A comprehensive analysis of the rise of Boko Haram from a small religious cult to a major terrorist group, placing them within the context of Nigerian politics and the international War on Terror. In 2009, Nigerian security forces stormed a religious cult by the name of Boko Haram, killing its leader and thousands of followers. Six years later, Boko Haram is an enemy to reckon with, boasting 15,000 members and taking credit for 20,000 deaths. This book looks at the successful rise of this terrorist group, probing the religious and political environment that enabled a relatively small cult to threaten a nation. The study draws on the author's fieldwork in Nigeria, where she had access to officials, activists, psychologists, and military personnel. Written in a clear and accessible manner, it offers a micro-to-macro investigation of the Boko Haram as a phenomenon. It also provides readers with an understanding of the regional dynamics that obstructed political and military cooperation among neighboring countries, enabling Boko Haram's success. This book traces the group's religious origins in the early 2000s and documents its violent political claims in Nigeria and across the border in Northern Cameroon, Niger, and Chad. Finally, it examines the impact of the international War on Terror and presents a comparative study of other contemporary terrorism movements and their networks. Takes a comprehensive approach to the political, historical, social, economic, and international dynamics that enabled the rise and transformation of Boko Haram Draws on field work in Nigeria, including interviews with military representatives, politicians, activists, psychologists, security operatives, and victims of the Boko Haram war Offers a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Nigeria at a crucial point in its history Makes an original contribution to the study of violent non-state actors by examining similarities and differences between Boko Haram and other like-minded terrorist movements

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aThe interpretive frameworkpresented offers students of political violence a highly accessible template from which to study the sociopsychological reasons individuals are drawn into terrorist groups, and how the groups themselves act to reinforce the identities of their members....The authors are to be commended for producing a model with such tremendous analytical clarity and pedagogical utility.a
--"Choice," Highly Recommended

"Arena and Arrigo give us a brilliant glimpse into the 'terrorist' psyche as they detail the creation and maintenance of identity in various terrorist organizations. Their conceptual framework has important implications for law enforcement, public policy makers, and academic researchers engaged in the study of terrorism."
--Lynne Snowden, co-author of "Collective Violence"

"The overall quality of this book is astonishing, the ease of reading and the depth of theoretical knowledge, equally impressive. It is a valuable contribution to the terrorism literature and of such quality that it will be quoted, used, debated, and confronted by researchers for years to come. This book represents a vanguard of sociological thought on this subject and is a much needed voice in the debates on terrorism."
--James David Ballard, author of Terrorism, Media, And Public Policy: The Oklahoma City Bombing

Who would strap a bomb to his chest, walk into a crowded subway station and blow himself up? Only by examining how a terrorist understands his own identity and actions can this question be answered. The authors of The Terrorist Identity explore how the notion of self-concept combined with membership interrorist and extremist groups, can shape and sustain the identity of a terrorist as well as their subsequent justification for violence and the legitimacy of their actions.

The book provides an understanding of identity that draws on concepts from psychology, criminology, and sociology. Notably, the book examines several case studies of various terrorist groups, including: the Provisional Irish Republican Army, Hamas, the Shining Path, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and racist Skinheads. By making the construct of identity central to this analysis The Terrorist Identity explains how violent and extremist collective behavior emerges culturally, how it informs the identity of group members socially, and how participants assume their place in these groups completely even at the expense of life-threatening harm to others or to themselves.

Explores both counter-terrorism and enabling policy dimensions of emerging information technologies in national security

After the September 11th attacks, "connecting the dots" has become the watchword for using information and intelligence to protect the United States from future terrorist attacks. Advanced and emerging information technologies offer key assets in confronting a secretive, asymmetric, and networked enemy. Yet, in a free and open society, policies must ensure that these powerful technologies are used responsibly, and that privacy and civil liberties remain protected.

Emergent Information Technologies and Enabling Policies for Counter-Terrorism provides a unique, integrated treatment of cutting-edge counter-terrorism technologies and their corresponding policy options. Featuring contributions from nationally recognized authorities and experts, this book brings together a diverse knowledge base for those charged with protecting our nation from terrorist attacks while preserving our civil liberties.

