{"title":"The Ambivalent Effect of Autocratization on Domestic Terrorism","authors":"Lars Lott, Aurel Croissant, Christoph Trinn","doi":"10.1080/1057610x.2023.2270479","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610x.2023.2270479","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":38834,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Conflict & Terrorism","volume":"44 2","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135218743","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Islamic State’s Visions of Political Community and Statehood and Their Articulation Vis-à-Vis Nationalism","authors":"Mohammed A. Salih","doi":"10.1080/1057610x.2023.2257011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610x.2023.2257011","url":null,"abstract":"AbstractThis article explores the Islamic State (IS)’s discursive construction of ideal forms of political community and statehood, i.e. the umma and caliphate, and their articulation in relation to the dominant forms of political community and statehood in the modern world, i.e. the nation and nation-state. Studying a large corpus of data from IS primary sources in multiple languages and mediums, I propose that IS’s discourse espouses a vision of umma-caliphalism that entails a thorough process of, what I call, de-nationization. On the material level, de-nationization results in dismantling the nation-state and its apparatus of sovereignty. At the symbolic level, de-nationization mandates derecognizing the political community of the nation and treating it as no more than a form of ethnic cultural unit, or ethnie, whereby ethnic symbols are not allowed to become the basis of political mobilization and demands. This expansionist umma-caliphalist vision centered on highly exclusionary notions of communal membership and solidarity is important to making sense of IS’s violent tendencies. Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.Notes1 Shiraz Maher, Salafi-Jihadism: The History of an Idea (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016).2 Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou, A Theory of ISIS: Political Violence and the Transformation of the Global Order (London: Pluto Press, 2018).3 William McCants, The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2015); Masaki Nagata, “The Radical Nation-State and Contemporary Extremism,” Middle East Law and Governance 11, no. 3 (2019): 319–45; David J. Wasserstein, Black Banners of ISIS: The Roots of the New Caliphate (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2017).4 Nadia Kaneva and Andrea Stanton, “An Alternative Vision of Statehood: Islamic State’s Ideological Challenge to the Nation-State,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism (2020): 1–19; Ben Caló, David Malet, Luke Howie, and Pete Lentini. “Islamic Caliphate or Nation State? Investigating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s Imagined Community,” Nations and Nationalism 26 no. 3 (2020): 727–42.5 Amaryllis Maria Georges, “ISIS Rhetoric for the Creation of the Ummah,” in Religion and Theology: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice (IGI Global, 2020), 429–49; James Piscatori and Amin Saikal, Islam Beyond Borders: The Umma in World Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019).6 Ibid.7 Kaneva and Stanton, “An Alternative”; Caló et al., “Islamic Caliphate”; Masaki Nagata (2019); Piscatori and Saikal, “Islam Beyond”; L. Carl Brown, Religion and State: The Muslim Approach to Politics (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000); Souran Mardini, “Fundamental Religio-Political Concepts in the Sources of Islam” (PhD diss., University of Edinburgh, 1984). https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/12813523.pdf8 Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and S","PeriodicalId":38834,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Conflict & Terrorism","volume":"34 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135770784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Artificial Intelligence as a Terrorism Enabler? Understanding the Potential Impact of Chatbots and Image Generators on Online Terrorist Activities","authors":"Miron Lakomy","doi":"10.1080/1057610x.2023.2259195","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610x.2023.2259195","url":null,"abstract":"AbstractThis paper is based on an experiment-based study carried out in the first half of 2023, which aimed to understand how terrorist organizations can potentially exploit artificial intelligence. It discusses the risks of using AI to produce and disseminate