This textbook anthology of selected readings on pressing Middle East security concerns serves as an invaluable single-volume assessment of critical security issues in nations such as Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. The issues and current events of the Greater Middle East continue to hold deep implications for American geopolitical interests in the region—as they have for many decades. An ideal resource for students in undergraduate courses on the Middle East and related regions as well as students in graduate programs of international studies or security studies, this textbook anthologizes recent, insightful analyses by top scholars on trends and events in the Middle East that bear crucially on regional and global security considerations, covering topics like Iran's nuclear ambitions; the rise, ebb, and resurgence of Al Qaeda; and the war in Syria. The essays address concerns that include the re-imposition of military rule in Egypt; the current status of Palestinian-Israeli relations; the civil war and proposed chemical inspections in Syria; Sunni-Shiite conflict and the revitalized al Qaeda presence in Iraq and the Sunni resurgence in Iraq and Syria; and the on-again-off-again international monitoring of nuclear facilities in Iran, along with discussions of that country's connections to the Syrian regime and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The use of drone strikes as antiterrorist weapons and their use within U.S. and international law also receive specific attention. Each reading is summarized and contextualized by a concise introduction that serves to enhance the integration of the individual readings across the book. Original source notes are included with each chapter as guides to further reading, and numerous maps provide an essential sense of place. The book also includes a glossary of terms and a register of brief biographies of significant persons.

The internet has become a vital part of modern society, with its impact reaching from private lives into the public sphere. However, along with its positive effects, the dissemination of this technology has created opportunities for increased cyber terrorism activities. Combating Internet-Enabled Terrorism: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an informative resource that highlights developments that will aid in combating internet-based hostility and violence. Featuring extensive coverage on relevant topics that include social media, military tactics, and counterterrorism, this publication will provide insight into the world of internet terrorism to researchers, academicians, and graduate students in this field.

The Shi'i clergy are amongst the most influential political players in the Middle East. For decades, scholars and observers have tried to understand the balance of power between, Shi'i 'quietism' and 'activism'. The book is based on exclusive interviews with high-profile Shi'i clerics in order to reveal how the Shi'i clerical elite perceives its role and engages in politics today. The book focuses on three ground-breaking events in the modern Middle East: the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the 2003 Iraq War, and the 2006 July war in Lebanon. By examining the nature and evolution of a Shi'i clerical network the book finds that, far from there being strategic differences between 'quitest' and 'activist' clerics, Shi'i mujtahid statesmen matured, from 1979 in Iran to 2003 Iraq, by way of a pragmatism which led to a strong form of transnational and associated whole in Lebanon in 2006. In doing so, the book breaks down the established, and misleading, dichotomisation of the Shi'i clergy into 'quietists' and 'activists' and discovers that the decision of Shi'i clerical elites to become politically active or to stay out of politics are attributable to their ability to adapt to their political environments.

Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research is slowly yet steadily revolutionizing traditional education. However, multidisciplinary research can and will also improve the extent to which a country can protect its critical and vital assets. Applying Methods of Scientific Inquiry Into Intelligence, Security, and Counterterrorism is an essential scholarly publication that provides personnel directly working in the fields of intelligence, law enforcement, and science with the opportunity to understand the multidisciplinary nature of intelligence and science in order to improve current intelligence activities and contribute to the protection of the nation. Each chapter of the book discusses various components of science that should be applied to the intelligence arena. Featuring coverage on a range of topics including cybersecurity, economics, and political strategy, this book is ideal for law enforcement, intelligence and security practitioners, students, educators, and researchers.