Topics covered include: Counter-terrorism modeling Quantitative and computational social science Signal processing and information management techniques Semantic Web and knowledge management technologies Information and intelligence sharing technologies Text/data processing and language translation technologies Social network analysis Legal standards for data mining Potential structures for enabling policies Technical system designto support policy

Countering terrorism in today's world requires innovative technologies and corresponding creative policies; the two cannot be practically and realistically addressed separately. Emergent Information Technologies and Enabling Policies for Counter-Terrorism offers a comprehensive examination of both areas, serving as an essential resource for students, practitioners, researchers, developers, and decision-makers.

"The first in-depth reconstruction of the struggle based on fully original documentation. It is, indeed, a welcome and important book."
--"American Historical Review"

One of the longest-standing and most intractable problems in contemporary international politics, the Cyprus question continues to plague the international community. Isle of Discord sketches the post-war origins of the Cyprus problem from the first drive toward internationalization to the outbreak of armed struggle against the British colonial regime-to show how the potential for a peaceful resolution of the conflict was repeatedly and fatefully squandered.

Strategically located at the hub of three continents, the island of Cyprus has been a bone of contention between Greek and Turkish nationalists-and consequently between U.S., British, and U. N. policymakers. Detailing the central role of the nationalist Enosis movement, of the U.N., and of insidious factionalism in the area, Stefanidis brings new insight to this undertreated period of Cypriot history through U.S., British, and Greek records not before used.

A timely profile of this legacy of modern diplomatic history, Isle of Discord identifies the various forces, competing interests, and partisan pressures that helped shape the Cyprus problem.

"Lebanon" provides a comprehensive history and political analysis of Lebanon from ancient times to present day. It examines the mid-19th century civil war periods in detail and discusses the conflicts in Lebanon during the two world wars, in 1958, in 1975-76, and during the last period of civil strife and foreign invasion from 1978-1990. It examines the last phase of bitter conflict during which a million Lebanese and Palestinians were either killed or injured, much of the countries infrastructure was destroyed and it's great city, Beirut, was reduces to ordinary status.

The study of violent extremism in the wake of ISIS has largely been devoted to the process of radicalization and strategies to counter and de-radicalize extremists. However, little has been written on the subject of Diversion - early, upstream interventions aimed at deflecting individuals from a pathway of radicalization. This volume addresses this gap in scholarship by analysing the Diversion strategies being deployed worldwide, aimed at diverting or deflecting individuals, and communities, from the path of radicalization. These include Diversion methods used among social workers, teachers, counselors and the police both in relation to individuals and communities. Case studies range across the Global North and South, presented by both academic and practitioner contributors, and address different branches of radicalization, the variety of strategies used as Diversion, and the results of these interventions.

This book explores men's attraction to violent extremist movements and terrorism. Drawing on multi-method, interdisciplinary research, this book explores the centrality of masculinity to violent extremist recruitment narratives across the religious and political spectrum. Chapters examine the intersection of masculinity and violent extremism across a spectrum of movements including: the far right, Islamist organizations, male supremacist groups, and the far left. The book identifies key sites and points at which the construction of masculinity intersects with, stands in contrast to and challenges extremist representations of masculinity. It offers an insight into where the potential appeal of extremist narratives can be challenged most effectively and identifies areas for both policy making and future research.

This book offers an in-depth study of personal accounts of men and women who have at one time entered, participated in and ultimately exited the neo-Nazi movement, with a focus on advanced Western states. Through detailed stories of the movement's violence, hatred, and ideology, coupled with narratives of the individuals' life plans and dreams when entering the movement and reintegrating into society, the work provides knowledge, hope and new directions for readers to better understand and react to a reinvigorated extreme right across Western nations. The book provides innovative research on the relationship between the life trajectories of neo-Nazis and their significant others, enabling better and more evidence-based strategies for preventing radicalization and promoting deradicalization. The extensive case studies include the voices of those who returned to the movement, or never left at all, providing a rare opportunity to compare active, former and returned right-wing extremists. The main contribution of the book is to provide an innovative approach to the oral history of young men and women who have participated in different national and local neo-Nazi movements in Western countries, namely Sweden and the United States. In order to understand the current trends within the movement and their relationship to the surrounding society, this shift calls for in-depth analyses based on social-psychological and sociological perspectives. Stressing the importance of having a gender theory, sociocultural, historical and both a national and contextual perspective on the neo-Nazi movement, this book contributes new knowledge to this field of research. This book will be of much interest to students of political extremism, radicalization, terrorism studies and social psychology.

