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This book contextualizes the use of terror as part of wider movements of political contention, demonstrating that terroristic innovation occurs as part of wider historical processes rather than in a vacuum. Drawing on evolutionary theory, this study explains how terroristic groups innovate upon, transform, and abandon techniques of political violence in order to advance their causes against the state. The book further traces the processes through which the use of aircraft as weapons of destruction developed, from the first instances of aircraft hijacking in 1930s Peru, through Palestinian terrorism in the 1960s and 1970s, up to its adoption by al-Qaeda in the 1990s and leading to the 9/11 attack in 2001. This examination provides an essential focus on the techniques through which terror is achieved, offering a novel understanding of the mechanisms of political violence and the implications of counterterrorism on the evolution of terrorism
Some of the world's most lethal terrorist organizations have become media-centric enterprises, while also hijacking a major world religion, holding large swathes of physical territory, and governing their own virtual states. In this concise and penetrating book, Seib traces how terrorism has proliferated and increased significantly in menace in the relatively brief period between the rise of al-Qaeda and the creation of Islamic State. With close attention to the linkages between media, religion, and violence, the book offers incisive analysis of how organizations such as Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram operate and reflects on how terrorism may continue to evolve. Seib argues that twenty-first-century terrorism is enabled by new media and depends on social networks as connective tissue, while interacting simultaneously with religion and socio-economic and political grievances. As Terrorism Evolves prescribes new measures for counterterrorism efforts, underscores the importance of soft power, and makes a strong case for recognizing that we have entered an era of terrorism of undetermined duration.
State responses to terrorism have shaped politics and society globally. But how far, and in what precise ways, has counter-terrorism actually succeeded? Based on the author's experience of studying terrorism and counter-terrorism for over three decades, Does Counter-Terrorism Work? offers an historically-grounded, systematic, and expert interrogation of the effectiveness of state responses to terrorist violence. Previous analyses have too often tended to be polarized, simplistic, and short-termist; they have also lacked a comprehensive framework against which properly to assess the (in)efficacy of counter-terrorist efforts over time. Richard English's pioneering book carefully defines what effective counter-terrorism would involve, and then tests that layered framework through cross-case, balanced, historically-focused comparison of important counter-terrorist campaigns. Drawing on a vast range of source material, Does Counter-Terrorism Work? assesses in detail the strategic, tactical, and personal or political achievements and failures evident this blood-stained field of work. The book is intended to stimulate debate and reflection among scholars, students, practitioners, and the wider public. Every one of us is daily affected by the choices made in counter-terrorist politics and policy. This deeply original book helps us to understand how society and politics have been shaped by such decisions in the past, and prepares us to respond more effectively in the future to one of the world's most important challenges.
The Terrorism Futures: Evolving Technology and TTPs Use pocketbook is derived from a series of nine essays written by the author between December 2014 and June 2017 for TRENDS Research & Advisory, Abu Dhabi, UAE. With subsequent organizational and website changes at TRENDS a majority of these essays are no longer accessible via the present iteration of the entity’s website. In order to preserve this collection of forward-thinking counterterrorism writings, the author has elected to publish them as a C/O Futures pocketbook with the inclusion of new front and back essays and a foreword by Rohan Gunaratna. Technologies and TTPs analyzed include virtual martyrdom, IED drones, disruptive targeting, fifth dimensional battlespace, close to the body bombs, body cavity bombs, counter-optical lasers, homemade firearms, printed firearms, remote controlled firearms, social media bots, AI text generators, AVBIEDs, and FPS/live streaming attacks.
Although the United States has prioritized its fight against militant groups for two decades, the transnational jihadist movement has proved surprisingly resilient and adaptable. Many analysts and practitioners have underestimated these militant organizations, viewing them as unsophisticated or unchanging despite the ongoing evolution of their tactics and strategies. In Enemies Near and Far, two internationally recognized experts use newly available documents from al-Qaeda and ISIS to explain how jihadist groups think, grow, and adapt. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Thomas Joscelyn recast militant groups as learning organizations, detailing their embrace of strategic, tactical, and technological innovation. Drawing on theories of organizational learning, they provide a sweeping account of these groups’ experimentation over time. Gartenstein-Ross and Joscelyn shed light on militant groups’ most effective strategic and tactical moves, including attacks targeting aircraft and the use of the internet to inspire and direct lone attackers, and they examine jihadists’ ability to shift their strategy based on political context. While militant groups’ initial efforts to upgrade their capabilities often fail, these attempts should generally be understood not as failures but as experiments in service of a learning process—a process that continues until these groups achieve a breakthrough. Providing unprecedented historical and strategic perspective on how jihadist groups learn and evolve, Enemies Near and Far also explores how to anticipate future threats, analyzing how militants are likely to deploy a range of emerging technologies.
