Terrorism

The Political Economy of Plunder: Economic Opportunity and Modern Piracy

by Ryan Jablonski

Maritime piracy is a growing scourge on the international community—imposing large costs on maritime states and... more Maritime piracy is a growing scourge on the international community—imposing large costs on maritime states and industries, as well as potentially undermining state capacity and funding terrorism. Using original data on over three thousand pirate attacks, we argue that these attacks are, in part, a response to poor labor market opportunities. To establish this, we take advantage of the strong effect of commodity prices on labor market opportunities in piracy-prone states. Consistent with our theory, we show that changes in the price of labor and capital-intensive commodities have consistent and strong effects on the number of pirate attacks in a country’s territorial waters each month. We confirm these results by instrumenting for commodity prices using monthly precipitation levels.

El antiterrorismo como paradigma de desaliento de la participación ciudadana

by Matias Bailone

Justifying Terrorism

by Thom Brooks

Public Affairs Quarterly 24(3) (2010): 189-95

Virginia Held's recent How Terrorism Is Wrong offers us any number of important contributions to how we think about... more Virginia Held's recent How Terrorism Is Wrong offers us any number of important contributions to how we think about terrorist violence. My discussion will focus on only one of these contributions, namely, how terrorism may be justified. This justification rests upon a group being denied a voice. Thus, terrorism may become justified where this demand to be heard is denied, coupled with the corollary that all nonviolent options have been exhausted. I will argue that we should require a more narrow justification of terrorism. This is because I believe Held's understanding may be open to abuses that we should close off. I will begin by looking at how she defines terrorism. I will next turn to how terrorism may be justified on her account before arguing that a more narrow justification is required and what this might look like.

Protecting Critical Infrastructure against Intentional Attack- A Two-Stage Game with Incomplete Information

by Chi Zhang

IIE Transactions (under second revision with conditional acceptance)

It is now paramount to protect critical infrastructures because of their significance for the economic development and... more It is now paramount to protect critical infrastructures because of their significance for the economic development and the social well-being of modern societies. One of the main threats to these networked systems is from intentional attackers, who are resourceful and inventive in selecting time, target and means of attack. Thus, attackers’ intelligence should be considered when developing intelligent and cost-effective protection strategies. In this research, critical infrastructures are modeled as network and the development of network protection strategies is modeled as a two-stage game between a protector and an attacker with incomplete information. Due to the complexity of critical infrastructures, there are usually a large number of combinations of potential protection and attack strategies leading to a computational challenge in finding the Pareto equilibrium solutions for the proposed game. To meet this challenge, this research develops an evolutionary algorithm to solve the proposed a transformation of the game into a multi-objective optimization model.

Terrorism, Security, and Liberty

by Eilidh Douglas

Selbstmordattentate im Nahost-Konflikt und deren Auswirkung auf die Zivilbevölkerung.

by Robert Friebe

Bachelor thesis

Examining the Underlying Conditions Presdisposing Societies to Terrorism

by Patrick Little

Thesis written for requirements of Global Security Studies M.A. Program at Johns Hopkins University.

Abstract

This paper attempts to examine the underlying conditions which predispose societies to terrorism.... more Abstract

This paper attempts to examine the underlying conditions which predispose societies to terrorism. The paper will specifically focus within three different regions to provide balance to the discussion. These areas are Western Europe in Northern Ireland, Northern Africa and the Middle East in Algeria and Eastern Europe in the North Caucus within the territory designated as Chechnya.

Each chapter of this thesis presents a different case study of the history of a terrorist group and its country of origin. After setting historical foundations, the chapters then analyze these accounts in relation to modern theories of terrorism.

The thesis tests theories of terrorism which are based on the arguments derived from five working groups on the topic at the March 2005, Madrid Summit. The groups included the top experts from around the world who are knowledgeable on the categories of terrorism resulting from cultural, economic, political, psychological and religious (or ideological) factors. The case study used the working groups to test the arguments that have been developed by theorists within these categories in order to help bring further understanding to the topic of terrorism.