Why is the problem of terrorism—and the emergence of more extreme and more brutal terrorist groups—one that cannot be solved, even after decades of trying? This book, authored by a United Nations Ambassador once imprisoned and tortured in Iraq, diagnoses the shortcomings of present counter-terrorism strategies and lays out an effective new plan for counterterrorism. The world has up to now failed to stop Al Qaeda terrorist attacks and also failed to stop the emergence of more extreme and more brutal terrorist groups than Al Qaeda, such as ISIS/ISIL, as well as newer lone wolf terrorists. Current strategies of counterterrorism have many shortcomings that allow terrorists to continue their operations. A New Counterterrorism Strategy: Why the World Failed to Stop Al Qaeda and ISIS/ISIL, and How to Defeat Terrorists identifies the shortcomings of present approaches and presents a comprehensive and sustainable strategy to combat terrorism. Author Ambassador T. Hamid Al-Bayati, an Iraqi politician, offers a unique insider's perspective about the war on terrorism. As a leader of the opposition against the terrorist regime of Saddam Hussein, he was arrested and tortured, until he fled Iraq. From the UK, he continued involvement in unfolding political events, until returning to Iraq and assuming high political appointments. These special insights are interwoven with accounts of detailed interactions and policies that provide the background for his explanation of the failures of counterterrorism strategies to date, and lessons learned from those mistakes. Al-Bayati spotlights the problems of terrorist cells, lone wolves, and foreign fighters developing in all parts of the world, where members work from safe havens to plan attacks, acquire weapons, and gain fighting experience. His proposed strategy further emphasizes issues neglected in current counterterrorism strategies, such as undermining the ideology of terrorists, interrupting their use of the Internet to promote evil, understanding the motivations and psychology of terrorists, deterring youth from joining ISIS, creating effective media campaigns against terrorism, and shutting off the flow of funding that currently buoys the financial resources of terrorist organizations.

As the internet and its applications grow more sophisticated and widespread, so too do the strategies of modern terrorist groups. The existence of the dark web adds to the online arsenal of groups using digital networks and sites to promulgate ideology or recruit supporters. It is necessary to understand how terrorist cells are using and adapting online tools in order to counteract their efforts. Utilization of New Technologies in Global Terror: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an informative resource that explores new developments in technological advancements and the progression of terror organizations while also examining non-government activist organizations and their new role in protecting internet freedom and combating cyberterrorism. Featuring relevant topics such as social media, cyber threats, and counterterrorism, this publication will benefit government officials, political scientists, policymakers, researchers, academicians, and graduate students interested in political science, mass communication, and cyberwarfare.

'An instant classic. Sabir is an inspiration' Arun Kundnani, author of The Muslims are Coming! What impact has two decades' worth of policing and counterterrorism had on the state of mind of Muslims in Britain? The Suspect draws on the author's experiences to take the reader on a journey through British counterterrorism practices and the policing of Muslims. Rizwaan Sabir describes what led to his arrest for suspected terrorism, his time in detention, and the surveillance he was subjected to on release from custody, including stop and search at the roadside, detentions at the border, monitoring by police and government departments, and an attempt by the UK military to recruit him into their psychological warfare unit. Writing publicly for the first time about the traumatising mental health effects of these experiences, Sabir argues that these harmful outcomes are not the result of errors in government planning, but the consequences of using a counterinsurgency warfare approach to fight terrorism and police Muslims. To resist the injustice of these policies and practices, we need to centre our lived experiences and build networks of solidarity and support.

This book presents a holistic view of the geopolitics of cyberspace that have arisen over the past decade, utilizing recent events to explain the international security dimension of cyber threat and vulnerability, and to document the challenges of controlling information resources and protecting computer systems. How are the evolving cases of cyber attack and breach as well as the actions of government and corporations shaping how cyberspace is governed? What object lessons are there in security cases such as those involving Wikileaks and the Snowden affair? An essential read for practitioners, scholars, and students of international affairs and security, this book examines the widely pervasive and enormously effective nature of cyber threats today, explaining why cyber attacks happen, how they matter, and how they may be managed. The book addresses a chronology of events starting in 2005 to comprehensively explain the international security dimension of cyber threat and vulnerability. It begins with an explanation of contemporary information technology, including the economics of contemporary cloud, mobile, and control systems software as well as how computing and networking-principally the Internet-are interwoven in the concept of cyberspace. Author Chris Bronk, PhD, then documents the national struggles with controlling information resources and protecting computer systems. The book considers major security cases such as Wikileaks, Stuxnet, the cyber attack on Estonia, Shamoon, and the recent exploits of the Syrian Electronic Army. Readers will understand how cyber security in the 21st century is far more than a military or defense issue, but is a critical matter of international law, diplomacy, commerce, and civil society as well. Provides relevant, rigorous information to those in the computer security field while also being accessible to a general audience of policy, international security, and military readers who seek to understand the cyber security issue and how it has evolved Documents how contemporary society is dependent upon cyberspace for its function, and that the understanding of how it works and how it can be broken is knowledge held by a precious few Informs both technically savvy readers who build and maintain the infrastructure of cyberspace and the policymakers who develop rules, processes, and laws on how the cyber security problem is managed

