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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political activism > Terrorism, freedom fighters, armed struggle
Winner of the 2007 Paul Guggenheim Prize! Today's terrorists
possess unprecedented power, but the State still plays a crucial
role in the success or failure of their plans. Terrorists count on
governmental inaction, toleration or support. And citizens look to
the State to protect them from the dangers that these terrorists
pose. But the rules of international law that regulate State
responsibility for preventing terrorism were crafted for a
different age. They are open to abuse and poorly suited to hold
States accountable for sponsoring or tolerating contemporary
terrorist activity. It is time that these rules were reconceived.
Tal Becker's incisive and ground-breaking book analyses the law of
State responsibility for non-State violence and examines its
relevance in a world coming to terms with the threat of
catastrophic terrorism. The book sets out the legal duties of
States to prevent, and abstain from supporting, terrorist activity
and explores how to maximise State compliance with these
obligations. Drawing on a wealth of precedents and legal sources,
the book offers an innovative approach to regulating State
responsibility for terrorism, inspired by the principles and
philosophy of causation. In so doing, it presents a new conceptual
and legal framework for dealing with the complex interactions
between State and non-State actors that make terrorism possible,
and offers a way to harness international law to enhance human
security in a post-9/11 world.
This book tells the story of the United States' relationship with
the Taliban from the start of the Taliban movement until its
retreat from Kabul in the face of the US invasion of Afghanistan in
2001. The US and the Taliban held countless meetings, but could
never come to a workable arrangement, and this book examines both
why diplomatic recognition was so important to the Taliban
government and why the US refused to recognize it. It presents a
concise, readable, and interesting perspective on US/Taliban
relations from the fall of Kabul in 1996 until the fall of Kabul in
2001.
This book examines the threat of a terrorist organisation
constructing and detonating a nuclear bomb. It explores the role
and impact of the organisational design of a terrorist organisation
in implementing a nuclear terrorism plot. In order to do so, the
work builds on the organisational analogy between an assumed
nuclear terrorism scenario and four case studies as follows: the
construction of the first atomic bombs at Los Alamos; South
Africa's Peaceful Nuclear Explosives (PNE) program; Aum Shinrikyo's
chemical-biological armament activities; and Al Qaeda's
implementation of the 9/11 attacks. Extrapolating insights from
these case studies, this book introduces the idea of an
effectiveness-efficiency trade-off. On the one hand, it will be
argued that a more organic organisational design is likely to
benefit the effective implementation of a nuclear terrorism
project. On the other hand, this type of organic organisational
design is also likely to simultaneously constitute an inefficient
way for a terrorist organisation to guarantee its operational and
organisational security. It follows, then, that the implementation
of a nuclear terrorism plot via an organic organisational design is
also likely to be an inefficient strategy for a terrorist
organisation to achieve its strategic and political goals. This
idea of an effectiveness-efficiency trade-off provides us with a
tool to strengthen the comprehensive nature of future nuclear
terrorism threat assessments and sheds new light on the ongoing
debates within the nuclear terrorism literature. This book will be
of particular interest to students of nuclear proliferation,
terrorism studies, international organisations, and security
studies in general.
This book examines the issue of territorial control by violent
jihadist groups, using a comparative perspective. The book argues
that in many parts of the world the connection between a state and
the control over territory is not as close as presented by
conventional political maps, and therefore it is necessary to
analyse the territoriality of non-state actors as well. Based on a
variety of case studies, the work looks at different levels of
connection between the violent Islamist groups and territory,
dividing them into non-territorial, semi-territorial and
territorial groups. While the majority of the cases are located in
the Middle East (Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaeda at the Arabian
Peninsula, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Hamas and Hezbollah), the book
also draws cases from Africa (groups in the western Sahel,
Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram), South Asia (Taliban), and East Asia
(Abu Sayyaf). By providing in-depth understanding of their
respective approaches to territory, the book identifies the
specifics of each group's territoriality, while also drawing more
general conclusions. This book will be of much interest to students
of terrorism and political violence, radical Islam, Middle Eastern
studies, and International Relations in general.
This is the first comprehensive study of the core philosophical
questions posed by terrorism such as: How should we define it? Is
it morally distinctive? Can it be morally justified?Igor Primoratz
seeks to overcome relativism and double standards that often plague
debates about terrorism. He investigates the main ethical
approaches to terrorism: in terms of its consequences, rights and
justice, "supreme emergency," and the collective responsibility of
citizens. The book provides a rigorous, yet accessible analysis of
a range of moral positions, from the acceptance of terrorism when
its consequences are good on balance to its absolute rejection.
