Rethinking Terrorism and Counterterrorism Since 9/11

This article examines what has been learned since 11 September 2001 about the nature of twenty-first-century terrorism, the challenges that it poses, and how it must be countered. It attempts to better understand Usama bin Laden and the terrorist entity that he created and to assess whether we are more or less secure as a result of the U.S.-led actions in Afghanistan and the pursuit of the al Qaeda network. The article considers these issues, placing them in the context of the major trends in terrorism that have unfolded in recent months and will likely affect the future course of political violence.     

The Security Situation in Southern Thailand: Toward an Understanding of Domestic and International Dimensions

The spat of recent violence in Southern Thailand has drawn international attention once again to the political and security situation in the Malay-Muslim provinces of Thailand's restive Southern region. In this regard, this article suggests that in the search for solutions, the Thai government cannot afford to be pre-occupied with Muslim militancy while ignoring the role of other forces and interest groups, or the sensitivities of the Muslim population at large. Doing so, this article contends, will foster the very environment it should aim to eliminate--one that continues to alienate its Malay-Muslim community, strains relations with important neighbors, and encourages exploitation from foreign terrorist networks seeking a foothold in Southeast Asia.­     

Europol and EU Counterterrorism: International Security Actorness in the External Dimension

This article offers an analysis of Europol's security actorness in the external dimension of EU counterterrorism. While Europol has attracted some scholarly attention, not so much work has focused on the meaning of its international agreements in counterterrorism. This article aims to investigate the international actorness of Europol at the international level in relation to the fight against international terrorism. It offers original conceptual insights based on empirical case studies of international agreements: Europol agreements with U.S. law enforcement, as well as Europol agreements with countries in the European Neighbourhood policy.     

Mechanisms of Convergence in Domestic Counterterrorism Regulations: American Influence,Domestic Needs,and International Networks

This article seeks to determine the mechanism(s) behind the convergence of domestic counterterrorism regulations that has been noted across many Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Four hypotheses are developed and tested through regression analyses. These hypotheses examine (1) U.S. influence, operationalized though a unique U.S. footprint indicator; (2) national characteristics; (3) the extent to which states’ domestic structures match; and (4) international networks. We find little support that U.S. influence matters. The international influence that does exist seems to operate through networks promoting learning, especially following a rise in the general global threat level. National characteristics as a driver also find some support.     

Endgames: Improving Our Understanding of Homegrown Terrorism

This article examines how the phenomenon of homegrown terrorism has evolved over the past decade. It argues that there have been significant developments that impact how we conceptualize and study it and offers two suggestions moving forward. It argues that re-branding it Islamist-inspired homegrown terrorism (IIHGT) better captures the nuances of this phenomenon and that sub-dividing it by “endgame,” the action the radicalized individual pursues creates the opportunity for a more robust analysis and provides a better way to compare incidents and identify traits that our current efforts overlook. Focusing on the action component may also provide a new way to investigate radicalization as the different endgames represent an escalation in violence, suggesting different degrees of radicalization might also be present.     

Toward a Theory of Terrorism: Human Security as a Determinant of Terrorism

In this article, we investigate the relationship between human rights conditions and terrorist activity. We begin by outlining a theory for the genesis and growth of terrorism and argue that states which deny subsistence rights along with civil and political rights create an environment that is conducive to the development of terrorism. However, we conclude that it is the denial of security rights that is a necessary condition for the creation and growth of terrorism. We then examine the causes of terrorism in Northern Ireland in light of this theory. Specifically, we explore the extent to which human rights abuses contributed to the formation and growth of terrorists within Northern Ireland. We find that limits on the civil and political rights of the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland played a significant role in the genesis of terrorism. More importantly, British abuses of security rights increased the number of Irish citizens who supported and participated in terrorist activity.     