While terrorism is hardly a new phenomenon, terrorism by the state and its opponents reached new levels in the twentieth century. Drawing together veteran experts on terrorism with authorities in Islam, media studies, American history, and social psychology, Dr. Howard presents a volume which lends fresh interpretations to such major issues as the origins, the impact, and the appropriate personal and public responses to terrorism. The volume covers a wide range of relevant topics, from an examination of insurgency, counterinsurgency, and terrorism during the struggle for Mexican independence in the early nineteenth century, to an overview of the difficulties of creating a concerted policy toward terrorism within the European Community, and the possible connections between terrorism and guerrilla warfare in the future. Particular attention has been placed on examining the role of the media and military retaliation in either exacerbating or checking the prevalence of terrorism.

As we come to recognize that the problem of terrorism can not be viewed solely through the lens of military policy, we need to rethink the concepts and assumptions of international security using the additional disciplines of cross-cultural studies, psychology, and history. This collection makes a major contribution by refocusing our thinking, toward an interdisciplinary approach and will be of value to policy makers, as well as those involved with military studies, social psychology, and international relations.

In a tour de force of investigative journalism, White Terror tells for the first time the story of the National Socialist Underground in Germany – in an engrossing global story that examines violence, modern racism and national trauma.

Not long after the Berlin Wall fell, three teenagers became friends in the East German town of Jena. It was a time of excitement, but also of deep uncertainty: some four million East Germans found themselves out of a job. At first the three friends spent their nights wandering the streets, smoking, drinking, looking for trouble. Then they began attending far-right rallies with people who called themselves National Socialists: Nazis. Like the Hitler-led Nazis before them, they blamed minorities for their ills. Believing foreigners were a threat to their homeland, the three friends embarked on the most horrific string of white nationalist killings since the Holocaust. Their target: immigrants.

In a tour de force of investigative journalism and novelistic storytelling, White Terror follows the National Socialist Underground, or NSU, from their radicalisation as young skinheads through their transformation into fully fledged terrorists carrying out bombings and assassinations while living on the run. But it’s also about something almost as terrifying: the German police and intelligence services that missed clues, mishandled far-right informants and repeatedly tried to paint the immigrant victims as mafiosos. Once the terror plot was revealed, the authorities shredded documents to cover up their mistakes and refused to acknowledge that their racism had led them astray.

A masterwork of reporting, White Terror reveals how a group of young Germans carried out a shocking spree of white supremacist violence, and how a nation and its government ignored them until it was too late.

This book brings together several scholars to examine the relationship between guerrilla insurgencies and state building. In essays covering such societies as Mozambique, Algeria, Peru, Malaysia and Sri Lanka the authors show that the rise of guerrilla insurgency can lead states to develop far-reaching programmes of social and economic modernisation or else in some cases to disintegrate from within if the challenge of modernisation proves to be beyond their capacities. The book argues that as the last phase of colonial modernisation of developing states has finished insurgencies increasingly threaten the cohesion of less developed states in a global order in which superpower patronage has largely ended.