This book explores the evolutionary context of terrorism and political violence. While evolutionary thinking has come to permeate both biological and social-science theorising, it has not yet been applied systematically to the areas of terrorism and political violence. This volume seeks to do this for the first time. It presents a collection of essays on evolutionary psychology and terrorism, which encourage the reader to approach terrorism from a non-traditional perspective, by developing new approaches to understanding it and those who commit such acts of violence. The book identifies evolutionary thought as heuristically important in the understanding of terrorism, explores the key conceptual themes, and provides an evolutionary (and cross-species) understanding of the community-wide effects of terrorist attacks. The contributors bring forward innovative ideas and concepts to assist the practitioner, analyst and academic to better understand and respond to the threat of terrorism. In doing so this book challenges existing assumptions about terrorism and those who carry out such acts, in order to move the debate into new areas characterized by an emphasis on intellectual quality and rigour, an interdisciplinary approach, and a drawing together of theory and practice. The intention is to provide a sufficient discussion to enable the reader to both understand the relevance of evolutionary thinking to terrorism and political violence, and to appreciate the practical implications of conceptualising problems in this way. This book will be of much interest to students of terrorism and political violence, psychology, criminology and security studies.
This book investigates how the breakdown of the family and the conventional gendering of roles gives rise to terrorist violence as portrayed in various African Anglophone narratives written by internationally renowned authors including Chinua Achebe, Doris Lessing, J.M. Coetzee and the award-winning contemporary Moroccan author Laila Lalami. It proves that the indispensable relationship between an eroding family structure and terror is not only an observation found in African Anglophone narratives, but, rather, that this relationship can help us to better comprehend terror as a globalized phenomenon in the twenty-first century. Both the novels and the real-life cases of various terrorist figures such as Osama bin Laden and Mohamed Morsi seemingly suggest a linkage between an alternative family institution in the form of fundamentalist religious sects and terror. Referencing paratexts in fiction and biography, the book adopts a ground-breaking approach to juxtapose the portrayal of fictional characters to the life story of Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani student who has resisted Taliban rule in Afghanistan at great personal risk. When viewed together, these paratexts capably represent a viable afterlife of ideology and narrative to the colonial legacy of terror, and the reinvention of that legacy as a tradition of contemporary fundamentalism in response to the failure of states to protect the family.
This book introduces you to the key issues in contemporary studies on Terrorism. Its interdisciplinary approach provides a unique intellectual rigour which introduces readers to cutting-edge research. Bringing together chapters contributed by members of the Terrorism and Political Violence Association network, it offers an insight into a variety of traditional and critical perspectives. It also equips Undergraduate and Postgraduate students with the study skills needed to succeed in coursework and assignments, especially dissertation work. Drawing on the expertise of TAPVA members, this book: Explores contemporary issues, such as drone warfare, state violence, children and political violence, cyber-terrorism and de-radicalisation. Features case studies drawn from a range of international examples, lists of further reading, key concepts and questions for use in seminars and private study. Provides you with study skills content designed to help you complete your dissertation. This is the perfect textbook to guide you through your studies in terrorism, political violence, international security and strategic studies.
Although the literature on terrorism is vast, there are many holes in it. This book helps to fill these lacunae with entries from top terrorism scholars and counterterrorism practitioners in the world. Grouped thematically by terrorist actors, conflict zones, major attacks, terrorist behaviors, militant group dynamics, terrorist consequences, and counterterrorism approaches, the entries cover a range of topics fundamental to understanding the contemporary terrorism threat and approaches to combating it. Truly global in scope, the book is an ideal reference for anyone interested in these topics from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. Providing incisive analysis on timely topics related to terrorism and counterterrorism, this volume will be essential reading for students, scholars, and practitioners in security studies.