analyses using the OLS and Newey-West method is used to examine the relationship between the variables. For India, an act of …

Why Islamism Failed In Syria, Ararat Kostanian

Journal of Terrorism Studies

The Arab Spring has not fulfilled the desires of millions of demonstrators in Middle East. The desires to see the expanded role of the civil society has been muted by the Islamists and particularly by the Muslim Brotherhood. The Article puts the focus on the failure of Islamism in Syria during the uprising for several reasons, such as the inability of the Muslim Brotherhood to shape a new leadership, and its rejectionist agenda that had nurtured skepticism by the opposition factions. Furthermore, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood had been unable to change its political motivation and kept insisted on shifting the …

The Path Of Securitization: Transformation Of Free Papua Movement (Opm) Terminology From Armed Criminal Groups To Separatist And Terrorist Groups, I Putu Hadi Pradnyana

Journal of Terrorism Studies

The purpose of this study is to analyze the pattern of securitization in Papua using the speech act framework. Regarding the response to the change in status or terminology of the Free Papua Movement or Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM) to the Separatist Terrorist Group. The Securitization Theory of the Copenhagen School defines security as a social construction and process, not as an objective condition. This contrasts with the traditional security studies approach which defines security in terms of the threat, use, and control of military force by state actors. This research will focus on the pattern of securitization of the …

The Us War In Afghanistan And The War Powers Act: A Natural Experiment, Burrell Fletcher V

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

How Can the War Powers Act of 1972 be Reformed to Increase the Chances of Winning Wars?

This paper examines the effects of the War Powers Act of 1973’s Authorisation for Use of Military Force (AUMF) system on the conduct of war, especially regarding the ongoing War on Terror. The War on Terror, began in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks when President Bush invaded Afghanistan. Congress, using the War Powers Act, passed the 2001 AUMF in the weeks after the attacks. The 2001 AUMF has been used in twenty-two countries to justify anti-terror operations thus far (Savell, …

A Conceptual Frame For Us Counterterrorism Policy: Examining The Effectiveness Against Al Qaeda And Its Associates Prior To 9/11, "Tod" Thomas Patrick Brown

Publications

The United States (US) has been engaged in a “war on terrorism” to “defeat” al Qaeda since 2001. This study presented and tested an over-arching conceptual framework for US Counterterrorism (CT) policy. The conceptual frame was tested using qualitative thematic analysis of archival records from the Reagan through Clinton era. The research also used a case study of al Qaeda as the context to bound the selected records for the study. This new conceptual frame was used to evaluate the success, failure, and effects of US CT policy activities related to al Qaeda, using the records identified for the study. …

A Conceptual Frame For Us Counterterrorism Policy: Examining The Effectiveness Against Al Qaeda And Its Associates Prior To 9/11, "Tod" Thomas Patrick Brown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The United States (US) has been engaged in a “war on terrorism” to “defeat” al Qaeda since 2001. This study presented and tested an over-arching conceptual framework for US Counterterrorism (CT) policy. The conceptual frame was tested using qualitative thematic analysis of archival records from the Reagan through Clinton era. The research also used a case study of al Qaeda as the context to bound the selected records for the study. This new conceptual frame was used to evaluate the success, failure, and effects of US CT policy activities related to al Qaeda, using the records identified for the study. …

Where The Border Ends: How Reactive Policies To Terrorism Became Conduits For Drone Technology And The Enclosure Of Wealthy Nations, Arron Mitchell

PPPA Paper Prize

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (1996) and the USA PATRIOT Act (2001) are two key examples of reactive policies enacted in response to terrorist attacks on American soil. Expedited passage of both pieces of legislation were reliant on the public’s support for government action in wake of recent atrocities. These acts gave particular attention to securing the nation’s borders, directing an increase in funding for Border Patrol in order to prevent future terrorist attacks. This essay will connect the increased funding for border security directed by Congress with the defense industry’s pursuit of funding and outlets for drone …

Extremism In America: Explaining Variations In Ideologically Motivated Fatal Violence, Celinet Duran