*How do you strike the balance in opposing national security to individual liberties and the rule of law, both internationally and domestically? *Beyond an individual liberties perspective, what does this entail in institutional or structural terms? *How does this tie into long-running changes in international law aspects, including legitimacy and the use of armed force? With a renewed emphasis on national and homeland security, the United States is once again seeking to balance the needs of the state with both the rights of its citizens as well as those of other nations. This book represents an interdisciplinary approach to the legal dilemmas borne out by the war on terror-against the specific background of Afghanistan, Iraq, and this new kind of conflict. It is a strong contribution to a broader debate visible since 9/11, which will remain in the public eye for the foreseeable future. It addresses the overlap between religion, ethics, armed conflict, and law, within the context of the current conflict. While many issues in areas such as intelligence, reconciliation of civil liberties, dealing with terrorist threats, and the permissible bounds of interrogation, treatment of prisoners and laws governing armed conflict have long standing precedents under domestic and international law, this war has challenged even long standing legal interpretations. The contributors to this volume explore those precedents and contemporary challenges to them. Now that traditional wars between nation states are no longer the rule, the terrorist threat has gained credence (popularly, terrorism and its claimed breeding ground in failed states), linked in practice to issues of intervention on the territoryof states harboring such groups. In military circles the idea of armed struggle between modern military forces and what were formerly called guerillas has now largely been replaced by asymmetric warfare and the concept of intelligence and preventive action interchangeably within U.S. borders and overseas. Opposing views contemplate that different-and presumably lower-legal standards may apply in internal armed conflicts. Such legal issues are visible under current circumstances of asymmetric warfare in conjunction with questions about prisoner status and detentions, including the permissible bounds of interrogation versus torture following the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq but also the treatment at the Guantanamo Bay facility of alleged Al Q'aeda captives from Afghanistan. All of the contributors in this book explore the changing circumstances against which these contentious new legal issues now unfold. The experts strike no consensus. Indeed, one of the work's many strengths can be attributed to the fact that the many facets of the ongoing debate are represented herein.

This book offers a very interesting deep-dive into EU and South Korean approaches to cybersecurity issues. In a unique approach, the editors and authors focus on the potential for strategic partnership and shared lessons learned given common commitments to democracy, human rights, the free market, and a rules-based international order of the two regions. Essential reading for students and researchers in political science, international relations, international law, strategic and defence studies, computer science, and cognitive science.

Sinn Fein has undergone a startling transformation in the last two-and-a-half decades. Under the leadership of its two principal figures Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness the mainstream party of Irish republicanism has changed beyond almost all recognition. It has moved from the margins of political life, on both sides of the Irish border, to a position where it occupies the Deputy First Minister's chair in Northern Ireland and was viewed, until recently, as the coming force in southern Irish politics. In this book, the contours of Sinn Fein's recent evolution are considered, with particular emphasis on the various strategic objectives that the party has set itself. Sinn Fein's attitude to the Northern Irish peace process is considered at length here and the book challenges the 'conventional wisdom' that would juxtapose republican 'politics' and republican 'war' the notion being that, during the 1990s, republicans exchanged the latter for the former and were, therefore, 'tamed' into becoming a 'normal' political party. The central argument here is that such a view rests on a false dichotomy. It has been said that 'war is merely the continuation of politics'; with respect to Sinn Fein, it is argued, the inverse formulation needs also to be considered, with republican politics seen, by republicans themselves, as an extension of the war. In following through this line of argument, this book attempts to consider republicans on their own terms; to take their thoughts and words 'seriously' and to examine their recent history accordingly.

Opposing the orthodoxies of establishment postcolonialism, Beyond Postcolonial Theory posits acts of resistance and subversion by people of color as central to the unfolding dialogue with Western hegemony. The testimonies and signifying practices of Rigoberta Menchu, C.L.R. James, various "minority" writers in the United States, and intellectuals from Africa, Latin America, and Asia are counterposed against the dogmas of contingency, borderland nomadism, panethnicity, and the ideology of identity politics and transcultural postmodern pastiche. Reappropriating ideas from Gramsci, Bakhtin, Althusser, Freire, and others in the radical democratic tradition, San Juan deploys them to recover the memory of national liberation struggles (Fanon, Cabral, Che Guevara) on the face of the triumphal march of globalized capitalism.

