PREVENT: creating “radicals” to strengthen anti-Muslim narratives

“She is of good behaviour and a good Muslim. Against this background, I accept on the evidence before me that this defendant gathered together the contents of the SD card in order to explore and understand the charges which her brothers faced. There is no evidence that she was motivated by their ideology or was preparing to follow them.” The judge in the case of Umm Ahmed clarified to the court that she had not been involved in illegality or had any intention to pose a threat to the UK. Despite this recognition, he sentenced Begum to a 12-month prison term for possessing the magazine Inspire which she had been reading to understand her charged brother’s case. What is unknown is the story of how Umm Ahmed was subjected to a deradicalisation programme, under the auspices of PREVENT and CHANNEL, without any indication of actual involvement in terrorism. The use of deradicalisation narratives in schools, universities and hospitals has led to the criminalisation of large sections of the various Muslim communities in the UK. Based on our experience of cases such as Umm Ahmed, we hope to present a view of how an aggressive anti-Muslim narrative that is based on assumptions subverts the political expression/identity of individuals by turning them into potential threats. The advocacy group CAGE has been working with Umm Ahmed in order to highlight the abuse of the terrorism narrative in her case, but also to understand the actual implementation of PREVENT and CHANNEL beyond their conceptual promotion as a safeguarding tool. By understanding the everyday interactions with PREVENT, a picture can be formed of the way that a false presentation of narratives can lead to a person becoming an “extremist” or “terrorist”, while the truth may lie in a completely alternative place.     

Sisters in Terrorism? Exploding Stereotypes

New Terrorism is increasingly deploying women in the field as combatants. Female suicide bombers have proven to be highly effective, precisely because of the persistence of gender stereotypes in target societies. Women terrorists convey a powerful message of political seriousness, heighten the sense of intimidation and threat, and attract greater mass media attention—all key strategic objectives of New Terrorism. Gender stereotypes are also at work in explanations for women's recourse to terrorist activism. Such stereotypes simplify complex motivations and either overvalue or undervalue women's agency. The net result of this stereotyping is that women end up worse off individually and collectively, domestically and internationally. The lives of women in geopolitical hotspots have become more precarious, and the valorization of women terrorists undermines the quest for women's emancipation in fundamentalist cultures. In Western democracies, paternalistic outrage at women's subordination under fundamentalist regimes may have initially served as a dubious justification for military and other interventions, but the involvement of women in terrorist activism now risks reinforcing an even more dangerous “clash of civilizations” thinking. One effect is to undermine the demands for greater gender equality in Western democracies as well as indirectly support the war on women political agenda domestically.     

网络恐怖主义及其防治——以犯罪学中的遏制理论为视角

利用网络实施颠覆性破坏是恐怖主义发展的一个新趋向,如何有效地防控网络恐怖主义已成为世界各国面临的一个共同课题.以犯罪学家雷克利斯的遏制理论为视角进行分析可以看出,宗教冲突、民族矛盾等是促成恐怖主义升级为网络恐怖主义的内部推力;实践中恐怖组织的不断受挫和利用网络实施恐怖活动的种种便利是推动网络恐怖主义产生的外部推力.因此,创建公平、公正、和谐的国际经济、政治、文化新秩序是消除网络恐怖主义的内部遏制力量,以立法为主导的综合防治对策是防控网络恐怖主义的外部遏制力量.     

试论防御型反恐怖模式

世界各国的防御型反恐怖工作基本上都有一个固定的模式。如果借用一个科学、合理的评价标准对其进行测评的话,我们就会发现此模式存在一些问题:预防阶段情报信息的核心作用还有待充分发挥,处置阶段政府、市场和公民社会反恐怖机制的协调作用还有待加强,重建阶段人性重建的先导作用还有待突显。因此,这就需要构建一个新型的防御型反恐怖模式,以应对反恐怖工作的需要。     

论恐怖主义的界定

恐怖主义行为尚包含政治性以外的目的,会使用暴力及其以外的手段,但最根本还是在一般民众中产生一种普遍的社会恐惧心理。     

恐怖主义即是战争：军事历史上的教训

恐怖主义是战争的一种形式,只有动用武装力量才能将其彻底铲除。恐怖活动作为一种军事战术,其目的是杀死敌方战士,降低公民的道德标准。为了打击恐怖主义,美国武装力量应对支持全球恐怖主义国家的军事盟友实施攻击,主要针对军事目标,不能伤及平民。美国武装力量也可以采用小股部队突袭的方式,深入敌方国家,对敌方领导人实施抓捕或处死。     

刑事法反恐若干问题探析

反恐需要国际、国内多种形式、全方位的介入,但作为最严厉的法律手段,无疑刑事法应首当其冲。对于什么是“恐怖主义”、什么是“参加恐怖组织罪”、如何完善恐怖犯罪的罪名和刑罚、如何兼顾反恐与人权的保护和主权的维护等问题,皆值得我们进行深入、全面的研究。     

Preferences,Knowledge, and Citizen Probability Assessments of the Terrorism Risk of Nuclear Power

How does the American public assess risk when it comes to national security issues? This paper addresses this question by analyzing variation in citizen probability assessments of the terrorism risk of nuclear power plants. Drawing on the literature on how motivated reasoning, selective information processing, and domain‐specific knowledge influence public opinion, we argue that heterogeneous issue preferences and knowledge of nuclear energy and homeland security have important explanatory power. Using original data from a unique 2009 national survey in the United States, we show that Americans are divided in their probability assessments of the terrorism risk of nuclear power plants. Consistent with our theoretical expectations, individuals who support using nuclear power to meet rising energy demands, who are generally less concerned with terrorism, or who are more knowledgeable about terrorism and nuclear security tend to provide lower assessments of the likelihood that nuclear power plants increase terrorist attacks, and vice versa. The findings have implications for the literature on public opinion, risk assessment, energy policy and planning, and homeland security.     

Review and Analysis on UN Security Council＇s Anti- Terrorism History

联合国宪章为安理会采取包括动用武力在内的强制行动打击国际恐怖主义提供了隐含的法律依据,如果国际恐怖主义达到危及国际和平与安全的程度,安理会就可以采取包括动武在内的强制行动介入反恐斗争。事实上,安理会已多次采取强制行动来打击国际恐怖主义。从法理方面分析,安理会可以授权以武力打击国际恐怖主义。打击国际恐怖主义与人权的国际保护并不矛盾;而保护人权,正是反恐的主要目的之一。     

反恐刑法的基本理念及立法完善研究

刑法是防控恐怖主义犯罪的最后一道防线.而当下我国无论是对反恐刑法的基本认识,还是刑法的相关规定都存在着许多值得反思和商榷之处.为扭转被动局面,实现对恐怖主义犯罪的有效规制,有必要创新恐怖主义犯罪刑法管控的基本理念,充实、完善其制度内容.唯有如此,才能增进恐怖主义犯罪防控的科学性、针对性和有效性.