Reading jihad: Mapping the shifting themes of Inspire magazine

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s Inspire magazine has received attention within Western academia and media for its role in inspiring and instructing a series of homegrown terrorist attacks. Reporting on the magazine often characterises it as a Western-centric instrument of jihadi discourse. This characterisation, while broadly accurate, is in need of refinement. Using a modified version of Jennifer Attride-Stirling’s method of thematic network analysis, this research visualises and analyses the narrative themes contained within fourteen issues of Inspire magazine. It demonstrates that the magazine’s narrative extends well beyond the Western world. In reality, Inspire’s themes centre not only on the West and its Muslim populations, but on local politics and broader religious issues. The magazine’s thematic focus has also shifted over time—particularly in response to (a) political volatility in the Middle East and North Africa, (b) the killing of prominent jihadists, and (c) the execution of successful individual jihad operations. Throughout these periods of change, Inspire struggled to maintain focus on its anti-Western narrative and proved easily distracted by local issues and the “martyrdom” of Al Qaeda leaders. Understanding Inspire’s thematic landscape and its shifting character prove important in understanding and responding effectively to its jihadi discourse.     

The Isolated Islamists: The Case of the Allied Democratic Forces in the Ugandan-Congolese Borderland

This study investigates the absence of substantive linkages between locally based Salafi Jihadist movements and their more transnational counterparts such as Al-Qaeda or ISIS. While studies have addressed the heterogeneity in Jihadi alliances, the question of why inter-Jihadi ties are completely absent or tenuous at times is under-theorized in the literature. Given ISIS’s recent inexorable advance through the Middle East and North Africa and its ever-growing ties with local Jihadists, it is timely to investigate under what conditions locally based militant Islamists are less likely to forge ties with global Jihadists. Using the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF)—a militant Islamist group in the Ugandan-Congolese borderland—as an illustrative case study, the research sheds light on conditions under which inter-Jihadi ties are less likely. These include the extent of ideological divergence between local and global Jihadists, the degree of relevance to the local community, and the fear of attracting new enemies in the form of more stringent counter-terrorism operations.     

湖南省群体性治安事件综合研究

群体性治安事件诱发原因错综复杂 ,具有长期性、反复性。近年来 ,湖南省在处置群体性治安事件中积累了许多宝贵的经验 ,但基层工作薄弱 ,信息工作滞后 ,处置时机把握等问题值得深思。当前处置群体性治安案件 ,应当注意以下几个问题 :(一 )正确认识公安机关在处置群体性治安案件中的主要任务 ;(二 )明确职责 ,建立、健全处置群体性治安事件工作责任制 ;(三 )把握正确的处置原则 ;(四 )准确充分地运用法律武器     

论预防和处置群体性事件中的情报工作

由于群体性事件的突发性和难以预知性,情报工作越来越凸显其重要。群体性事件的成功预防和妥善处置,离不开及时、准确的情报。只有健全完善情报收集制度、情报分析研判制度、情报报送制度、情报评估、奖励制度,才能及时了解边防辖区群体性事件的动态,准确判断事件的发展趋势,做好预防和处置群体性事件工作。     

论群体性事件处置中参与者负性抵抗心理及其对策

在处置群体性事件实践中,事件参与者出现的负性抵抗心理容易使公安机关宣传信息力度减弱,扭曲、变形、转向。为此,本文在研究事件参与者负性抵抗心理及其行为表现的基础上,分析了原因,提出了增强宣传者影响力、科学设置宣传内容、合理运用宣传手段等对策,达到降低、消除参与者的负性抵抗心理,使公安机关宣传工作效果最大化,达到妥善处置群体性事件的目的。     

回到事件本身——复杂性理论视域中的规律观

复杂性理论把不确定性纳入研究视域,探讨矛盾意义、概率意义特别是混沌意义上的规律观,揭示了有序与无序之间对立、竞争以及互补的复杂关系,打破了传统哲学规律观被“必然性王国”统治的局面。从有序与无序的结合上揭示世界的规律,即回到事件本身,揭示世界的有序、无序、组织和相互作用的四元联立关系,使得对规律的理解更贴近现实、更彻底、更有说服力。     

恐怖主义犯罪应对模式研究

司法模式、战争模式、治理模式是三种应对恐怖主义犯罪的模式。司法模式把恐怖主义界定为一种犯罪行为。为此反恐是侦查破案与打击犯罪的问题。此模式核心是恢复法律的权威,维护社会治安秩序。战争模式把恐怖主义界定为一种战争行为。为此反恐是打败或消灭敌人、取得战争胜利的问题。此模式核心是打击、歼灭恐怖分子并取得战争胜利。治理模式把恐怖主义界定为国家安全治理方面的缺失、低效或失败及其导致的对民众安全服务的缺失与低效。为此反恐是加强和改善有关恐怖主义问题的治理,以提供更有效的安全服务。此模式核心是塑造一种安全环境。治理模式对于恐怖主义及反恐问题界定不同于战争模式、司法模式。这种界定具有决定性影响。其直接决定这三种反恐模式在视野、目标、思路、标准、力量、措施与手段、时间维度、战略角度、精神层面等方面的不同。     

以共同育儿为业:跨越儿童抚育的家庭边界——以一个城市社区的“抱团养娃”实践为例

本文聚焦于城市化背景下的"抱团养娃"实践,深入探讨在抚育职责被"家庭化"的当下,抚育实践如何在一定程度上重新跨越"家庭"的边界。以社区共育为基点,妈妈们的努力既从私人层面上为在陌生城市中资源不足的小家庭找到更多社会支持,又在公共层面上带动孩子们以温度和情感重塑社区认同、黏合社会转型带来的制度缝隙,体现出独特的现实意义与支持力量。"以共同育儿为业"背后,是女性试图在既有的结构约束下找到被私人化的抚育照料重担与公共生活之间的连接点,在本研究中体现为共育支持网络的形成、共育友好空间的营造、亲子活动内容的生产和共育文化的建构四个方面。这为思考如何将"社会"重新带回抚育实践中提供了想象,也拓宽了对女性主体性的理解。     

常见四种暴恐犯罪实施特点与应急处置措施

当前，暴恐犯罪分子最常采取的恐怖活动方式主要有四种，即：恐怖刀斧砍杀、恐怖纵火焚烧、恐怖爆炸袭击、恐怖驾车冲撞。这些恐怖活动对人民群众的生命财产造成严重损失，对社会的和谐安宁构成巨大的威胁。因此，研究有效的反制措施和战术应对方法显得十分急迫。要抑制此类暴恐犯罪，应针对四种恐怖活动特点与方式，采取相应的应对措施和战术方法。