Brutality is the defining characteristic of terrorism. It is despairing to learn that this brutality is the outcome of purposeful, rational, human behaviour. In this purposefulness, however, there lies the key to the interpretation, explanation and understanding of terrorist behaviour. Ultimately, it is in this purposefulness that we shall also find the key to overcoming terrorism. Economic analysis highlights this purposefulness, this rationality, and in doing so provides a different perspective from which to approach the threat of terrorism and the task of pre-empting and pursuing its perpetrators. This book develops this economic perspective within a series of important contexts, each characterised by particular types of terrorist behaviour, choices and strategies. The Economics of Terrorism brings new insights on how to deal with such challenges as the terrorist group's choice of attack method and target location, terrorist financing and 'copycat' behaviour.

Vicente Medina challenges common misconceptions and excuses for extreme political violence. Countering such axioms as "one man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist" and the "do whatever it takes" attitude toward counter-terrorism, Medina differentiates between justified political violence and unjustifiable terrorism. Surveying terrorism with both historical and contemporary examples, Medina dispels the relativism and emotional responses that have been used by some to justify terrorist acts. Medina draws on philosophical concepts like just war theory while adding social and political science perspectives to contextualize today's terrorism within current international law and moral attitudes.

This book seeks to understand the processes of reintegration of former Jihadist detainees, as well as the role that the police and other frontline professionals play in this process. Over the past few decades the number of people who have been detained under the suspicion of terrorist activities has grown significantly. This has resulted in an increased scholarly interest in the topic of prisons and terrorism. However, the main focus of academic research has been on the period of incarceration with researchers paying extensive attention to the conditions under which terrorists have been detained as well as to various processes of alienation and (violent) radicalisation that sometimes take root while in prison. Much less has been written about the period after their incarceration and the steps being taken to prepare them for that transition. This book seeks to fill this gap. It argues that sentencing or incarcerating terrorism suspects is not the end of the story, but just the beginning of the next phase: a process of reintegration, or the start of a new cycle of violence. This exploratory study outlines the factors during and after detention that contribute or hinder the reintegration of those who have been incarcerated for violent extremism and terrorism. The overriding aim of this work is to facilitate further research into the radicalisation and de-radicalisation of jihadist suspects. This book will be of much interest to students of terrorism and counter-terrorism, Islamist radicalisation, criminology and security studies in general.

This book offers a new understanding of the nature of power-seeking insurgent groups by empirically examining the use of violence by Hamas in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict. Though Hamas has learned to ride the tides of popular support, it remains suspended between its quest to achieve the values of its ardent supporters (reclamation of land through force) and the desire to grow popular support. This tension is reflected in how and when the group exercises violent resistance. The theoretical framework applied in this volume provides a simple construct to understand the dynamics that result in use and non-use of violence under changing environmental conditions by Hamas, but could be applied more broadly to other power-seeking insurgent groups, including ISIL. The book weaves together the dynamics between violent actions and internal and external influences on Hamas, including: expressed values of the group, Palestinian popular support measures, leaders' personalities and innovation (weapons and tactics), Israeli influence and targeted killings, peace processes and conflicts in Gaza, Syria, Iraq and Egypt. With newly assembled datasets on Hamas' violent acts and public statements, Israeli Targeted Killings, historical measures of popular support and extensive field interviews, the book offers a fresh perspective on insurgent group violence by demonstrating under what conditions the group exercises violence or refrains from doing so. This book will be of much interest to both policy makers and students of the Arab-Israeli conflict, political violence, Middle Eastern politics, security studies and international relations in general.