Toward a Theory of Terrorism: Human Security as a Determinant of Terrorism

In this article, we investigate the relationship between human rights conditions and terrorist activity. We begin by outlining a theory for the genesis and growth of terrorism and argue that states which deny subsistence rights along with civil and political rights create an environment that is conducive to the development of terrorism. However, we conclude that it is the denial of security rights that is a necessary condition for the creation and growth of terrorism. We then examine the causes of terrorism in Northern Ireland in light of this theory. Specifically, we explore the extent to which human rights abuses contributed to the formation and growth of terrorists within Northern Ireland. We find that limits on the civil and political rights of the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland played a significant role in the genesis of terrorism. More importantly, British abuses of security rights increased the number of Irish citizens who supported and participated in terrorist activity.     

V for Vendetta: Government Mass Killing and Domestic Terrorism

Scholarship explores the impact of human rights abuse and state repression on terrorism. Heretofore, scholarship has ignored the impact of government-sponsored killings on domestic terrorism. This article proposes that mass killings create a focal point for terrorist mobilization. The vendetta agenda fuels violence by animating retributory violence. Additionally, mass atrocities create a permissive environment for violent nonstate activity. A spiral of violence ensues whereby groups resort to terrorism. Utilizing data from the Global Terrorism Database, 1971–2011, the study shows that mass killings significantly increase domestic terrorism. It contributes to emerging scholarship examining how state policies influence terrorist activity.     

The Grey Threat: Presence of Jihadist Terrorism and Failings in the Portuguese National Security System

This article starts by establishing a link between the nature of the threats created by jihadist terrorism and global organized crime and the investigation model used by Portuguese intelligence and police entities to detect and eliminate them. The visible manifestations of jihad terrorism and related organized crime recorded in Portugal since 2001 are also documented. The article goes on to analyze most recent theories produced on the importance of intelligence work and criminal investigation in combating these threats. On this basis, the article raises the hypothesis that Portugal's capacity to confront these threats has been dangerously weakened by the investigation powers constraints and conflicts of jurisdiction in the national security system, the lack of effective coordination in the whole system, and delays in the necessary reforms for over a decade.     

Narcotization as Security Dilemma: The FARC and Drug Trade in Colombia

This article addresses the relationship between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the cocaine trade in Colombia, and implications for the FARC's complete demobilization under the 2016 peace agreement. The article identifies two phases of FARC interaction with drug markets. During the regulation phase (1982–1991), the FARC regulated the coca economy and charged protection rents. During vertical integration (1991–present), the FARC directly participated in drug markets. Contrary to conventional approaches, the article adopts the concept of the security dilemma to argue that FARC integration in drug markets was a strategic response to threats from paramilitaries and narcotics traffickers.     

A Partnership to Counter International Terrorism: The UN Security Council and the UN Member States

Following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolutions 1368 and 1373 and thereby created the basis of a global counterterrorism system. At the heart of this system lies a partnership between the Security Council and the UN member states—a partnership in which states have been given considerable, independent, operational responsibility. Unfortunately, this system has often been criticized and viewed pessimistically by scholars, who tend to focus primarily on UN bodies and offer little discussion of the key role of states. This article presents a different conceptualization of this counterterrorism system and suggests, through case studies, that it has attained some important objectives in the global struggle against terrorism.     

Analytic Models and Policy Prescription: Understanding Recent Innovation in U.S. Counterterrorism

The threat of terrorism, particularly terrorism involving a weapon of mass destruction (WMD), has received enormous attention in the last decade. Since the mid1990s, the federal government has embarked on a concerted national effort to prepare the country for acts of WMD terrorism. A key component of the counterterrorism agenda is the domestic preparedness program, a series of initiatives aimed at reducing America's vulnerability to a WMD terrorist attack. However, there is a heated debate over whether or not the United States needs a domestic preparedness program at all. This article argues that much of the debate originates in disparate approaches to analyzing terrorism. Terrorism studies specialists use an internal model that analyzes the root causes, motives, and historical patterns of terrorism and concludes that the threat of WMD terrorism against the United States is not sufficient to warrant the domestic preparedness budget. Policy makers and national security experts, however, rely on an external risk assessment model that considers terrorism within the context of the many risks to American security. This assessment model evaluates WMD terrorism on the basis of risk and consequences, and reaches a logical conclusion that the potential for mass destruction not only merits, but also requires a level of domestic preparedness.     