Primoratz argues that terrorism is almost absolutely wrong. It may
be morally justified only when an entire people is facing a true
moral disaster, and this should be understood in a highly
restrictive way.Conceptual analysis and normative arguments about
the practice of terrorism are complemented with case studies of
terror-bombing of German cities in World War II and the role of
terrorism in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."Terrorism: A
Philosophical Investigation" will be essential reading for
researchers and students of philosophy and politics, and the
general reader seeking to understand and evaluate acts and
campaigns of terrorism.
The Oxford Handbook of the History of Terrorism presents a
revaluation of the major narratives in the history of terrorism,
exploring the emergence and the use of terrorism in world history
from antiquity up to the twenty-first century. The essays collected
in this handbook constitute the first systematic analysis of the
relationship between terrorism and modernity on a global scale from
the French Revolution to the present. Historians and political
theorists have long asserted such a link, but this causal
connection has rarely been rigorously investigated, and the failure
to examine such a crucial aspect of terrorism has contributed to
the spread of unsubstantiated claims about its nature and origins.
Terrorism is often presented as a perennial barbarism forever
lurking outside of civilization when, in fact, it is a historically
specific form of political violence generated by modern Western
culture that was then transported around the globe, where it was
transformed in accordance with local conditions. This handbook
offers cogent arguments and well-documented case studies that
support a reading of terrorism as an explicitly modern phenomenon.
It also provides sustained analyses of the challenges involved in
the application of the theories and practices of modernity and
terrorism to non-Western parts of the world. The volume presents an
overview of terrorism's antecedents in the pre-modern world,
analyzes the emergence of terrorism in the West, and presents a
series of case studies from non-Western parts of the world that
together constitute terrorism's global reception history. Essays
cover a broad range of topics from tyrannicide in ancient Greek
political culture, the radical resistance movement against Roman
rule in Judea, the invention of terrorism in Europe, Russia, and
the United States, anarchist networks in France, Argentina, and
China, imperial terror in Colonial Kenya, anti-colonial violence in
India, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, and the German Autumn, to
right-wing, eco-and religious terrorism, as well as terrorism's
entanglements with science, technology, media, literature and art.
The Oxford Handbook of the History of Terrorism ultimately provides
an account of the global history of terrorism and coverage of the
most important cases from this history, always presented with an
eye towards their entanglement with the forces and technologies of
modernity.
This book investigates how Uyghur-related violent conflict and
Uyghur ethnic minority identity, religion, and the Xinjiang region,
more broadly, became constituted as a 'terrorism' problem for the
Chinese state. Building on securitization theory, Critical
Terrorism Studies (CTS), and the scholarly definitional debate on
terrorism, it develops the concept of terroristization as a
critical analytical framework for the study of historical processes
of threat construction. Investigating the violent events reported
in Xinjiang since the early 1980s, the evolving discursive patterns
used by the Chinese state to make sense of violent incidents, and
the crackdown policies that the official terrorism discourse has
legitimized, the book demonstrates how the securitization, and
later terroristization, of Xinjiang and the Uyghurs, is the result
of a discursive and political choice of the Chinese state. The
author reveals the contingent and unstable nature of such
construction, and how it problematizes the inevitability of the
rationale behind China's 'war on terror', that has prescribed a
brutal crackdown as the most viable approach to governing the
tensions that have historically characterized China's rule over the
Turkic Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. This book will be of
interest to scholars and students of the politics of contemporary
China, security and ethnic minority issues, International Relations
and Security, as well as those adopting discursive approaches to
the study of security, notably those within the critical security
and terrorism studies fields.
This book contextualizes the Munich massacre as one of the factors
that contributed to a re-thinking of security strategies in the
early 1970s, a moment in the evolution of modern governments' fight
against terrorism. In the early hours of September 5th, 1972,
heavily armed members of the Palestinian group, Black September,
turned terrorism into a global televisual spectacle for the first
time by entering the Olympic Village, where they murdered two
Israeli athletes and took nine of their teammates hostage in 31
Connollystrasse. Indeed, terrorism has far-reaching implications on
social, psychological, and political levels. Sporting attacks on
athletic personalities or mega-events may also seriously affect the
reputation of the political leadership, ultimately undermining the
state's authority. Hence, 50 years later, this book aims to gather
contemporaneous scholarly work that further explores this topic
from a variety of perspectives-from security, sociology, media,
history, public relations, to the political, ideological, and
psychological aspects of sport and terror. This volume will be of
great use to scholars and researchers interested in Terrorist and
Security studies, political violence, and the Arab Israeli
conflict, particularly the collective memory of the Munich
Massacre. The chapters in this book were first published as a
special issue of Israel Affairs.