Peter Conrad's exhilarating book exposes the absurdity and occasional insanity of our godforsaken, demon-haunted contemporary culture. Conrad casts his brilliant beam upon subjects from the Queen to the Kardashians, via Banksy, Nando's, vaping, the vogue of the cronut, the mushroom-like rise of Dubai, the launch of the Large Hadron Collider, the growth of the Pacific garbage patch... In Judge Judy, he shows us a matronly Roman goddess dispensing justice with a fly swatter. In the metamorphosis of Caitlyn Jenner from Olympic athlete and paterfamilias into idealized female form, he sees parallels to the deeds of the residents of Mount Olympus themselves. Finally, after surveying advances in biomedical engineering and artificial intelligence, he asks whether we might be on the brink of a post-human world.

This book examines contemporary issues and debates of terrorism in Bangladesh, including national and transnational terrorist outfits operating within the country, their narratives and counternarratives, ideologues, women and the youth, media representation, counterterrorism laws, and challenges. Bangladesh is a fascinating and often paradoxical case study for terrorism studies. The book examines major terrorist groups in contemporary Bangladesh and their international connections and narratives, as well as a case study of an influential ideologue who encouraged some Bangladeshis to engage in violence. The chapters discuss how women and youth play a role in Bangladeshi terrorism, how the internet is used for recruiting terrorists, the discourses of the media and state regarding terrorism, as well as the politics of law and counterterrorism initiatives, including critically evaluating non-state actors and government responses. In addition to providing an up-to-date analysis of terrorism and counterterrorism in Bangladesh, this book offers a balanced and unbiased perspective on this subject. It will appeal to academics and international policymakers who are researching violence and extremism in South Asia.

Ten years on, what have been the principal impacts of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 on the external policies and international outlooks of the world's major powers, the range and scope of the international security agenda and on the capacity for states and international organisations to work together to combat the dangers of international terrorism? This book investigates a range of international responses to the events of 9/11, to evaluate their consistency over time; to analyse their long-term significance and impact and to consider both their implications for the international security agenda and the prospects for international cooperation in addressing the challenges posed. In particular, the book considers the perspectives of some of the world's major powers and international organisations on the question of international terrorism, and on its perpetrators, comparing their interpretations and responses and examining how these have changed over the course of a decade of conflict. This book is primarily directed at an academic market, and especially towards undergraduate and taught postgraduate students on courses in international politics, international relations, security studies, terrorism studies, and contemporary international history.

The EU and China are often characterised as parties whose bilateral political differences still remain too large to bridge, so that they have failed to convert rhetorical promises into tangible results of cooperation, particularly with regards to the field of international security. Yet in terms of their bilateral interaction on security risk management in Africa; EU and Chinese naval officers jointly brought down the number of successful Somali pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden and to a lesser extent were jointly involved in seeking a resolution to the lingering conflict in Darfur. This book asks how we can make sense as a whole of this relatively sudden shift in regards to the dealings between their respective officials on the topic of security risk management. It argues that the outcomes of Sino-European bilateral dealings on this topic are above all determined by the ability/inability of these officials to build political trust as a complex and cognitive social phenomenon. Consequently, the book applies an innovative conceptual framework on political trust to explain why EU and Chinese officials bridged their 'endemic' political differences to practically cooperate on Somali piracy but were unable to do so when it came to their interaction on Darfur. To conclude, it examines the longer term impact of this bilateral trust-building process by covering more recent examples of bilateral engagement in Libya and Mali and aims to show that although this trust-building process may be case specific, ramifications may go beyond the realm of their bilateral dealings on security matters in Africa, to impact wider issues of international security. This text will be of key interest to scholars and students of African and Chinese politics, EU politics, security and maritime studies, and more broadly of international relations and to governmental actors.

