Ethics,terrorism and counter‐terrorism

Traditionally, the Talmudic Orthodoxy always postulated the reestablishing of a Jewish state only by an act of God's grace at messianic times. The establishment of Israel by secular Jews thus caused real consternation among Orthodox sects. Ultra Orthodox sects did not even recognize Israel as a Jewish entity. However, the occupation of the West Bank, the site of the ancient Jewish kingdoms, in 1967 was seen by many Orthodox Jews as a sign of redemption and also an opportunity to take an active, even a leading, role in a “true Zionist” enterprise of fulfilling God's promise to Abraham that the whole land will belong to his offspring. The settling of the West Bank was congruent with the government's political aims. This led the government to provide deep financial and massive military support to settlers, both the religious population that follows a radical nationalistic policy enveloped with messianic motifs, and other settlers, attracted by the substantial perks. The violent conduct of the militant religious sector among the settlers provides a radical threat to Israel's character, and even its existence. Above and beyond that provided by the military and economic burden of the West Bank settlements themselves.     

当前国际恐怖与反恐斗争的特点与趋势

当前国际恐怖势力仍呈蔓延之势,国际恐怖活动与伊拉克、阿富汗等地区热点相互作用,使国际反恐斗争形势更加严峻。美国、欧盟、俄罗斯等不断调整各自的反恐战略与措施,国际反恐合作继续加强,并取得了一定进展,但国际反恐合作分歧犹存,反恐斗争将长期化、复杂化。     

Women defining terrorism: ethnonationalist,state, and machista terrorism

This article explores definitions of terrorism according to various women in the Basque regions of Spain and France. We ask how women in social movements and government institutions define terrorism, how terrorism influences them, and whether they are viewed as victims of violence and/or as political agents who challenge terrorism. We discuss three definitions of terrorism: ethnonationalist terrorism of ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna), state terrorism against ETA operatives and supporters, and terrorismo machista (or intimate terrorism seen as gender violence). The article uncovers multiple women’s lived experiences related to terrorism, and by problematising agency and definitions of terrorism, it challenges the binary in international relations of women as either victims or violent perpetrators of terrorism and it establishes terrorismo machista as political violence closely related to other forms of political violence. We conclude that women are important political agents regarding multiple types of terrorism.     

Paradoxes of religion and terrorism

Bruce Lincoln (ed.). Religion, Rebellion, Revolution: An Interdisciplinary & Cross‐Cultural Collection of Essays. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985. Pp.311. $35. ISBN 0–312–67061–3

Bruce Lincoln, Discourse and the Construction of Society: Comparative Studies of Myth, Ritual, and Classification. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. Pp.238, illus. ISBN 0–19–505757–0     

France and middle eastern terrorism

Pierre Péan, La Menace. Paris: Fayard, 1987. Pp.306. 95 FF (paperback).

Yves Loiseau, Le Grand Troc: Le labyrinthe des otages françaises au Liban. Paris: Hachette, 1988. Pp.332.

Marie Seurat, Les Corbeaux d'Alep. Paris: GallimardlLieu Commun, 1988. Pp.191. 89 FF (paperback).

Roger Auque (in collaboration with Patrick Forestier), Un otage à. Beyrouth. Paris: Filipacchi, 1988. Pp.303. 89 FF (paperback).

Gilles Delafon, Beyrouth: Les soldats de l'Islam. Paris: Stock, 1989. Pp.254.98 FF (paperback).     

WMD terrorism and US intelligence collection

Many analysts argue that better intelligence collection is necessary to improve the United States’ ability to prevent, deter and defeat WMD terrorism, but few give any concrete analysis of exactly what various types of intelligence can contribute to better understanding the WMD terrorist threat. This study outlines the emerging WMD terrorist threat and discusses the respective contributions that technical, human and open source intelligence can make in assessing the various stages of a WMD terrorist act. According to this analysis, neither imagery nor traditional human collection is capable of providing the critical information needed by policy makers. Rather, information collected by case officers working under unofficial cover and by clandestine means offer the best chance of identifying groups interested in producing and using WMD.     

Weapons of mass disruption and terrorism

New perceptions of weaponry have developed in some counter‐terrorism circles, based on the concept of Weapons of Mass Disruption which target bonds and relationships, rather than things, at the systemic level. These capabilities are derived, in many instances, from advanced (cyber) forms of weapons which could eventually be employed by terrorists against the United States.     

Thinking about terrorism and just war

Since 2001 a new urge to moralize the use of violence as an instrument of state policy has appeared in liberal democracies. The American idea of a War against Terror, and the European notion of confronting a global terrorist threat, have together merged with a discourse on humanitarian military action: the political/moral ‘responsibility to protect’ is no longer to be confined to one's own citizens. Renewed interest among academics in ‘just war’ theory, the tradition that seeks to humanize war through law, reflects this development. This article questions the assumption that there is an essential difference between war (civilized violence) and terrorism (barbaric violence). It argues that their similarity appears more clearly if we set intentions aside—such as the deliberate or accidental killing of ‘innocents’—and focus instead on three main facts: (a) modern war strategies and technologies are uniquely destructive, (b) armed hostilities increasingly occupy a single space of violence in which war and peace are not clearly demarcated, and (c) the law of war does not provide a set of ‘civilizing’ rules but a language for legal/moral argument in which the use of punitive violence is itself a central semantic element.     