This thesis also tested the hypothesis that claims that multiple combinations of underlying conditions within society blend together to predispose societies to the use of terrorism. In spite of the fact that the combinations of factors varied in importance from case to case, the thesis found that all of the potential underlying conditions which predispose some societies to terrorism mentioned at the Madrid Summit are confirmed in the case studies presented.

The thesis shows that the most comprehensive explanations for predisposition of terrorism come from a combination of multiple underlying conditions with varying degrees depending on which society is targeted.

Thesis Advisors: Dr. Ken Masugi, Dr. Mark Stout, Dr. Ariel Roth

Cyber-laundering - How can we combat money laundering over the internet?

by Kilian Strauss

The internet increasingly becomes the ideal tool for money launderers. How can we prevent and combat cyber laundering?

This paper will explain:
- What is money laundering?
- International efforts to combat money laundering... more This paper will explain:
- What is money laundering?
- International efforts to combat money laundering
- A new tool to launder illicit funds
- Typical examples of cyber-laundering
- How to combat cyber-laundering?
- The 4-I approach

Cyber-laundering - How can we combat money laundering over the internet?

by Kilian Strauss

The internet increasingly becomes the ideal tool for money launderers. How can we prevent and combat cyber laundering?

This paper will explain:
- What is money laundering?
- International efforts to combat money laundering... more This paper will explain:
- What is money laundering?
- International efforts to combat money laundering
- A new tool to launder illicit funds
- Typical examples of cyber-laundering
- How to combat cyber-laundering?
- The 4-I approach

Globalisation of Violence: The Death Game of New Imperialism

by barış çoban

“Globalisation of Violence: The Death Game of New Imperialism”. Critique, The Journal of Socialist Theory, Routledge. Vol. 38, 309-320 (2010).

Future of Naxalism: India needs to stay alert

by Bibhu Prasad Routray

Published in New Indian Express, 12 February 2012

The recent assessment by author Jan Myrdal that the Left-Wing extremist (Naxalite) movement in India is headed... more The recent assessment by author Jan Myrdal that the Left-Wing extremist (Naxalite) movement in India is headed nowhere, is bound to come as a shot-in-the-arm for the Indian state. Coming from a man who has observed the movement from close quarters for a long time, and who is also known to be in close contact with several senior Naxalite leaders including its elusive general secretary Ganapathy, the assessment is as realistic as it can get. However, the fact remains that it is not ideology, but the potential to carry out violence, which sustains the movement and will do so for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, the state approach towards the threat must be predominantly oriented towards meeting the firepower of the extremists.

Why is US defence spending still at Cold War levels despite the dissolution of the Soviet Union?

by Owais Rajput

The Other Side of COIN: The Combatant/civilian Distinction, Terrorism and the Structure of War Law

by Heidi Matthews

AGGRESSION AS “ORGANIZED HYPOCRISY?” – HOW THE WAR ON TERRORISM AND HYBRID THREATS CHALLENGE THE NUREMBERG LEGACY

by Sascha-Dominik Bachmann

FINAL PUBLICATION IN APRIL 2012 - WORKING COPY on SSRN
(2012) 30 Windsor Y B Access Just

Modern threats to international peace and security from so called, “hybrid threats,” such as cyber war, low intensity... more Modern threats to international peace and security from so called, “hybrid threats,” such as cyber war, low intensity asymmetric conflict scenarios, global terrorism, etc., which involve a diverse and broad community of affected stakeholders involving both regional and international organisations/structures, also pose further questions for the existing legacy of Nuremberg. The (perhaps unsettling) question arises of whether our present concept of, “war and peace," with its legal pillars of the United Nations Charter’s Articles 2(4), 51, and the notion of the criminality of waging aggressive war based on the, “legacy,” of Nuremberg has not become outdated to respond to new threats arising in the 21st century. This article also serves to warn that one should not use the definition of aggression, adopted at the ICC Review Conference in Kampala in 2010, to repeat the most fundamental flaw of Nuremberg: Ex post facto criminalisation of the (unlawful) use of force. A proper understanding of the, “legacy of Nuremberg,” and a cautious reading of the text of the ICC definition of aggression provide some markers for purposes of the debate on the impact of new threats to peace and security and the use of force in international law and politics.

