Since 2001 the U.S. government has been engaged in the delicate balancing act of seeking to protect the country against terrorism, both foreign-connected and wholly domestic, while taking into account a number of constitutional protections that can all too easily be trammelled in the effort to assure domestic security. At the same time the development of these policies has created significant constitutional tension among the three branches of the federal government, especially when the President vigorously asserts claims of sweeping power as commander-in-chief in such a way as to raise warnings about the emergence of an imperial presidency. Simultaneously, the rule of law has been placed under stress as the technological prowess of the government has grown. This book addresses these topics in an accessible manner, covering the key developments of domestic security law related to terrorism. Tyll van Geel covers the essential elements of homeland security law including: branches of government and institutions involved in counterterrorism law; border control and immigration; surveillance; the searching of computers and cell phones; the prosecution of terrorists for any number of crimes, including cyberterrorism; military detention; the prosecution of unprivileged enemy belligerents in military commissions; and habeas corpus. The book is designed to offer a clear guide to current issues in domestic security in response to terrorism and will be a valuable guide for concerned citizens as well as undergraduate students studying domestic politics or national security.

This edited volume examines the implications for international development actors of new kinds of terrorism taking place in civil conflicts. The threat from terrorism and violent extremism has never been greater - at least in the global South where the vast majority of violent extremist attacks take place. Some of the most violent extremist groups are also parties to civil conflicts in regions such as the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. But are these groups - especially the violent Islamists which constitute the greatest current threat - qualitatively different from other conflict actors? If they are, what are the implications for development practitioners working in war zones and fragile or poverty-afflicted countries? This study aims to answer these questions through a combination of theoretical enquiry and the investigation of three case studies - Kenya, Nigeria, and Iraq/Syria. It aims to illuminate the differences between violent Islamists and other types of conflict actor, to identify the challenges these groups pose to development practice, and to propose a way forward for meeting these challenges.

This book presents and uses a major, new database of the most serious forms of internal resistance to the Nazi state to study empirically the whole phenomenon of resistance to an authoritarian regime. By studying serious political resistance from a quantitative historical perspective, the book opens up a new avenue of research for economic history. The database underpinning the book was painstakingly compiled from official state records of treason and/or high treason tried before the German People's Court (Volksgerichtshof) between 1933 and 1945. It brings together material on resistance groups stored in the archives of the Federal Republic of Germany and Austria with previously inaccessible files from the former German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia and Soviet Union. Through searching these records, the authors have been able to reconstruct in hitherto unattainable detail the economic, social, political, ethnic and familial profiles, backgroun ds, and influences of all 4,378 civilians of the Third Reich active in Germany, Austria and the outside territories for whom there are complete records. The findings of their research afford fresh, new interdisciplinary insights and perspectives, not only on the configuration, timing, impact and profile of resistance to the Nazi state, but also on a range of real-world behaviours common within authoritarian states, such as defection, reward and punishment, and commitment to group identities. The book's statistical analysis reveals precisely the who, how, where and when of serious resistance. In so doing, it advances significantly our understanding of the overall pattern and nature of serious resistance within Nazi Germany.

This book explores the increasing political and social prominence of Islamist groups across the Middle East in recent years. The aftermath of the 2011 uprisings saw some groups access or even control political institutions through success at the ballot box, while there has also been a marked resurgence of armed Islamist groups that have had profound effects at both the national and regional level. This volume helps us to understand the nature and development of organised political Islam over recent decades in several key Arab and Mediterranean countries: Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, and Turkey. The book identifies the central social and political Islamist actors, traces their ideological differences and similarities, and analyses power relations both within and between these organizations in the context of political instability and uncertainty. It will be of interest to students and scholars across a broad range of disciplines including political science, sociology, and international relations.

