Middle Eastern terrorism in Europe: Trends and prospects

Abstract

Europe has been the preferred operational area for Middle Eastern terrorist groups—some 418 attacks from 1980–1989. Unlike European Marxist revolutionary or separatist terrorist groups, the Middle Eastern groups present Europe with a regional security problem. The most dangerous element in this Middle Eastern terrorist threat is the state‐sponsored activities of Iran, Libya, Syria, and Iraq. These countries provided the fuel for a decade of Middle Eastern terrorist bloodshed in Europe. Given the problems of solving the various political conflicts and feuds in the Middle East and the continuing attractiveness of Europe as a substitute battlefield for Middle Eastern terrorist elements, the threat of Middle Eastern terrorist activity in Europe should continue into the 1990s.     

试析当前“东突”暴力恐怖犯罪的新特点及其防范对策

我国当前面临最大的恐怖主义威胁是具有恐怖主义、宗教极端主义及民族分裂主义特征的“三股势力”,影响新疆社会稳定的因素主要是“东突”等恐怖组织策动的以民族分裂为宗旨的暴力恐怖犯罪活动.暴力恐怖犯罪危害极大,反恐防暴斗争形势十分严峻,打击和遏制新疆地区暴力恐怖犯罪活动,是一项长期而艰巨的任务.本文着重阐述“东突”暴力恐怖犯罪的新特点,分析其发展态势,并在此基础上提出防范此类暴力恐怖犯罪的对策.     

英国涉恐资产冻结法律制度介述及其对我国的借鉴

冻结涉恐资产可以有力地斩断恐怖组织及其人员实施恐怖活动的经济基础,因而冻结措施成为金融反恐的重要手段。英国《2010年涉恐资产冻结法》对涉恐资产冻结的相关措施作了专门的系统规定,该法令规定的冻结措施具有期限性、非终局性、冻结对象的广泛性等特征。我国的涉恐资产的冻结措施应当借鉴英国涉恐资产冻结的相关法律制度,注意不同法律制度间的相互配合,注重涉恐资产冻结中的权利保障,加强国际法和国内法的衔接,以便更好地实现打击恐怖活动犯罪的目的。     

Groupthink and Terrorist Radicalization

Why do groups adopt terrorism? Major theories of terrorist radicalization assume it to be a rational process whereby groups select terrorism as the policy most likely to advance their goals. Not all terrorism is rational, however, and these theories cannot explain cases when groups pursue terrorism despite it being self-defeating. We distinguish between rational and irrational terrorism, and explain the latter using social psychology's groupthink mechanism. Although terrorists are widely assumed to be vulnerable to groupthink, empirical work on the phenomenon has focused overwhelmingly on decision-making by national executives. We firmly establish the link between groupthink and terrorist radicalization by tracing groupthink's operation through the development of the Weather Underground, an American terrorist group that emerged in the late 1960s and conducted six years of bombings against the U.S. government. All of the antecedent conditions, symptoms, and decision-making defects predicted by groupthink are evident in the Weather Underground, providing valuable evidence of the dangers of irrational radicalization and offering lessons for its prevention.     

昆明“3·01”事件后城市反恐的着力点

昆明"3·01"事件有恐怖犯罪实施、国际恐怖势力、恐怖活动的组织活动等三个环节,这三个环节是恐怖势力在城市进行恐怖活动的三层"附着力"。北京"10·28"、昆明"3·01"和乌鲁木齐"4·30"恐怖事件后中国面临的恐怖威胁进入一个新阶段,城市恐怖威胁越来越突出,恐怖袭击在内地城市可能呈现泛化现象,城市反恐成为国家安全的重要议题。城市反恐斗争的着力点就是打击恐怖势力在城市的"附着力"。     

西北边境地区面临的恐怖威胁及对策研究

中国西北边境地区面临着＂东突＂恐怖势力、极端个人和团体恐怖犯罪、国际恐怖势力及邪教恐怖势力等严重威胁。公安边防部门作为边境地区一支重要的反恐力量,在现实的边境反恐斗争中存在着反恐立法不够完善、工作认识不足、缺乏针对性训练、情报保障能力弱、配合协作机制不完善等薄弱环节。应加强反恐理论学习和宣传教育,加强反恐信息和机动力量建设,加强边防管理和反恐立法等,以有效防范和打击恐怖活动,保卫边境安全、维护社会稳定。