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation uses data from the United States Extremist Crime Database (ECDB) to assess the nature of extremist violence between left-wing, far-right and al-Qaeda and associated movements (AQAM) inspired ideological fatal violence. It extends the empirical literature on extremist violence in three significant ways by: (1) expanding an existing database to provide a comparative component that is both timely and policy-relevant and conveys a more complete picture of the nature of domestic extremism in the U.S.; (2) systematically comparing extremist violence across the left-wing, far-right and AQAM ideologies to better assess the nuances of extremist violence; and (3) applying empirical …

Racialization And International Security, Richard W. Maass

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

Racialization—the processes that infuse social and political phenomena with racial identities and implications—is an assertion of power, a claim of purportedly inherent differences that has saturated modern diplomacy, order, and violence. Despite the field's consistent interest in power, international security studies in the United States largely omitted racial dynamics from decades of debates about international conflict and cooperation, nuclear proliferation, power transitions, unipolarity, civil wars, terrorism, international order, grand strategy, and other subjects. A new framework lays conceptual bedrock, links relevant literatures to major research agendas in international security, cultivates interdisciplinary dialogues, and charts promising paths to consider how overt …

Changing Tides: Online Conspiracy Theory Use By Radical Violent Extremist Groups Over Time, William J. Eames Iii

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Radical violent extremist terrorism is a global issue that has existed for centuries and has been the cause of millions of deaths. Extremist organizations have learned to adapt and survive attempts at legal/military interdictions. One possible major element that allows for the survival of these radicalized organizations is the use of conspiracy theories within their online messages that are used to radicalize and recruit members to their cause. These conspiracy theories tend to elicit two types of messages: a quest for significance or a loss of significance. This study aims to observe how extremist organizations utilize conspiracy theories in their …

A Hollow Victory And Unending Problem: The Undying Anti-Russian Insurgency In Ukraine, Abraham Ashley

MSU Graduate Theses

This thesis uses quantitative and qualitative research methods to: (1) explore the base causes of insurgency in Ukraine, (2) examine the historical basis for Ukrainian insurgency, (3) provide historical examples of successful and unsuccessful insurgencies to contrast against Ukraine, and (4) provide recommendations for NATO and Ukrainian policy. Collectively, this project demonstrates that current Russian counterinsurgency tactics will not be successful without significant adjustment. This Ukrainian insurgency may also derail the possibility of peace in the region.

Surfing The Kali Yuga: Tracking The Alt-Right On Twitter, Jaida Hodge-Adams

Honors Projects

The alt-right is a hyper-extreme, decentralized network of far-right pundits and their doggish supporters that exists almost entirely online. Consumed by conspiracy and identity, the myths of bigoted ideologies like racism, antisemitism, and transphobia are taken for granted, and their ideology calls for violent ends by violent means. In the physical world, members of the alt-right often keep their rhetoric to themselves; Online, however, they find solace in a vast, international network of websites and forums that together form one giant echo chamber into which they can dump their darkest thoughts. Though any individual member of the alt-right may operate …

Countering Terrorism On Tomorrow’S Battlefield: Critical Infrastructure Security And Resiliency (Nato Coe-Dat Handbook 2), Sarah J. Lohmann, Lucas M. Cox, Denise Feldner, Trevor P. Helmy, Frank J. Kuzminski, Marcus Mohlin, Aleksander Olech, Wuraola Oyewusi, Gabriel T. Raicu, Silke Ruhl, Sabrina Schulz, Máté Tóth, Megan A. Ward

Monographs, Collaborative Studies, & IRPs

Every day, malicious actors target emerging technologies and medical resilience or seek to wreak havoc in the wake of disasters brought on by climate change, energy insecurity, and supply-chain disruptions. Countering Terrorism on Tomorrow’s Battlefield is a handbook on how to strengthen critical infrastructure resilience in an era of emerging threats. The counterterrorism research produced for this volume is in alignment with NATO’s Warfighting Capstone Concept, which details how NATO Allies can transform and maintain their advantage despite new threats for the next two decades. The topics are rooted in NATO’s Seven Baseline requirements, which set the standard for enhancing …