This book is an attempt to approach the issue of defining international terrorism, proposing that the most workable way to do so is to achieve due balance between the two principal driving forces of international law developments: State sovereignty interests and cosmopolitan ideals. All those who aspire to the promotion of international criminal justice and the fight against impunity agree that the formulation of a universal definition of international terrorism will further enhance the fight against terrorism and offer a universally acceptable legal framework within which this fight can be conducted. Discussed in an in-depth manner are, for instance, the UN Charter Provisions, the Rome Statute and the principle of complementarity, the Kampala amendments on the crime of aggression, the paradigms of aggression and terrorism, and prominent anti-terrorist Security Council Resolutions such as Resolution 1368 and Resolution 1373. The volume broadens the reader's understanding on how State sovereignty interests and priorities as well as ideals of cosmopolitanism have influenced the development of international law in general and international criminal law in particular. Furthermore, it simplifies the complicated picture of defining international crimes by explaining how the 'State sovereignty' and 'Cosmopolitanism' dynamics have also been of relevance throughout the drafting process of the definition of the crime of aggression for the purposes of the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court. In addition, it equips the reader with an understanding of the reasons behind the lack of an international definition for terrorism and suggests an appropriate context within which such a definition can take shape. It intends to appeal to academics and students with an interest in international criminal law and the international criminal justice system, international law and security, but also to anyone with an interest in transnational crime and counter-terrorism. Stella Margariti has recently graduated from the University of Dundee where she attained the title of Doctor from the School of Law.

This book aims to advance the understanding of cultural property in armed conflict, and its significance for anti-terrorism and peace-building strategies. As the author argues, ISIS' orchestrated theft and destruction of cultural property has become a tactic of war. Through a historical, political, and legal analysis, this book explains the pathology of radical groups' behavior toward cultural objects as part of their terror campaign. Using constructivist ideas, it explains the importance of cultural property in the context of short-term and long-term security and analyzes the evolution of laws and policies to protect it.

Since the end of the Cold War, the monopoly of legitimate organized force of many African states has been eroded by a mix of rebel groups, violent extremist organizations, and self-defence militias created in response to the rise in organized violence on the continent. African Border Disorders explores the complex relationships that bind states, transnational rebels and extremist organizations, and borders on the African continent. Combining cutting edge network science with geographical analysis, the first part of the book highlights how the fluid alliances and conflicts between rebels, violent extremist organizations and states shape in large measure regional patterns of violence in Africa. The second part of the book examines the spread of Islamist violence around Lake Chad through the lens of the violent Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, which has evolved from a nationally-oriented militia group, to an internationally networked organization. The third part of the book explores how violent extremist organizations conceptualize state boundaries and territory and, reciprocally, how do the civil society and the state respond to the rise of transnational organizations. The book will be essential reading for all students and specialists of African politics and security studies, particularly those specializing on fragile states, sovereignty, new wars, and borders as well as governments and international organizations involved in conflict prevention and early intervention in the region. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

This book explores how the contemporary threat of terrorism is eroding the concept of hospitality in the West. Going beyond the immediate effects of terrorism that are daily portrayed in the media and have shaped the foreign policy agenda of politicians in Europe and the US, this study explores the conceptual framework of how terrorism emerged and expanded within the West and shows how it interacts with, and targets, leisure consumerism and the international hospitality industry.

This volume investigates the nature and changing roles of the non-state armed groups in the Middle East with a special focus on Kurdish, Shia and Islamic State groups. To understand the nature of transformation in the Middle Eastern geopolitical space, it provides new empirical and analytical insights into the impact of three prominent actors, namely ISIS, YPG and Shia Militias. With its distinctive detailed and multi-faceted analyses, it offers new findings on the changing contours of sovereignty, geopolitics and ideology, particularly after the Arab Uprisings. Overall this volume contributes to the study of violent geopolitics, critical security studies and international relations particularly by exploring the ideologies and strategies of the new non-state armed actors.

