Heroic Action and Its Discontents: Safe Horizon’s Response to 9/11

Based on first-hand qualitative research, this article describes and analyzes the significant role that a local, New York City-based social service agency played in responding to 9/11; the sources of its notable ability to provide assistance to individuals and families affected by this terrorist attack; and the structural strains and unanticipated divisions within the agency that the heroism of its fervid engagement nevertheless engendered.

Change and continuity across the 9/11 fault line: rethinking twenty-first-century responses to terrorism

This article asks the following questions. Which terrorism threats, challenges and responses did key players consider to have been decisively changed by 9/11? On close inspection now, nearly two decades after those attacks, how are we to assess such claims? What did 9/11 really change regarding terrorism and counterterrorism? And what remained unaltered? The article’s central argument is this: some western states exaggerated the extent to which terrorist threats and challenges had been changed by 9/11 and, as a consequence, they did significantly alter some of their responses to terrorism; but at the heart of this ironic process was the tragic reality that, had there been a more serious-minded and historically sensitive recognition of how little had necessarily been changed by 9/11 in terms of terrorist threats and challenges, then the twenty-first-century experience of non-state terrorism would have been much less painful than has been the case in practice.     

Culture and Terrorism: The Role of Cultural Factors in Worldwide Terrorism (1970–2013)

The relationship between terrorism and culture was systematically examined using three high-quality global databases. Contrary to prior research, terrorism—collapsed across form and era—was not related to any of Hofstede's cultural dimensions. Yet, particular forms of terrorism—incidents involving substantial casualties and damage, suicide bombings, and the proportion of incidents involving fatalities—all showed relationships with cultural dimensions. Tolerance of terrorism and relative tolerance of the 9/11 attack were related to cultural dimensions and terrorist events. Finally, populations that were relatively voiceless, disengaged from their communities, suffering, angry, and hopeless showed more tolerance of terrorism and incidents of terrorism.     

满铁与“九·一八”事变

满铁是近代日本设在中国最大的"国策会社"。从其成立到解体,满铁始终在日本对华进行侵略和大陆扩张政策中发挥着重要作用。"九·一八"事变爆发后,满铁彻底撕下了企业的招牌,自动投入到关东军的麾下,成为关东军的左膀右臂,在日本对华侵略战中发挥着不可替代的作用。"九·一八"事变中,满铁充当了关东军的总后勤部、兵站基地、情报部,整个事变过程中起到了极为重要的作用。     

Interpreting the signs of the times: beyond Jung

This article introduces the semiotics of Tarot images in the context of human experiences and in the framework of Jung's analytical psychology. It presents Tarot pictures as symbolic representations of the archetypes embedded in the collective psyche. The images can function as symbolic triggers especially significant at the time of socio-cultural transitions, therefore making it imperative to read, interpret, and understand the meanings of those important signs that act out in human culture. The article addresses in particular the Jungian archetype of the Shadow as a sign and symptom, and considers some consequences of its functioning at both individual and social levels. It also posits the necessity of the integration of the Shadow in view of its projection as embodied in some real-life events affecting the collective psyche in the twenty-first century.     

党在十一届三中全会之前的经济改革

20世纪50年代中期后,以毛泽东为代表的中国共产党人试图突破苏联模式,探索中国自己的社会主义建设道路。直到改革开放之前,中国曾有过几次下放经济管理权的改革尝试,但均未能从根本上突破以单一公有制和计划经济为特征的苏联社会主义建设模式。中国"以苏为鉴"探索自己的社会主义现代化道路,尽管取得了一些成果,但从总体上看是不成功的。在社会主义制度建立的初始阶段,受历史条件所限,中共领导人不可能认识到经济运行中的某些深层次问题。当时对社会主义经济体制改革的探索,还不具备超越苏联模式框架的实践基础,但这种探索为我们今天的社会主义市场经济体制改革提供了启迪。     

The amateur revolutionaries: A reassessment of the FLQ

Although Canada has experienced a wide variety of forms of political terrorism, only the FLQ's attack on federalism has earned a lasting place in Canadian historical memory, a place achieved without attaining its goal of an independent Quebec. Using new sources, this article explains this conundrum by reassessing the effectiveness of the FLQ's campaign. It will demonstrate that the very thing that constituted the FLQ's only success ‐ its ability to project an illusion of strength sufficient to convince the federal government that a popular insurrection was developing in Quebec ‐ masked its singular failure: organizational weakness and poor strategic judgment. These prevented the FLQ from achieving its goals and were the hallmarks of its status as ‘amateur revolutionaries’.     

A Review of: “Alison Pargeter. The New Frontiers of Jihad: Radical Islam in Europe.”

Recent years have witnessed a significant increase in the amount of counterterrorism legislation worldwide. The commonly held assumption behind the adoption of counterterrorism legislation links it to the terrorist threat in a state. However, little research has focused on empirically testing reasons driving states to legislate. This article addresses this void by analyzing the puzzle of why states choose to adopt new terrorism-specific legislation. The article presents empirical analysis of the probability of states to legislate before and after September 11, 2001, and is based on a new database of counterterrorism legislation. The findings reveal that before September 11, state decisions to adopt new legislation correlated with the number of terrorist organizations operating in their territory. Since September 11, however, the most significant predictors for the adoption of new legislation have become the existence of previous counterterrorism legislation and the participation of a state in the War on Terror.     

Sam Fisher and the “war on terror”: an analysis of Splinter Cell in a post-9/11 context

This article examines the values and attitudes present within the 2002 video game Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell, and the methods employed to convey them. It compares the game’s message with the rhetoric contained in the Bush administration’s post-9/11 “war on terror” narrative. A qualitative content analysis of a Splinter Cell “game movie” and gameplay sessions is undertaken to examine the messages communicated through elements of simulation and representation. This article finds that Splinter Cell and the “war on terror” narrative express similar perspectives of terrorism and counterterrorism. First, both exaggerate the physical and normative threat of terrorism, and portray it as overwhelmingly powerful. Second, both sources justify violent counterterrorism action through claims of necessity, urgency and self-defence. Third, violence is consistently portrayed as effective for achieving the desired objective. Finally, violence and military action are represented as simple solutions that ultimately lead to victory over terrorism. The parallels between the messages within Splinter Cell and the “war on terror” rhetoric indicate that the game was shaped by the post-9/11 culture in which it was developed. More significantly, however, Splinter Cell perpetuates and legitimises the “war on terror” narrative by conveying its message through an immersive interactive environment.