Two defense experts explore the collision of war, politics, and social media, where the most important battles are now only a click away. Through the weaponization of social media, the internet is changing war and politics, just as war and politics are changing the internet. Terrorists livestream their attacks, "Twitter wars" produce real-world casualties, and viral misinformation alters not just the result of battles, but the very fate of nations. The result is that war, tech, and politics have blurred into a new kind of battlespace that plays out on our smartphones. P. W. Singer and Emerson Brooking tackle the mind-bending questions that arise when war goes online and the online world goes to war. They explore how ISIS copies the Instagram tactics of Taylor Swift, a former World of Warcraft addict foils war crimes thousands of miles away, internet trolls shape elections, and China uses a smartphone app to police the thoughts of 1.4 billion citizens. What can be kept secret in a world of networks? Does social media expose the truth or bury it? And what role do ordinary people now play in international conflicts? Delving into the web's darkest corners, we meet the unexpected warriors of social media, such as the rapper turned jihadist PR czar and the Russian hipsters who wage unceasing infowars against the West. Finally, looking to the crucial years ahead, LikeWar outlines a radical new paradigm for understanding and defending against the unprecedented threats of our networked world.

Since 2012, hundreds of men and women have left Western countries to join jihadist groups fighting in Syria. Many are still there, many have been killed, but some have chosen to return to their countries of origin. French Journalist David Thomson met some of those who came back. Bilel, Yassin, Zoubeir, Lena, each has a different profile and story. Some have returned disgusted by the violence of the Syrian battlefields, or the terrorist attacks that have struck across Europe; they try to become forgotten, living under extreme surveillance. Others return seriously wounded or psychologically destroyed. Others still are in jail, a breeding ground for broader radicalization. And some have come back to continue to carry out jihad in Europe. In utmost secrecy, David Thomson gathered their testimonies and recounts them in this remarkable and revealing book. With ISIS losing ground on all fronts, the steady flow of jihadists returning to Europe represents one of the greatest challenges facing countries across the continent. This nuanced analysis of the social, religious, political, familial and psychological factors that push people to violent extremism is more necessary now than ever. It will be essential reading for all those seeking to understand how we might address this threat.

Immigration and its consequences is a substantially contested subject with hugely differing viewpoints. While some contend that criminal participation by migrants is the result of environmental factors found in the host country that are beyond the control of migrants, others blame migrants for all that is wrong in their communities. In this book, experts from Europe, the USA, Turkey and Israel examine recent developments in the fields of culture conflict, organized crime, victimization and terrorism, all of which intersect to varying degrees with migration and illegal conduct. While the essays further our understanding of a variety of issues surrounding migration, at the same time they illuminate the complexities of managing the challenges as globalization increases.

Because terrorists are made, not born, it is critically important to world peace that detainees and inmates influenced by violent ideology are deradicalized and rehabilitated back into society. Exploring the challenges in this formidable endeavor, Terrorist Rehabilitation: The U.S. Experience in Iraq demonstrates through the actual experiences of military personnel, defense contractors, and Iraqi nationals that deradicalization and rehabilitation programs can succeed and have the capability to positively impact thousands of would-be terrorists globally if utilized to their full capacity. Custodial and community rehabilitation of terrorists and extremists is a new frontier in the fight against terrorism. This forward-thinking volume: Highlights the success of a rehabilitation program curriculum in Iraq Encourages individuals and governments to embrace rehabilitation as the next most logical step in fighting terrorism Examines the recent history of threat groups in Iraq Demonstrates where the U.S. went awry in its war effort, and the steps it took to correct the situation Describes religious, vocational training, education, creative expression, and Tanweer programs introduced to the detainee population Provides insight into future steps based on lessons learned from current rehabilitation programs It is essential that we shift the focus from solely detainment and imprisonment to addressing the ideological mindset during prolonged incarceration. It is possible to effect an ideological transformation in detainees that qualifies them to be reclassified as no longer posing a security threat. This volume demonstrates that with the proper program and encouragement, a detainee's misunderstanding or extremist ideology can be replaced with the principles of moderation, toleration, and coexistence.