This book assesses President Barack Obama's counterterrorism policy as it evolved throughout his presidency, from the expanded use of drones to the controversial decisions regarding the Syrian conflict. President Obama has achieved the dubious distinction of having been the longest continuous war president in American history, and this title explores how Obama pursued and expanded executive war power in key areas, simultaneously committing to a light footprint approach for U.S. military forces and emphasizing the use of drones, targeted killing of terrorists, and training, advising, and assisting local forces to defend themselves from militant groups such as ISIL. It also provides an in-depth analysis of the defining issue of the Obama counterterrorism strategy: Syria, and his refusal to militarily commit to defeat Bashar al-Assad and support Syria's insurgency. The work concludes with a consideration of counterterrorism policy post-Obama.

This book develops a conceptual approach to understanding the face of contemporary terrorism as manifested in the recent attacks in Mumbai and Paris. By analyzing the historical evolution of terrorism and by offering case studies on different forms of terrorism in South Asia and elsewhere, the authors shed new light on the political strategies behind terrorist attacks, as well as on the motivations of terrorists. The case studies explore the redefinition of terrorism by the Iranian Islamic revolution, the spread of terrorism in Sunni Islam, the national jihadism in Pakistan, anti-Semitism as a main factor behind fanatical terrorist ideologies, and the case of the Tamil Tigers. "Redefining terrorism is a dynamic story that provides readers with intrigue and clarity to the ever-evolving threats that we face as a nation and as a global community. The authors masterfully navigate through the intricate maze of global terrorism bringing an overwhelming dose of reality through his usage of real life, gripping experiences. Through this book military and intelligence analysts and policy makers alike will gain first-hand knowledge about not only what the world looks like today but a glimpse into the future."US Congressman Pete Sessions

The use of biological warfare (BW) agents by states or terrorists is one of the world's most frightening security threats but, thus far, little attention has been devoted to understanding how to improve policies and procedures to identify and attribute BW events. "Terrorism, War, or Disease?" is the first book to examine the complex political, military, legal, and scientific challenges involved in determining when BW have been used and who has used them.
Through detailed analysis of the most significant and controversial allegations of BW use from the Second World War to the present, internationally recognized experts assess past attempts at attribution of unusual biological events and draw lessons to improve our ability to counter these deadly silent killers. This volume presents the most comprehensive analysis of actual and alleged BW use, and provides an up-to-date evaluation of law enforcement, forensic epidemiology, and arms control measures available to policymakers to investigate and attribute suspected attacks.

This book examines the experience of post-colonial territories and their attempts to manage ethnic communities within their countries. The study focuses on Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, and Fiji. This project looks at the mechanisms, which vary from legislation to political structures, systems, and institutions that have been introduced to allow for greater integration by these communities, and assesses their strengths and weaknesses.

Facing the threats posed by dedicated suicide bombers who have access to modern technology for mass destruction and who intend to cause maximum human suffering and casualties, democratic governments have hard choices to make. The premise of this book is that for intelligence organizations in democratic states to be able to face up to the challenges of global terrorism, they must think outside the box and utilize all of their resources effectively and creatively. To overcome the enemy, we must also secure the peace. Winning the hearts and minds of the terrorists' pool of potential recruits will be essential to cutting off the supply of suicide bombers. This book therefore addresses not only the question of how intelligence organizations can improve their efficacy in pre-empting terrorist outrages, but also the wider issue of removing the forces that sustain global terrorism as a scourge of the twenty-first century. The general public in the target countries and recruiting grounds must also be persuaded that—despite their rhetoric—the terrorists are not engaged in a holy war. Intelligence services of various countries need to find convincing evidence to prove this point. But it is up to governments, civil society, and the media in different parts of the world to work together if the evidence unearthed by national intelligence services is to be accepted by the general public. Unless the emotional or quasi-religious appeal of the global terrorists can be removed, the simple arrest of bin Laden and his close associates—or even the destruction of Al Qaeda as an organization--will not be sufficient to prevent others from rising to replace them.