Exploring Change And Stability In Counterterrorism Policy, Prosecution, And Sentencing Of Terrorists In America Over The Last Three Decades In The United States, Georgianna Grace Bettis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effects of legislation changes on how terrorists are adjudicated in American federal courts. The overarching question is: how have prosecutorial and sentencing outcomes changed in response to homeland security policy shifts over the last few decades? The project examines the impact of policy on changes to terrorists’ sentencing in three time periods, marked by three major events: The 1993 World Trade Center Attack, the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing, and the attack on the Twin Towers (9/11/2001). In addition to terrorists’ demographic and background attributes (i.e., gender, age, terrorism category), the …

The Levels And Discrepancies Of America’S Fear Of Terrorism, Kate Lindfors

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Within the United States, individuals do not appear to possess an accurate understanding of terrorism and the threat it may pose to Americans. This not only creates inaccurate perceptions of the actual risk levels associated with terrorism in the U.S. but a misunderstanding of the potential sources of terrorist threats and the impact they could have on the country. In this paper, I will examine this misunderstanding of contemporary terrorism, particularly in relation to America’s inflated sense of fear and general misplacement of the threat. In order to examine this topic, I have used the Chapman University Survey on American …

Bureaucratic Resistance And The Challenge Of Implementing Asean Our Eyes: Case Study Of Jolo Church Bombing 2019, Chaula Rininta Anindya

Global: Jurnal Politik Internasional

Arus Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTF) memicu kekhawatiran dunia, termasuk negara-negara di Asia Tenggara. Pada tahun 2017, Indonesia mengajukan inisiatif “Our Eyes” untuk menciptakan sebuah wadah bagi negara-negara ASEAN untuk bertukar informasi intelijen guna memberantas kegiatan terorisme transnasional. Inisiatif tersebut kemudian diubah menjadi “ASEAN Our Eyes” (AOE). Tetapi, beberapa tahun setelah dibentuknya inisiatif tersebut, terjadi peristiwa pengeboman gereja di Jolo, Filipina. Inisiden tersebut menunjukkan hambatan untuk mengimplementasikan inisiatif AOE. Pelaku diidentifikasi sebagai Warga Negara Indonesia yang berhasil masuk ke Filipina berkat bantuan jaringan teroris lokal di Filipina. Idealnya, inisiatif AOE dapat mencegah serangan tersebut. Artikel ini akan mendiskusikan dinamika domestik di …

Understanding Terrorism: An Alternative View And The Painful Truth: How Powerful Nations Legitimize Terrorism, Kwame B. Antwi-Boasiako, Cindy P. Davis

Journal of Terrorism Studies

Despite human beings’ noble achievements on this planet including medicine, technology, physics, and chemistry, there is one characteristic of humans, which is disturbing and that act is “committing extreme cruelty and violence against its own species” (Smith 2007:41). This cruelty by human beings against themselves stems from many factors including power, ideology, religion, and terrorism. These categorizations, as Smith (2011) noted, are unfortunately used to dehumanize the other through societal definitions where one group, the powerful, sees itself as the paragons of civilization against the other, the weak, as barbarians. Terrorism, racism, ideology, and religion are but some of the …

Terrorism Violence: Assessing The Impact Of Education Programs Through Mass Media On The Adoption Of Security Measures In Burkina Faso, Marie Madeleine Ouoba, Emmanuel Lompo

Journal of Terrorism Studies

This paper investigates the impact of mass media education programs (MEP) on the adoption of security measures in the context of terrorism in Burkina Faso. We collected information using questionnaires and key informant interviews in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The results suggest that individuals who were educated on terrorism through MEP display higher intentions to adopt security measures and tend to have positive attitudes toward the role of media in fighting terrorism violence.

Developing An Equilibrium Of Protection Of The Right To Privacy And National Security In Terrorism Eradication In Indonesia, Wahyudi Djafar, Muhamad Syauqillah

Journal of Terrorism Studies

Tension between privacy and security is nothing new, however due to the development of information and communication technology use as well as more intensive efforts of terrorism eradication have affected to the increasing level of the conflict. The need for national security is often similar to the situation of state of emergency, which enables the state to conduct several limitations to the implementation of right to privacy. Many states use the said justification and further position the element of national security to be in the superior position compared to the protection of civil liberties, including right to privacy. As …