This book fills a gap in our knowledge about the activities of
Western supporters and members of Islamic State by examining the
experience of their Australian cohort. More than 200 Australian
men, women and children travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight with
Islamist groups and to help establish an Islamic State by force.
Dozens more assisted Islamic State by supporting those overseas or
by planning or carrying out terrorist attacks in Australia. For all
that, little is publicly known about the impact of the Syrian
conflict on Australia's radical Islamists. This book provides a
well-researched examination of how and why so many Australians
travelled to fight for or otherwise supported Islamic State. From
the failed attempt to bring down an Etihad passenger plane en route
from Sydney to Abu Dhabi, to showing their children holding the
heads of Syrian soldiers, Australians were prominent in carrying
out Islamic State's directions. Using a range of Australian and
foreign court records, social and mainstream media content, this
book provides the first detailed look at who these people were,
what tasks they carried out, how they came to adopt this radical
view of Islam and what long-term legal and security implications
are likely to result from their actions. This book will be of
interest to students of terrorism, political Islam and security
studies.
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
Explaining the means utilised by the editors of the Islamic State's
online magazines to win the "hearts and minds" of their audiences,
this book is a result of a multidimensional content analysis of two
flagship periodicals of the Islamic State: Dabiq and Rumiyah.
Drawing from a number of theoretical concepts in propaganda
studies, the research uses comparative analysis to understand the
evolution of the modus operandi employed by the editorial staff.
The volume evaluates the types of arguments used in these
magazines, as well as the emotions and behaviour that these
triggered in readers. This book concentrates on the formats and
thematic composition of a variety of the Islamic State's
e-periodicals, including Dabiq, Rumiyah, Dar al-Islam or
Konstantiniyye, from the viewpoint of the constantly changing
strategic situation and priorities of the "Caliphate." The
e-magazines of the post-territorial phase of the Islamic State,
e.g. From Dabiq to Rome and Youth of the Caliphate, were also taken
into consideration. Overall, this book does not only offer new
insights into the propaganda methods of the Islamic State's
periodicals, but it also summarises their rise and fall between
2014 and 2019. The volume is dedicated mostly to academics and
postgraduate students specialised in terrorism studies, political
violence, and security studies.
'One the foremost writers and participants in the Kurdish women's
movement' - Harsha Walia The Kurdish women's movement is at the
heart of one of the most exciting revolutionary experiments in the
world today: Rojava. Forged over decades of struggle, most recently
in the fight against ISIS, Rojava embodies a radical commitment to
ecology, democracy and women's liberation. But while striking
images of Kurdish women in military fatigues proliferate, a true
understanding of the women's movement remains elusive. Taking apart
the superficial and Orientalist frameworks that dominate, Dilar
Dirik offers instead an empirically rich account of the women's
movement in Kurdistan. Drawing on original research and
ethnographic fieldwork, she surveys the movement's historical
origins, ideological evolution, and political practice over the
past forty years. Going beyond abstract ideas, Dirik locates the
movement's culture and ideology in its concrete work for women's
revolution in the here and now. Taking the reader from the
guerrilla camps in the mountains to radical women's academies and
self-organised refugee camps, readers around the world can engage
with the revolution in Kurdistan, both theoretically and
practically, as a vital touchstone in the wider struggle for a
militant anti-fascist, anti-capitalist feminist internationalism.
The Terrorism Reader is an intriguing introduction to a notorious
and disturbing international phenomenon. The book draws together
material from a variety of experts and clearly explains their
opinions on terrorism, allowing understanding, conjecture and
debate. David J. Whittaker explores all aspects of terrorism from
its definition, psychological and sociological effects, legal and
ethical issues to counter-terrorism. In a particularly original
way, the Reader illustrates the growth and variety of terrorism
with a series of case studies from four continents including: the
Taliban and the al-Qaida terror network, and America's war against
terrorism ETA and Spain the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
the Liberation Tigers in Sri Lanka the IRA and UFF in Northern
Ireland the Shining Path in Peru. This new edition includes fully
updated chapters on Palestine and Israel, the London 7/7 bombings
and a a new chapter on Jihad, as well as a focus on issues of
contemporary concern such as state terrorism, terrorist withdrawal
and deradicalisation, and human rights.
Pirates and Emperors, Old and New constitutes a collection of
extended essays written between 1986 and 2001 which explore how
"selected incidents of terrorism" are used as a cover for Western
violence across the globe. Topics covered include the Lockerbie
Bombing, the Second Palestinian Intifada and the attacks on the
World Trade Centre. For those who want to understand the roots of
American military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, recent
interventions in Libya, and the on-going destruction of Palestine
this collection remains invaluable. This edition first published
2002
Over recent decades, it has been widely recognised that terrorist
attacks at sea could result in major casualties and cause
significant disruptions to the free flow of international shipping.
