Actions Speak Louder than Words: A Behavioral Analysis of 183 Individuals Convicted for Terrorist Offenses in the United States from 1995 to 2012

Involvement in terrorism has traditionally been discussed in relatively simplistic ways with little effort spent on developing a deeper understanding of what involvement actually entails, and how it differs from person to person. In this paper, we present the results of a three‐year project focused on 183 individuals associated with the global jihadist movement who were convicted in the United States, for terrorist offenses, between 1995 and 2012. These data were developed by a large‐scale, open‐source data collection activity that involved a coding dictionary of more than 120 variables. We identify and explore the diversity of behaviors that constitute involvement in terrorism. We also compare lone actors and those who acted as part of a group, finding that lone actors differed from group‐based actors in key demographic attributes and were more likely to be involved in attack execution behaviors. Implications for counterterrorism are then discussed.     

恐怖主义爆炸案件的现场处置和防控对策——以奥运为背景

爆炸袭击,是当前恐怖组织使用比较频繁的一种恐怖手段。恐怖主义爆炸案件的特点主要有：倾向白天作案,自杀式爆炸较多,基于政党、宗教、民族等利益,袭击目标往往具有象征性,实施主体有严密的组织保障,后果严重。恐怖主义爆炸案件的现场处置工作主要有：抢救伤员的同时开展侦查工作;统一指挥,多部门协作;封锁现场,疏散群众;排除隐患,确保现场工作人员自身安全;控制媒体过早介入。必须加强恐怖主义爆炸案件的防控,加强情报和安检工作,加强巡逻,广泛利用电子监控设备,引导媒体宣传工作。     

当代恐怖主义的特征与发展趋势

近年来,恐怖主义已成为影响世界稳定和地区安全的首要威胁与影响和平发展的巨大阻力,日益引起世界各国的高度重视.国际社会对其进行了联合打击,但其活动仍呈蔓延之势,表现出鲜明的政治性、组织性、非国家主体性、隐蔽性、突发性、宗教性等特征,并呈现出恐怖主义组织类型与恐怖手段多元化、组织形式网络化与分散化、恐怖主义活动国际化等发展趋势,必须予以密切关注,在此基础上做好相应的情报预警工作,努力把恐怖主义的危害降低到最低限度.     

警惕个体恐怖犯罪的泛滥

个体恐怖犯罪在我国的出现越来越多,危害越来越大,然而它与有组织的恐怖犯罪有明显的区别。引起个体恐怖犯罪的原因有很多,既包括对社会严重不满和对他人极端仇视等复杂原因,也包括了社会转型期各种复杂矛盾引起的问题。为了防范此类犯罪,我们要更多地了解个体恐怖犯罪的特点和危害,以便采取相应的措施来进行应对。     

Religious Radicalization and Lone‐Actor Terrorism: A Matter for Psychiatry?

This article discusses the place of the psychiatric field in the ongoing phenomenon of religious radicalization. First, the article provides an overview of the existing literature on lone‐actor terrorists and the link with mental illness. Current research is focusing increasingly on lone‐actor terrorists. This is the most recent and rising development on the global terrorism scene. The literature is currently developing a more precise and informed definition of lone‐actor terrorism. The article then describes and discusses the case study of a mentally ill patient arrested following his assault on a military serviceman on the grounds of religious radicalization. The patient, diagnosed with schizophrenia, is taken as an example of the specific case of religious radicalization in patients with schizophrenia. Finally, the article discusses the curative and preventive roles that can be played by psychiatrists and other professionals who are in contact with these types of patients.     

Promoting Muslims’ Willingness to Report Terror Threats to Police: Testing Competing Theories of Procedural Justice

The heightened threat of terrorism in the West has resulted in more power being granted to police. However, new anti-terror laws and heavy-handed policing practices can stigmatize Muslim communities. Using survey data from 800 Australian Muslims this paper examines whether procedural justice policing in counter-terrorism enhances Muslims’ feelings of social inclusion, and promotes their intentions to report terror threats to police. Of interest is how procedural justice influences Muslims who feel less socially included. Three competing theoretical frameworks differ in the predictions they make about when and why procedural justice influences excluded groups. This paper considers each framework and discusses how each explains the relationships between our variables of interest. Our findings show that procedural justice is positively associated with social inclusion and intentions to report terror threats to police. Findings also show that social inclusion both moderates and partially mediates the effect of procedural justice on reporting intentions.     

Fear of terrorism: media exposure and subjective fear of attack

In many Western countries, citizen knowledge of terrorist events is intrinsically shaped by the style of broadcasted messages published by the media. Media discourses regarding terrorist acts raise questions about how such rhetoric elicits fear in people who typically experience such events through news reports. However, we do not fully understand the impact of the media on perceptions of terrorism as clearly as we understand the relationship between the media and fear of crime. This study examines how media sources accessed actively (e.g. through newspapers; Internet) or passively (e.g. through television; radio) influence knowledge and fear of terrorism. We find receiving information about terrorism from multiple media sources increases fear of terrorism, but media sources accessed passively are not as influential as media sources accessed more actively. These results highlight how media consumption from various sources may affect one’s fear of terrorism, and further illustrates how the role of perceived knowledge may exacerbate or mitigate fear. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

论国际法条件责任原则的最新发展

二次世界大战之前,国际社会普遍坚持条件责任原则,认为执行上级命令在一般情况下可以作为免除刑事责任的辩护理由;二战之后,纽伦堡审判确立了绝对责任原则,强调无论在任何情况下都不能将执行上级责任作为免除刑事责任的理由。《国际刑事法院规章》第33条是两种责任形式的融合。9.11事件后,恐怖主义的出现使国际社会对于执行上级命令能否免责的问题再次进行了思考。本文认为条件责任原则的存在,一方面是考虑到了军事社会的特殊性质,一方面也顾及到了当代对于战俘、普通民众的保护,并不会削减国际法的基础,是当代国际社会应当努力达成的目标。