With the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq seemingly drawing down, and with new calls to focus on the threats of great power competition posed by states such as China and Russia on the rise, what will happen to U.S. capabilities for dealing with conflicts that occur in messy political-military environments? Irregular Soldiers and Rebellious States offers, for both expert and non-expert audiences, a useful typology and background for examining interventions where U.S. advisors and forces operating on a small-scale basis will either work with a foreign government to help defend it from threats of subversion or insurgency (known as Foreign Internal Defense) or to assist insurgents or guerrilla forces in countering a hostile regime (known as Unconventional Warfare). It uses nine examples to illustrate how the U.S.-and the British in one case-used such capabilities in either limited or assertive ways to defend (El Salvador, Philippines, Sahel, and Dhofar) or counter (Angola, Nicaragua, northern Iraq, and Afghanistan) foreign governments. Placing such interventions within the broader contexts of American military history and the cultures of the armed forces, it offers three key findings and six policy prescriptions for wisely and judiciously using these capabilities in the present and future.

Unregulated or lesser regulated maritime spaces are ideal theatres of operation and mediums of transportation for terrorists, insurgents and pirates. For more than a decade, the Indian Ocean waters adjoining Somalia have been a particular locus of such activities, with pirates hijacking vessels, and Al Qaeda and Al Shabab elements travelling between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, operating lucrative businesses and even staging deadly operations at sea. However, these operations and threats remain, by and large, understudied. Responses to the two threats have varied, highlighting the lack of cohesive regional and global institutions with the mandate and the capacity to address them. Those scholarly deliberations on Indian Ocean maritime security focus on piracy and armed robbery at sea, while their terrorist/insurgent counterparts have eluded sustained scrutiny. This volume will help close that gap by looking at both from the field in Somalia and Yemen, within broader frameworks of regional maritime security and port-state control, international maritime law and the ongoing search for maritime resources. The European, African and Middle Eastern case studies add salience to the regional and international complexity surrounding maritime security off the Horn of Africa. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of the Indian Ocean Region.

The United States has repeatedly used drones to kill terrorists in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen in an effort to decrease terrorism and the vitality of terrorist groups. Targeted killing through the use of drones has become a foreign policy weapon to keep the United States safe from further terrorist attacks. However, it is suspected that these killings has actually led to an increase in terrorist group recruitment, terrorist attacks, and empathy for the terrorist group from the local population in addition to several other unwanted repercussions. The two part research question this book attempts to answer is, "What is the effect of drone targeted killing on Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen? And is it a successful method in the War on Terror?"

Although both Canada and the United Kingdom had experienced terrorism prior to the attacks of 9/11 and already had in place extensive provisions to deal with terrorism, the events of that day led to the enactment of new and expansive counter-terrorism legislation being enacted in both jurisdictions. This book explores these changes to counter-terrorism laws and policies in the UK and Canada in order to demonstrate that despite the force of international legal instruments, including the heavily scrutinized UN Security Council Resolution 1373, the evolution of counter-terrorism policies in different jurisdictions is best analyzed and understood as a product of local institutional structures and cultures. The book compares legal and political structures and cultures within Canada and the United Kingdom. It analyses variations in the evolution post-9/11 counter-terrorism measures in the two jurisdictions and explores the domestic reasons for them. While focus is primarily geared towards security certificates and bail with recognizance/investigative hearings in Canada, and detention without trial, control orders and TPIMs in the UK, the use of secret evidence in the wider national security context (terrorist listing, civil litigation, criminal prosecutions, etc.) is also discussed. The book reveals how domestic structures and cultures, including the legal system, the relative stability of government, local human rights culture, and geopolitical relationships all influence how counter-terrorism measures evolve. In this sense, the book utilizes a methodology that is both comparative and interdisciplinary by engaging in legal, political, historical and cultural analyses. This book will be particularly useful for target audiences in the fields of comparative law and criminal justice, counter-terrorism law, human rights law, and international relations and politics.

The scope for financial crime has widened with the expansion and increased integration of financial markets. Money laundering, terrorism financing and tax crime have all changed in both nature and dimension. As new technologies reduce the importance of physical proximity to major onshore financial centres so a new generation of Offshore Financial Centres (OFCs) have emerged. This accessible volume provides a deeper analysis of the economic, institutional and political features of the OFCs, in order to design the optimal international regulatory policy. Using a multidisciplinary approach with an international level of expertise, the book evaluates international policies regarding offshore countries on the basis of a systematic analysis of their characteristics.