After discussing the overlaps and distinctions between piracy and
maritime terrorism, this book considers how the International Ship
and Port Facility Security Code, and other vessel identification
and tracking measures in the 1974 International Convention for the
Safety of Life at Sea, would be likely to reduce the risk of
terrorist attacks at sea. It explains how the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea is less than clear on the powers
of states to protect offshore installations, submarine cables and
pipelines from interference by terrorists. In light of these
uncertainties, it considers how the 2005 Protocol to the Convention
for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Maritime Navigation,
the doctrine of necessity and states' inherent self-defence rights
might apply in the maritime security context. A significant
contribution of the book is the formulation of the Maritime
Terrorism Threat Matrix, which provides a structured framework for
examining how maritime terrorism incidents have occurred, and might
occur in the future. The book also examines the relevant national
maritime security legislation for preventing maritime terrorist
attacks in the United Kingdom and in Australia. The book concludes
by formulating guidelines for the unilateral interdiction of
suspected terrorist vessels in exceptional circumstances, and
recommending priorities for governments and international maritime
industries to focus on in order to reduce the risk for terrorist
attacks at sea. It will be of interest to those working in the
areas of Law and Terrorism, Law of the Sea, Maritime Law and
Insurance and International Law.
The Law of War and Peace offers a cutting-edge analysis of the
relationship between law, armed conflict, gender and peace. This
book, which is the first of two volumes, focuses on the interplay
between international law and gendered experiences of armed
conflict. It provides an in-depth analysis of the key debates on
collective security, unilateral force, the laws governing conflict,
terrorism and international criminal law. While much of the current
scholarship has centered on the UN Security Council's Resolutions
on Women, Peace and Security, this two-volume work seeks to move
understandings beyond the framework established by WPS. It does
this through providing a critical and intersectional approach to
gender and conflict which is mindful of transnational feminist and
queer perspectives.
This book offers insights into the building of trust in Muslim
communities through community engagement in a climate of
counter-terrorism. Police engagement with Muslim communities is
complex with a history of distrust. This book first attempts to
understand the role and implications of uncertainty on community
engagement in Muslim communities, and then explores the cultural
nuances associated with the demonstration of trustworthiness, and
decisions to bestow trust. It further highlights the complexities
and implications for Muslim leaders when trying to simultaneously
engage police and appease their own communities; the book exposes
community perceptions of an over-reaction by authorities that has
moved suspicion from a handful of terrorists to the entire Muslim
community, resulting in problematic community perceptions that
Muslim communities are being targeted by police. The findings
suggest that the intentionality of police is a highly significant
consideration in trust negotiations, and reveals a number of
cultural preferences considered critical to trust negotiations. The
book further highlights opportunities to enhance the development of
trust and avoid pitfalls that can be problematic to community
engagement. The lessons learned seek to enhance the existing body
of literature regarding strategies and resources to improve
counter-terrorism community engagement with Muslim communities.
This book will be of much interest to students of
counter-terrorism, preventing violent extremism, deradicalization,
and security studies.
This book offers an exploration of the comprehensive impact of the
events of September 11, 2001, on every aspect of American culture
and society. On Thanksgiving day after September 11, 2001, comic
strip creators directed readers to donate money in their artwork,
generating $50,000 in relief funds. The world's largest radio
network, Clear Channel, sent a memo to all of its affiliated
stations recommending 150 songs that should be eliminated from
airplay because of assumptions that their lyrics would be perceived
as offensive in light of the events of 9/11. On the first
anniversary of September 11th, choirs around the world performed
Mozart's Requiem at 8:46 am in each time zone, the time of the
first attack on the World Trade Center. These examples are just
three of the ways the world—but especially the United
States—responded to the events of September 11, 2001. Each
chapter in this book contains a chronological overview of the sea
of changes in everyday life, literature, entertainment, news and
media, and visual culture after September 11. Shorter essays focus
on specific books, TV shows, songs, and films.
* Explores everything from self-belief to climate change denial and
the anti-Vaxx movement, navigating readers through the functions of
doubt, from the everyday to the extreme. * Looks at how doubt is
dispelled, how it can be 'weaponised', and how both the
proliferation and absence of doubt can lead to harmful belief
systems. * Features interviews with Nobel prize winners, former
terrorists, world class athletes, famous artists and coaches to
explore how doubt functions in the lives of transformational
thinkers and figures of popular interest.
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