As shocking as the attacks of 9/11 were, we have been too quick to view the post-9/11 struggle against terrorism as entirely new and unprecedented. Without denying certain novel aspects of Al Qaeda and its affiliates, the "newness" of its purpose and methods has been overemphasized. Many aspects of contemporary terrorism bear a striking resemblance to past movements. Others represent the culmination of trends evolving over decades. Even seemingly novel characteristics of terrorist methods may be more the outcome of earlier developments than a truly new phenomenon. The increased lethality of terrorist attacks is a case in point. Usually attributed to lack of restraint brought on by religious extremism, the emphasis on body count may owe as much to a kind of threshold phenomenon. Numbed by decades of violence, people do not shock as easily as they once did. It now takes thousands of deaths to produce the same effect once caused by a relative handful. This book examines the nature of the contemporary threat within a historical context to discern continuities and change in terrorist behavior. It challenges the idea of a global war on terrorism and suggests that the United States, or any threatened country, would be better served by a policy aimed at reducing the risk of terrorist attack to an acceptable level at a reasonable cost. The book concludes by proposing a workable strategy for achieving this reasonable level of security.

Applying a rational choice perspective, this book presents a dynamic theory of the evolution of totalitarian regimes and terrorism. By demonstrating that totalitarian regimes rest on ideologies involving supreme values that are assumed to be absolutely true, the author identifies the factors that lead to totalitarian regimes, and those that transform or abolish those regimes with time. The author addresses different ideologies, such as National Socialism, Communism, and religious movements; examines numerous historical cases of totalitarian regimes; and develops a formal, mathematical model of totalitarianism in the book's closing chapter.

This volume explores the contemporary challenges to US national cybersecurity. Taking stock of the field, it features contributions by leading experts working at the intersection between academia and government and offers a unique overview of some of the latest debates about national cybersecurity. These contributions showcase the diversity of approaches and issues shaping contemporary understandings of cybersecurity in the West, such as deterrence and governance, cyber intelligence and big data, international cooperation, and public-private collaboration. The volume's main contribution lies in its effort to settle the field around three main themes exploring the international politics, concepts, and organization of contemporary cybersecurity from a US perspective. Related to these themes, this volume pinpoints three pressing challenges US decision makers and their allies currently face as they attempt to govern cyberspace: maintaining international order, solving conceptual puzzles to harness the modern information environment, and coordinating the efforts of diverse partners. The volume will be of much interest to students of cybersecurity, defense studies, strategic studies, security studies, and IR in general.

This book discusses contemporary constellations of international politics and global transformation. It offers guidance on how to conceptualize the complexity of current global changes and practical policy advice in order to promote an open global society. In the light of today's challenges, the author re-interprets the main argument of the philosopher Karl Popper in "The Open Society and Its Enemies". Based on this framework and new empirical evidence, the book discusses the thesis of an ongoing Third World War, triggered by fundamental deficits in nation-building, occurring primarily within states and not between them, and accelerated by asymmetric forms of warfare and Islamist totalitarianism.The book also explores various threats to the global order, such as the paradox of borders as barriers and bridges, the global effects of the youth bubble in many developing countries, and the misuse of religious interpretation for the use of political violence. Lastly, the author identifies advocates and supporters of a liberal, multilateral and open order and argues for a reinvention of the Western world to contribute to a revival of a liberal global order, based on mutual respect and joint leadership.

By examining Libya's security architecture before and after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) intervention in 2011, this book aims to answer three questions. First, what were the security patterns in Libya within the Middle East security complex before the Arab Spring? Second, to what extent did the Arab Spring and the revolution and intervention processes in Libya affect this security architecture? And third, what are the implications of the Libyan revolution and the NATO intervention on regional security and on the security sub-complexes of the Middle East in the post-Arab Spring era? The author addresses these issues by providing a micro-level analysis of amity-enmity patterns, power distribution and external power interests.