Contextualizing Political Terrorism: A Collective Action Perspective for Understanding the Tanzim

An attempt is made to embed the study of political terrorism within the larger phenomenon of Collective Action. It is suggested that the analysis of dynamics within and between components of Collective Action—structure of conflict, a social movement, authorities, and contention—can be beneficial for gaining additional insights into the study of group risk for political terrorism. Using the case of the Tanzim contention with Israeli forces it is demonstrated how processes within, between, and outside the conflictants affected Tanzim members' decision to employ political terrorism. Based on the analysis, several implications for counterterrorism are offered.     

中日韩军事安全合作的困境与出路

特殊的地缘政治关系和历史宿怨等问题,使得中日韩三国军事安全困境并未消除,甚至有所加深。制约中日韩军事安全合作深入发展的最大障碍,既有现实的领土争端问题,也有互信的缺失和国家情感与民族情绪问题,更有美国在东亚的军事同盟所造成的消极影响。而消除中日韩安全困境的途径尽管存在但难度极大,这种状况一定程度上制约了三国间军事安全合作的深入发展。但是,在全球化的背景下,三国也的确存在着共同的安全利益,只要三国能够在以中国倡导的新安全观问题上达成共识,真正拥有超越历史积怨的未来视野、超越冷战思维的战略智慧和超越自我的勇敢和自信,三国在一些关乎世界安全的重大领域中的军事合作仍然存在可能,尽管这种合作可能是有限的,但仍能为维护东亚乃至世界的和平与稳定发挥重大作用。     

The Lebanese Hizballah and Israeli Counterterrorism

This article examines Israel's attempts to weaken and defeat the Lebanese Hizballah. It reviews Hizballah's rise after the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, Hizballah's successful effort to force Israeli forces to withdraw from Lebanon in 2000, the 2006 war, and Israeli attempts to deter Hizballah. The article argues that Israel has largely failed to defeat Hizballah militarily and politically. Israel's experience offers lessons for how terrorist groups learn, the effectiveness of terrorist attrition strategies against casualty-sensitivity states, the difficulties in coercing terrorist groups, and the importance of an information strategy. Finally, Israel's clash with Hizballah indicates the importance of thinking of groups that are large and multi-faceted from a counterinsurgency paradigm.     

The Thawing of a Frozen Conflict: The Internal Security Dilemma and the 2004 Prelude to the Russo-Georgian War

While the proximate causes of the 2008 Russo–Georgian war have yet to be satisfactorily investigated, an assessment of an earlier occasion of conflict in South Ossetia in 2004 can lay the groundwork for an analysis of the later war. Like the 2008 war, the 2004 conflict was comprehensible on the basis of the ambitious war plans of opposing sides, but it was ultimately rooted in a security dilemma. The conflict thus provides a precedent for considering how a mix of limited offensive intentions, insecurity, uncertainty, and cognitive shortcuts and misperceptions had the capacity to lead to inadvertent war between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia.     

After the Madrid Bombings: Internal Security Reforms and Prevention of Global Terrorism in Spain

Approaching the Madrid train bombings of 11 March 2004 from a security perspective, the occurrence of these highly lethal blasts made it evident not only a major intelligence failure, but also serious problems in the coordination between law enforcement agencies and deficiencies in international cooperation to prevent such deadly manifestations of global terrorism. As a result, governmental measures adopted in Spain immediately afterwards to reform the internal security structures and thus more adequately face the persisting risks and threats associated with that phenomenon, paid particular attention to increasing intelligence capabilities, advancing antiterrorist coordination and strengthening collaboration with relevant nations, alongside other initiatives aimed at preventing and countering al-Qaeda related terrorist activities. Overall, those measures enjoyed a high degree of legitimation among citizens.