An Opinion About Sect (The Sect of Revolutionaries, the Conspiracy Theories and “Bad Conscience”)

by Christos Iliopoulos

published (in Greek) in Epsilon Magazine - Eleftherotipia Newspaper, 14-15/08/2010

Humanitarian engagement under counterterrorism: a conflict of norms and the emerging policy landscape

by Dustin A. Lewis

Co-authors: Naz K. Modirzadeh, Dustin A. Lewis, and Claude Bruderlein, International Review of the Red Cross, Volume 93, Number 883, September 2011

This article identifies two countervailing sets of norms — one promoting humanitarian engagement with non-state armed... more This article identifies two countervailing sets of norms — one promoting humanitarian engagement with non-state armed groups (NSAGs) in armed conflict in order to protect populations in need, and the other prohibiting such engagement with listed ‘terrorist’ groups in order to protect security — and discusses how this conflict of norms might affect the capacity of humanitarian organizations to deliver life-saving assistance in areas under the control of one of these groups. Rooted in international humanitarian law (IHL), the first set of norms provides a basis for humanitarian engagement with NSAGs in non-international armed conflict for the purpose of assisting populations under their control and promoting compliance with the rules of IHL. The second set of rules attempts to curtail financial and other forms of material support, including technical training and co-ordination, to listed ‘terrorist’ organizations, some of which may qualify as NSAGs under IHL. The article highlights counterterrorism regulations developed by the United States and the United Nations Security Council, though other states and multilateral bodies have similar regulations. The article concludes by sketching ways in which humanitarian organizations might respond to the identified tensions.

Il fumo delle barricate: la memoria dell’agosto 1922 nei fumetti

by Juri Meda

Published in: William Gambetta & Massimo Giuffredi (eds.), Memorie d’agosto: letture delle Barricate antifasciste di Parma del 1922, Milano, Edizioni Punto Rosso, 2007, pp. 217-239.

HYBRID THREATS, CYBER WARFARE AND NATO’S COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH FOR COUNTERING 21st CENTURY THREATS – MAPPING THE NEW FRONTIER OF GLOBAL RISK AND SECURITY MANAGEMENT

by Sascha-Dominik Bachmann

published in Amicus Curiae 88

Abstract:
The end of the so-called "Cold War" has seen a change in the nature of present threats and... more Abstract:
The end of the so-called "Cold War" has seen a change in the nature of present threats and with it to the overall role and mission of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact in 1991 also removed the original raison d’etre of the Alliance: the prospect of having to repel a Soviet led attack by the Warsaw Pact on the West.

Multimodal, low intensity, kinetic as well as non-kinetic threats to international peace and security including cyber war, low intensity asymmetric conflict scenarios, global terrorism, piracy, transnational organized crime, demographic challenges, resources security, retrenchment from globalization and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction were identified by NATO as so called "Hybrid Threats" (cf BI-SC Input for a New NATO Capstone Concept for The Military Contribution to Countering Hybrid Enclosure 1 to 1500/CPPCAM/FCR/10-270038 and 5000 FXX/0100/TT-0651/SER: NU0040, dated 25 August 2010).

Having identified this kind of emerging threat, NATO is working on a comprehensive conceptual framework, (the Capstone Concept) which provides the framework for identifying and discussing such threats and possible multi-stakeholder responses. In essence, Hybrid Threats faced by NATO and its non-military partners require a comprehensive approach allowing a wide spectrum of responses, kinetic and non-kinetic by military and non-military actors (see "Updated List of Tasks for the Implementation of the Comprehensive Approach Action Plan and the Lisbon Summit Decisions on the Comprehensive Approach," dated 4 March 2011, p 1-10, paragraph 1).

This short article introduces the reader to a new form of global threat scenario and the possibilities of response and deterrence within their wider legal and political context.

'Law, Terrorism and the Right to Know Response to Government Green Paper on Justice and Security', 6 Jan 2012, McNamara, L. & S. McIntosh

by Sam McIntosh

Settlers Attacks; Where to Draw the Line of Terrorism?

by Geneviève Boucher Boudreau