Since September 2001, the United States has waged what the government initially called the "global war on terrorism (GWOT)." Beginning in late 2005 and early 2006, the term Long War began to appear in U.S. security documents such as the National Security Council's National Strategy for Victory in Iraq and in statements by the U.S. Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the JCS. The description Long War--unlimited in time and space and continuing for decades--is closer to reality and more useful than GWOT.
Colonel Robert Cassidy argues that this protracted struggle is more correctly viewed as a global insurgency and counterinsurgency. Al Qaeda and its affiliates, he maintains, comprise a novel and evolving form of networked insurgents who operate globally, harnessing the advantages of globalization and the information age. They employ terrorism as a tactic, subsuming terror within their overarching aim of undermining the Western-dominated system of states. Placing the war against al Qaeda and its allied groups and organizations in the context of a global insurgency has vital implications for doctrine, interagency coordination, and military cultural change--all reviewed in this important work.
He first offers a distilled analysis of al Qaeda and its associated networks, with a particular focus on ideology and culture. In subsequent chapters, he elucidates the challenges big powers face when they prosecute counterinsurgencies, using historical examples from Russian, American, British, and French counterinsurgent wars before 2001. The book concludes with recommendations for the integration and command and control of indigenous forces and other agencies.

This book employs game theory to warfare and in particular to military operations. It aims at scrutinizing the validity of the two ideas that have governed the literature on war and warfighting: One is the Clausewitzian Fog of War, which suggests that he who is able to "see" through the gunsmoke and observe his opponent's moves before he has to commit to some strategy himself, should be able to gain an advantage over that enemy; the other is the tradition of understanding military conflict as a zero-sum game. Combined, these ideas seem to imply that war always gives rise to a second-mover advantage. This book questions the validity of this presumption at the operational level of military planning. It provides a simple but rigorous game-theoretic framework in order to analyse operational alternatives for a whole range of typical conflicts Western military forces are facing, including the most recent ones such as Anti-Access/Area-Denial and supporting host nations' counterinsurgency campaigns.

This book explores the rise and impact of violent non-state actors in contemporary Africa and the implications for the sovereignty and security of African states. Each chapter tackles a unique angle on violent organizations on the continent with the view of highlighting the conditions that lead to the rise and radicalization of these groups. The chapters further examine the ways in which governments have responded to the challenge and the national, regional and international strategies that they have adopted as a result. Chapter contributors to this volume examine the emergence of Islamist terrorists in Nigeria, Mali and Libya; rebels in DR Congo, Central African Republic, Ethiopia and Rwanda; and warlords and pirates in Somalia, Uganda and Sierra Leone.

This book addresses contemporary debates on civil disobedience in Islam within the rich Sunni tradition, especially during the height of the non-violent people revolution in various Arab countries, popularly known as the Arab Spring. It illustrates the Islamic theological and jurisprudential arguments presented by those who either permit or prohibit acts of civil disobedience for the purpose of changing government, political systems or policy. The book analyses the nature of the debate and considers how a theological position on civil disobedience should be formulated in contemporary time, and makes the case for alternatives to violent political action such as jihadism, terrorism and armed rebellion.

Lone-actor terrorism has unfortunately been on the rise in recent decades, causing major adverse societal effects in the United States and abroad. While lone-actor terrorists can be driven by a range of identifiable factors such as extremist views or availability of weapons, the process of becoming and identifying these individuals is deeply complicated. Lone-Actor Terrorism: An Integrated Framework outlines the societal causes and impacts of lone-actor terrorism from a multi-disciplinary, international perspective. Drawing together seasoned insights across clinical and forensic mental health, sociology, criminology, law, military and intelligence, and security, this volume explores patterns common to lone-actor terrorists across four major sections: historical and case examples, clinical aspects, non-clinical professional and allied perspectives, and assessment and potential approaches to reducing the risk of lone-actor terrorism. Contributors describe both individual clinical factors affecting lone-actors, including developmental aspects, mental health variables, psychoactive drugs, psychometrics and linguists, along with broader social factors such as propaganda and rhetoric, social media, and geographical considerations. This volume concludes with a review of the available threat and risk assessment tools applicable to lone-actor terrorism cases and provides guidance for professionals seeking to reduce risk. While there is no uniform approach to the concept of lone-actor terrorism, this edited volume provides a diverse yet authoritative overview for those interested in better understanding the threats of lone-actor terrorism and its professional response.