In 1967, Nigeria was plunged into a brutal civil war with secessionist Biafra. The war, which lasted for 30 months and led to the death of over one million ethnic Igbo, has been described as the first genocide in post-colonial Africa. Although much has been written about the Nigeria Civil war, most of what has been written remains the perspectives of the major actors and generals who conducted the war. This book, through careful analysis of the experiences of those who witnessed the war on the Biafra side as well as other primary and archival sources, brings to life the Civil War-time trials and tribulations of ordinary Biafrans. Focusing primarily on the Biafran side of that civil war, the book reexamines the civil war from the perspective of non-military support of the war effort and the lingering human costs of that conflict. It also presents the Biafra experience in the context of issues of genocide, the role of humanitarian and international civil or advocacy groups; International Organizations and conflict resolution; and the impact of the Cold War and resources control (oil) in shaping the contours of the Nigeria-Biafra War. Based on personal experiences of the Biafra-Nigeria War, this book speaks to some elements in the causes of the war, the actual conduct of the war on both sides, and the underlying genocidal rather than political motivations for the war. As Michael J. C. Echeruo notes "Biafra should stand in the world's conscience as a monument to the possibility of successfully resisting 'final solutions.'"' This is an important book for collections in African studies, history, international studies, and political science.

This book examines community-based approaches to counter-terrorism through an analysis of the notions of community, partnership, engagement, gender and religion in order to shed new light on the potential of, and drawbacks to these approaches. Dr. Spalek stresses the need for policy makers and practitioners to reflect on the effectiveness of the initiatives that they are engaged with, particularly in relation to how community-targeted or community-focused they are.

Among the violent acts perpetrated by radical Islamist groups in Europe, the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris has been one of those that has challenged established categories of public debate the most. Through a multifaceted and detailed analysis of the public discourse around the Charlie Hebdo episode in France, Germany, Italy, and the UK, Discursive Turns and Critical Junctures offers an in-depth analysis of how political groups and religious organizations have reacted to the event, which claims they have made in the public sphere, and how they have justified such claims. Drawing on newspaper sources and discourse analysis, the authors navigate the complexities caused by political violence. They develop a threefold comparison that considers how the debate differs across countries; how it evolved over time; and how it varies when one looks at mainstream media compared to social movement arenas. Based on a triangulation of quantitative and qualitative analyses, the volume pays particular attention to radical left, radical right and religious actors and to issues related to migration and integration, secularism and cultural diversity, security and civil rights. In particular, they focus on the way in which transformative events act as critical junctures within different public spheres. Starting from the nefarious attacks on January 2015, this highly relevant, theoretically compelling, and methodologically sophisticated study of public debates in Europe adds substantially to the growing body of research into critical junctures as discursive turning points and gives insights into into a number of debates ranging including citizenship and political violence.

This fascinating reference chronicles the individuals, operations, and events of the War on Terror around the world, exploring its causes and consequences through the lens of policy, doctrine, and tactics of combat. The War on Terror is more than a political movement to identify and prosecute terrorists ... it has become a cornerstone of economic and military importance. This campaign has shaped policy in the Middle East, prompted uprisings of Islamic fundamentalists against the West, and redefined the ideology of warfare. This single-volume encyclopedia provides readers with more than 200 engaging entries on the myriad events, key individuals, and organizations that have played a major role in the War on Terror. The A-Z entries define the policies and doctrines; describe the armies, battlefields, and weapons employed; and profile the figures whose actions and decisions set the course of history. The expert contributors decode military jargon for non-specialist readers and explain the unconventional tactics used in the War on Terror, shedding light on the reason behind the attacks, the political maneuvering of the leaders involved, and the internal conflicts and external clashes that drove terrorists to settle all over the world. The book also includes detailed essays on the impact of the September 11 attacks on U.S. foreign policy, presidential powers, and public opinion. Features a timeline that enables readers to quickly grasp the succession of key events and developments in the War on Terror Highlights specific individuals on both sides of this conflict, providing an objective and fair-minded approach to the topic Provides a bibliography that directs students toward additional sources of information for further research Connects related entries through helpful cross references

First book to look at the issue of extreme-right activists returning from fighting in Ukraine Topical issue amid concerns about right-wing violence Important reading for scholars of terrorism, peace and conflict studies, and right-wing extremism