Has terrorism lost the power to shock and appal? Have liberal democracies learned to tolerate terrorism? Using case studies of governments' and societies' responses to terrorism, this book, first published in 1991, shows how attitudes towards terrorism have developed. Five western countries with differing political structures and histories are studied: Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, Israel, Italy and Spain. The analysis investigates the roles of social, political, legal, professional and religious institutions and movements in formulating the approved attitude towards terrorism that governs political bodies as well as society at large. This book will be of interest to students of politics and sociology.

This study investigates the overlaps between political discourse and literary and cinematic fiction, arguing that both are informed by, and contribute to, the cultural imaginary of terrorism. Whenever mass-mediated acts of terrorism occur, they tend to trigger a proliferation of threat scenarios not only in the realm of literature and film but also in the statements of policymakers, security experts, and journalists. In the process, the discursive boundary between the factual and the speculative can become difficult to discern. To elucidate this phenomenon, this book proposes that terror is a halfway house between the real and the imaginary. For what characterizes terrorism is less the single act of violence than it is the fact that this act is perceived to be the beginning, or part, of a potential series, and that further acts are expected to occur. As turn-of-the-century writers such as Stevenson and Conrad were the first to point out, this gives terror a fantastical dimension, a fact reinforced by the clandestine nature of both terrorist and counter-terrorist operations. Supported by contextual readings of selected texts and films from The Dynamiter and The Secret Agent through late-Victorian science fiction to post-9/11 novels and cinema, this study explores the complex interplay between actual incidents of political violence, the surrounding discourse, and fictional engagement with the issue to show how terrorism becomes an object of fantasy. Drawing on research from a variety of disciplines, The Cultural Imaginary of Terrorism will be a valuable resource for those with interests in the areas of Literature and Film, Terrorism Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Trauma Studies, and Cultural Studies.

This book investigates the many faces of Hamas and examines its ongoing evolution as a resistance organisation in the context of the Israel/Palestine conflict. Specifically, the work interrogates Hamas' interpretation, reinterpretation and application of the twin concepts of muqawama (resistance) and jihad (striving in the name of God). The text frames the movement's capacity to accrue popular legitimacy through its evolving resistance discourses, centred on the notion of jihad, and the practical applications thereof. Moving beyond the dominant security-orientated approaches to Hamas, the book investigates the malleable nature of both resistance and jihad including their social, symbolic, political and ideational applications. The diverse interpretations of these concepts allow Hamas to function as a comprehensive social movement. Where possible, this volume attempts to privilege first-order or experiential knowledge emanating from the movement itself, its political representatives, and the Palestinian population in general. Many of these accounts were collected by the author during fieldwork in the Middle East. Not only does this work present new primary data, but it also investigates a variety of contemporary empirical events related to Palestine and the Middle East. This book offers an alternative way of viewing the movement's popular legitimacy grounded in theoretical, empirical and ethnographic terms. This book will be of much interest to students of Hamas, political violence, critical terrorism studies, Middle Eastern politics, security studies and IR in general.

With the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq seemingly drawing down, and with new calls to focus on the threats of great power competition posed by states such as China and Russia on the rise, what will happen to U.S. capabilities for dealing with conflicts that occur in messy political-military environments? Irregular Soldiers and Rebellious States offers, for both expert and non-expert audiences, a useful typology and background for examining interventions where U.S. advisors and forces operating on a small-scale basis will either work with a foreign government to help defend it from threats of subversion or insurgency (known as Foreign Internal Defense) or to assist insurgents or guerrilla forces in countering a hostile regime (known as Unconventional Warfare). It uses nine examples to illustrate how the U.S.-and the British in one case-used such capabilities in either limited or assertive ways to defend (El Salvador, Philippines, Sahel, and Dhofar) or counter (Angola, Nicaragua, northern Iraq, and Afghanistan) foreign governments. Placing such interventions within the broader contexts of American military history and the cultures of the armed forces, it offers three key findings and six policy prescriptions for wisely and judiciously using these capabilities in the present and future.