Combating terrorism in Russia and Uzbekistan

This article aims to offer a preliminary assessment of Russian and Uzbek attempts to combat terrorism after 9/11. While both cases fit into the larger post-Soviet political narrative, itself shaped by strategic realignments following the events of 9/11, relatively little work has been undertaken to analyse how terrorism and law enforcement have intertwined in order to generate military, legislative and police responses in these countries. Thus, while recognizing how security policies changed in Russia and Uzbekistan immediately after 9/11, this paper argues that policy reactions to home-grown terrorism have, for the most part, continued to be the main driving force behind attempts to combat terrorism. Equally, however, the latter part of this paper argues that a more nuanced account of security in the North Caucasus and Central Asia is needed in order to study terrorism effectively. In particular, the emergence of suicide terrorism in Russia and Uzbekistan raises important issues, not just about post-9/11 law enforcement, but also identity politics, illustrating how diverse local, regional and international forms of identification shape International Relations theory.     

Three prejudices against terrorism

This article criticises three assumptions regarding terrorism and the agents who carry it out: (1) terrorists are always indiscriminate in their targeting; (2) terrorism is never effective in combating oppression; and (3) terrorists never participate in fair negotiations, as they merely wish to switch places with their oppressors. By criticising these three prejudices against terrorism, the article does not attempt to justify or excuse terrorism generally nor in the specific case of Sri Lanka which is examined. Instead, it creates the necessary room for such justifications or excuses to be critically appraised by dismantling some popular myths surrounding terrorism.     

Politician hate speech and domestic terrorism

ABSTRACT

Does hate speech – rhetoric that targets, vilifies or is intended to intimidate minorities and other groups in society – fuel domestic terrorism? This question is, unfortunately, relevant given the convergence of the use of hate speech by political figures and domestic terrorist incidents in a variety of countries, including the United States. In this study I theorize that hate speech by politicians deepens political polarization and that this, in turn, produces conditions under which domestic terrorism increases. I test this proposition using terrorism and hate speech data for 135 to 163 countries for the period 2000 to 2017. I produce two findings. First, hate speech by political figures boosts domestic terrorism. Second, the impact of political hate speech on domestic terrorism is mediated through increased political polarization.     

On the relationship between democracy and terrorism

This article raises some methodological issues concerning the Eubank and Weinberg analysis of democracy and terrorism. A case is made for the use of events data rather than the presence of terrorist groups. Eubank and Weinberg's classification of countries, as having or not having terrorist groups, is questioned. Further details of their criteria of classification are requested. Some alternative tests are indicated, which can be done when data become available.     

Drones,state terrorism and international law

The conventional wisdom among US foreign policymakers is that drones enable precise strikes, and therefore limit collateral damage. In contrast, critics point out that many civilian casualties have ensued, and they variously cite poor intelligence and imprecision of the strikes as reasons for this. Critics have also raised concerns that the US and its allies are engaging in “lawfare” to legitimise violations of human rights law. As such, some have questioned whether academic engagement with the legal questions surrounding targeted killings amount to collusion with state attempts to legitimise human rights violations. This article will argue that by conceptualising the targeted killings programme as a form of state terrorism, we are better equipped to provide a critical analysis of the drones programme within the context of a long history of violence and terrorism which has underpinned the imperial and neo-imperial projects of the UK and US. The article will then argue that there are important similarities between the targeted killings programme, and previous UK and US counterinsurgency operations, including prior uses of air power, and operations involving the internment of terror suspects, and the targeting of specific individuals for interrogation and torture or disappearance. Common to these programmes is that they are forms of policing aimed at crushing rebellions, stifling disorder and constructing or maintaining particular political economies, through terror. Also common to these programmes are the attempts made either to conceal illicit actions, or in the event they are exposed, to shroud them in a veil of legitimacy. The article concludes by offering some brief reflections on why we should not abandon the quest to resolve the thorny legal questions around the targeted killings programme.     

Cruise‐ship terrorism and the media

Abstract

An attempt is made to analyze physical differences between the Achille Lauro incident and seizure of hostages on board aircraft, for their impact on terrorist use of the news media. Among the important differences considered are the following: the number of hostages, the range and endurance of the transportation vehicle, the possibilities of disappearing into the unknown, the degree of “de facto torture” in the physical situation of the hostages, the ease of media (especially television) access, the general accessibility of the vehicle for rescue efforts, and the sheer novelty of this mode of terrorist attack. Some analogies are drawn with terrorist seizures of railroad trains and buses, including comparisons of media behavior.     

Blasphemy and terrorism in the Muslim world

This article examines the effect of blasphemy laws on Islamist terrorism in Muslim-majority countries. Although passed with the ostensibly noble purpose of defending religion, I argue that blasphemy laws encourage terrorism by creating a culture of vigilantism in which terrorists, claiming to be the defenders of Islam, attack those they believe are guilty of heresy. This study empirically tests this proposition, along with alternative hypotheses, using a time-series, cross-national negative binomial analysis of 51 Muslim-majority states from 1991–2013. It finds that states that enforce blasphemy laws are indeed statistically more likely to experience Islamist terrorist attacks than countries where such laws do not exist. The statistical analysis is supplemented with a brief case study of blasphemy laws and terrorism in Pakistan. The conclusion situates the findings in the context of policy.