This book examines the reasons for which children join terrorist movements and how they eventually become peace activists fighting the very crimes that they once committed. The transformation of child terrorists into peace activists has received scant attention from academics and practitioners alike. Particular focus is placed on child jihadism, child terrorism in Africa and Latin America, child separatist terrorism, and White child supremacism. These five groups of child terrorists represent about 80% of the problem across the world. The text serves as a primer for anti-terrorism and peace activism for global social change. It includes original, applied research and features personal accounts from former child terrorists who became peace activists themselves. One of the nine chapters provides an in-depth thematic analysis of the lives of 24 subjects (from all five aforementioned groups). The analysis produced four main themes that encapsulate the time and effort that it takes to become a peace activist today: metamorphosis, terrorist behavior, disillusionment, and anti-terrorist behavior. The book ends with multiple solutions from the perspective of social work, including the reintegration of former child terrorists into society. From Child Terrorism to Peace Activism is a resource of deep and broad appeal. The text is essential reading for upper-level undergraduate and Master's students in political science, military studies, international relations, international law, and peace and conflict studies. It can be pertinent reading for students and instructors in international social work contemplating social work-related solutions to rehabilitate former child terrorists and child soldiers into society through peace activism, anti-terrorist endeavors, and other socio-psychological methods that will produce social change. The text also would appeal to faculty and students in childhood studies with an interest in child terrorism, child development, and child trauma and resilience. Given the essentials, depth, and possibilities that the book offers, it is a useful resource for audiences within counterterrorism institutes, national security agencies, and academic think-tanks. Information on motives, strategies, radicalization processes, and recruitment methods used by terrorist organizations as well as their effects on various audiences will draw readers from law enforcement agencies and institutions.

This book describes three impactful cases of political violence that broke out in Mexico in 1994, pointing to an important juncture in Mexican political development. At that point, the patrimonial order centered on the PRI and the Mexican presidency entered a momentous crisis that is still ongoing after a quarter of a century and caused the patrimonial order and the civil order to compete over Mexican public life. Such competition, in turn, unfolds at the cultural level on the terrain of three semantics of political violence that shape public debates over violence in Mexico. Ultimately, this book sheds light over the refraction of patrimonial and civil attributions across such cultural terrains.

Through various lenses and theoretical approaches, this book explores the contested experiences, meanings, realms, goals, and challenges associated with the construction, preservation, and transmission of the memories of state repression in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. The book both illuminates and questions the politics of memory that have been unfolding in these countries over the past three decades. It is one of few volumes written in English to be dedicated specifically to the study of the memory of state terrorism in the Southern Cone. Its contributors, both recognized and emerging scholars, come from Europe, the United States, and Latin America.

**As seen on BBC news** **As featured on BBC Radio 4: Today with Frank Gardner** 'In order to defeat your enemy, you must first understand them.' - Tamer Elnoury Tamer Elnoury, a long-time undercover agent, joined an elite counterterrorism unit after September 11. Its express purpose is to gain the trust of terrorists whose goals are to take out as many people in as public and devastating a way as possible. It's a furious race against the clock for Tamer and his unit to stop them before they can implement their plans. Yet as new as this war still is, the techniques are as old as time. Listen, record and prove terrorist intent. Due to his ongoing work for the FBI, Elnoury writes under a pseudonym. An Arabic-speaking Muslim American, a patriot, a hero. To many people, it will be a revelation that he and his team even exist, let alone the vital and dangerous work they do keeping all of us safe. It's no secret that federal agencies are waging a broad, global war against terror. Now, for the first time, an active, Muslim American federal agent reveals his experience infiltrating and bringing down a terror cell in North America.

Islam and violence appear to dominate global politics in the twenty-first century. This book examines dimensions of Islam and violence as part of wider debates about politics, history, faith, power, rebellion and struggle both within Muslims' realms and outside it. The author accounts for definitions of violence and terrorism with both historical and contemporary dimension. The book explores the motif of violence in its myriad aspects including debates about sacrifice, private and public violence, responses and reactions, as well as suicide and martyrdom.