Conceptualizing Terrorism argues that, in the post 9/11 world, the need for an internationally agreed definition of terrorism is more important than it has ever been, despite the challenges that such an endeavour presents. Indeed, in a global context, where the term is often applied selectively and pejoratively according to where one's interests lie, there is a real need to instill some analytical quality into the concept of terrorism, not least in order to prevent the term being manipulated to justify all manner of counter-terrorism responses. Not only is this important for the policymaking context but it is also an imperative task within academia - in order to strengthen the theoretical foundation of terrorism studies, for all other terrorism related theories rest on what one means by terrorism in the first place. Written from an academic perspective, the book explores the prospects for terrorism as an analytical concept. Arguing that the essence of this particular form of political violence lies in its intent to generate a psychological impact beyond the immediate victims, it goes on to propose the adoption of three key preliminary assumptions that have implications for the definitional debate and that it suggests might help to increase the analytical potential of terrorism. The book then considers potential elements of a definition before concluding with its own conceptualization of terrorism.

Inherent Safety at Chemical Sites: Reducing Vulnerability to Accidents and Terrorism Through Green Chemistry highlights the use of green chemistry principles to identify and address serious threats and potential consequences caused by accidental and deliberate industrial chemical releases. Through valuable case studies, the book suggests wholesale replacements of hazardous chemicals with benign and inherently safer, or "greener," materials. More than physical security barriers and plans, such preventative measures better guarantee the safety of industrial employees and nearby residents. This valuable primer begins with an introduction to the concepts of green chemistry and outlines the various ways that a green approach to chemical design, production, and management is not only good for the planet, but also serves to protect people and infrastructure from terrorist acts. Specific examples and case studies are cited to illustrate what has been done to advance this cause, and offer guidance to those decision-makers who similarly aspire to greater safety and security for the people and resources they manage.

The enormous spread of devices gives access to virtual networks and to cyberspace areas where continuous flows of data and information are exchanged, increasing the risk of information warfare, cyber-espionage, cybercrime, and identity hacking. The number of individuals and companies that suffer data breaches has increased vertically with serious reputational and economic damage internationally. Thus, the protection of personal data and intellectual property has become a priority for many governments. Political Decision-Making and Security Intelligence: Recent Techniques and Technological Developments is an essential scholarly publication that aims to explore perspectives and approaches to intelligence analysis and performance and combines theoretical underpinnings with practical relevance in order to sensitize insights into training activities to manage uncertainty and risks in the decision-making process. Featuring a range of topics such as crisis management, policy making, and risk analysis, this book is ideal for managers, analysts, politicians, IT specialists, data scientists, policymakers, government officials, researchers, academicians, professionals, and security experts.

In the Middle East, the world's deadliest organizations, the Islamic State and al Qaeda have firmly established their presence in the Levant and the Gulf. In parallel, state- sponsored Shia threat networks, groups and cells, notably the Lebanese Hezbollah and Houthis operate throughout the Middle East and beyond. Exploiting the conflict zones and their cascading ideologies, both the Sunni and Shia threat entities compete to advance their own interests. Their parent and affiliate entities recruit and radicalise both territorial and diaspora Muslims to fight each other. Unless governments work together to mitigate the threat at the core and the edge, the Middle East and its peripheral territories in Asia and Africa will suffer from terrorism and political violence in the foreseeable future.The response to extremism and its vicious by-product terrorism requires both preventive intelligence-led and pre-emptive community-based security approaches. While developing tactical counter-terrorism capabilities, governments should build strategic capabilities to erode their support bases. The new frontiers in counter-terrorism and extremism - community engagement and rehabilitation - should be integrated into government planning. Unless governments take the lead and work with community leaders, societies will be threatened by the existing and emerging wave of ideologically-motivated violence. Government and community leaders should develop whole-of-government and whole-of-nation approaches to dismantle transnational threats. To contain, isolate and eliminate the evolving threat, the Middle Eastern states should shift from security cooperation to collaboration and partnership.