Exploring the Tripod: Immigration, Security, and Economy in the Post-9/11 United States is an exploration of the changing relationship between immigration and security in the post-9/11 United States. While extensive research has been done about the effect of 9/11 in the US, whether the effect is related mostly to the socio-economic situation or not is largely ignored. The current problems facing the US are the new policies that deter future immigration, and in turn, affect the US economy. This study forces on the major changes taking place in the U.S. both in terms of national security, as well as economic downturn following 9/11 as well as the current Trump administration. When it comes to immigration before 9/11, security was not the overarching concern in the United States. The focus was on economic interest, skilled and unskilled labor, and family reunification. However, immediately after 9/11, security became indisputably prioritized. September 11 changed the way Americans started to look at security. Immigration continues to make significant contributions to the US economy, whether in terms of manual labor from Mexico and Central America or in terms of more skilled labor mainly from Asia. September 11, led to a thickening of the balance between economic needs and security needs in the United States. This research examines the swinging security-economic growth of the pendulum concerning integration policy.

U.S. Department of Defense analyst Mark Silinsky reveals the origins of the Islamic State's sinister obsession with the Western world. Once considered a minor irritant in the international system, the Caliphate is now a dynamic and significant actor on the world's stage, boasting more than 30,000 foreign fighters from 86 countries. Recruits consist not only of Middle-Eastern-born citizens, but also a staggering number of "Blue-Eyed Jihadists," Westerners who leave their country to join the radical sect. Silinsky provides a detailed and chilling explanation of the appeal of the Islamic State and how those abroad become radicalized, while also analyzing the historical origins, inner workings, and horrific toll of the Caliphate. By documenting the true stories of men, women, and children whose lives have been destroyed by the radical group, Jihad and the West presents the human face of the thousands who have been kidnapped, raped, tortured, and murdered by the Islamic State, including Kayla Mueller, who was kidnapped, given to the Caliphate's leader as a sex slave, and ultimately killed.

Counter-terrorism law and policy has been prominent and widespread in the years following 9/11, touching on many areas of everyday life from policing and border control to financial transactions and internet governance. The European Union is a major actor in contemporary counter-terrorism, including through its development of counter-terrorism laws for application within the Union. This book undertakes a multi-disciplinary and empirically informed analysis of the impact, legitimacy and effectiveness of EU counter-terrorism. Taking into account legal, societal, operational and democratic perspectives, this collection connects theoretical and practical perspectives to produce an interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder study of how we might measure and understand the impact, legitimacy and effectiveness of EU counter-terrorism. Bringing together a select group of experts in the field, particular emphasis is placed on understanding the practical experience of implementing and assessing these measures gathered from and with end users, including law-makers, policy-makers, security services, industry partners and civil society. This edited collection will be of great relevance to scholars and policy makers with an interest in counter-terrorism law, EU law and security studies.

Blending concepts from 'dramatism' such as 'victimage ritual' with Foucault's approach to modern power and knowledge regimes, this book presents a novel and illuminating perspective on political power and domination resulting from the global war on terrorism. With attention to media sources and political discourse within the context of the global war on terror, the author draws attention to the manner in which power elites construct scapegoats by way of a victimage ritual, thus providing themselves with a political pretext for extending their power and authority over new territories and populations, as well as legitimating an intensification of domestic surveillance and social control. A compelling analysis of ritual rhetoric and political violence, Power, Discourse and Victimage Ritual in the War on Terror will be of interest to sociologists, political theorists and scholars of media and communication concerned with questions of surveillance and social control, political communication, hegemony, foreign policy and the war on terror.