As the confluence of networks that is the modern Internet grows to encompass everything from nuclear reactors to home appliances, the affordances offered to the average citizen grow as well-but so, too, do the resources made available to those with malicious intent. Through the rise of Big Data and the Internet of Things, terrorist organizations today have been freed from geographic and logistical confines and now have more power than ever before to strike the average citizen directly at home. This, coupled with the inherently asymmetrical nature of cyberwarfare-which grants great advantage to the attacker-has created an unprecedented national security risk that both governments and their citizens are woefully ill-prepared to face. The Handbook of Research on Civil Society and National Security in the Era of Cyber Warfare addresses the problem of cyber terrorism head-on, first through a review of current literature, and then through a series of progressive proposals aimed at researchers, professionals, and policymakers. Touching on such subjects as cyber-profiling, hacktivism, and digital counterterrorism, this collection offers the tools to begin formulating a ground-up resiliency to cybersecurity threats that starts at the civilian level.

As concerns about human treatment of the environment and animals have increased over the years, so have decentralized and extremist groups related to these causes. Environmental and Animal Rights Extremism, Terrorism, and National Security analyzes the international development of radical movements relating to environmental concerns and animal rights in the context of the threats they pose to national security. In addition to tracing the factors responsible for the rapid growth of these movements over the last 25 years, this text presents countermeasures that governments can deploy to neutralize the risk posed by these threats now and in the future. Bringing to bear new developments such as cyber activity and online activism, Environmental and Animal Rights Extremism, Terrorism, and National Security offers an examination of the direct and indirect violence, lone-wolf terrorism, and leaderless resistance that have characterized these radical wings from their inception. By not only identifying the tactics and organizational structures often employed by these groups, but also addressing future trends toward increased radicalization, Environmental and Animal Rights Extremism, Terrorism, and National Security is an important resource for identifying, anticipating, and mitigating threats posed by such movements.

This edited translation of Katutugu Yoshida's Jiyuno Nigaiaji analyses the gradual process of reform in Taiwan over the past 100 years. It pays particular attention to the dilemmas, compromises and pitfalls that have faced reformists as they have strived to bring democratic change under a series of brutal dictatorships. The author discusses the historical background to Taiwan's current constitutional issues and its difficult relationship with the People's Republic of China. It explores in detail the way in which local political activism has transformed national politics, providing original analysis of democratic political thought in East Asia and a rich explanation of the social, historical and political context of democratization in Taiwan. The book makes a significant theoretical contribution to the literature on political reform by using the Taiwanese context to explore debates between reformists and revolutionaries and to consider the development of the concept of the right to self-determination. This challenging and stimulating book will strongly appeal to scholars and students with an interest in Asian studies, politics, public policy and public choice.

Application of Big Data for National Security provides users with state-of-the-art concepts, methods, and technologies for Big Data analytics in the fight against terrorism and crime, including a wide range of case studies and application scenarios. This book combines expertise from an international team of experts in law enforcement, national security, and law, as well as computer sciences, criminology, linguistics, and psychology, creating a unique cross-disciplinary collection of knowledge and insights into this increasingly global issue. The strategic frameworks and critical factors presented in Application of Big Data for National Security consider technical, legal, ethical, and societal impacts, but also practical considerations of Big Data system design and deployment, illustrating how data and security concerns intersect. In identifying current and future technical and operational challenges it supports law enforcement and government agencies in their operational, tactical and strategic decisions when employing Big Data for national security