propaganda, as well as verifies whether it can be used to facilitate access to terrorist content. It also explores if AI-based platforms can be used to access terrorism-related know-how. This paper also focuses on understanding the specificity of content moderation procedures introduced by these services to mitigate their use by violent extremists and provides recommendations for increasing their efficiency. Disclosure statementThe author report there are no competing interests to declare.Notes1 Corneliu Bjola, “AI for Development: Implications for Theory and Practice,” Oxford Development Studies 50, no. 1 (2021).2 Spyros Makridakis, “The Forthcoming Artificial Intelligence (AI) Revolution: Its Impact on Society and Firms,” Futures 90 (2017): 46–60.3 “About,” Midjourney, https://www.midjourney.com/home/?callbackUrl=/app/ (accessed April 20, 2023).4 Pascal Kaufmann, Thilo Stadel-mann, Benjamin Grewe, “ChatGPT Heralds Tech Revolution,” Meinung, last modified February 15, 2023, https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/5e71f505e224b656715c1753/63f327e649b46c9017ccf2b3_20230215_FuW_EN_ChatGPT%20heralds%20tech%20revolution.pdf.5 Krystal Hu, “ChatGPT Sets Record for Fastest-Growing User Base – Analyst Note,” Reuters, last modified February 02, 2023, https://www.reuters.com/technology/chatgpt-sets-record-fastest-growing-user-base-analyst-note-2023-02-01/.6 “Artificial Intelligence: Potential Benefits and Ethical Considerations,” European Parliament Briefing, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2016/571380/IPOL_BRI (2016)571380_EN.pdf (accessed April 25, 2023).7 Jianyang Deng and Yijia Lin, “The Benefits and Challenges of ChatGPT: An Overview,” Frontiers in Computing and Intelligent Systems 2, no. 2 (2022).8 Glorin Sebastian, „Do ChatGPT and Other AI Chatbots Pose a Cybersecurity Risk? An Exploratory Study,” International Journal of Security and Privacy in Pervasive Computing 15, no. 1 (2023).9 Joe McKendrick, „Who Ultimately Owns Content Generated By ChatGPT And Other AI Platforms?,” Forbes, last modified December 21, 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2022/12/21/who-ultimately-owns-content-generated-by-chatgpt-and-other-ai-platforms/?sh=7cd11c7c5423.10 Matt Burgess, “ChatGPT Has a Big Privacy Problem,” Wired, last modified April 4, 2023, https://www.wired.com/story/italy-ban-chatgpt-privacy-gdpr/.11 Tiffany Hsu and Stuart A. Thompson, “Disinformation Researchers Raise Alarms About A.I. Chatbots,” The New York Times, last modified February 8, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/08/technology/ai-chatbots-disinformation.html.12 Rudy Guyonneau and Arnaud Le Dez, “Artificial Intelligence in Digital Warfare: Introducing the Concept of the Cyberteammate,” The Cyber Defense Review 4,","PeriodicalId":38834,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Conflict & Terrorism","volume":"22 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136136569","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Truth or Dare? Exploring the Importance of Factual Accuracy in Different Deradicalization Counseling Approaches","authors":"Daniel Koehler, Adrian Cherney, Amy Templar","doi":"10.1080/1057610x.2023.2256535","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610x.2023.2256535","url":null,"abstract":"Risk mitigation and recidivism reduction are typical goals of deradicalization and disengagement programs (DDPs). Arguably, identifying deception and disguised compliance by clients is key to achieve these goals. However, dissenting opinions among practitioners exist whether it should be a task for DDP counselors to detect deceit by clients. Concerns that placing such a task with DDP counselors might be counter-productive and antithetical to the overall goals and effectiveness of DDPs have been raised. This article makes a theoretical contribution to the debate around this question by exploring literature from psychotherapy, psychology, criminology and terrorism studies using a combination of meta-narrative and integrative literature review methodologies. It is argued that deception detection in the context of DDPs is not “good” or “bad” per se but depends on chronological (past, present, future) and methodological perspectives. Implications for DDP research and practice are discussed.","PeriodicalId":38834,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Conflict & Terrorism","volume":"77 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135826165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Social Identity Analytical Method: Facilitating Social Science-Based Practitioner Analysis of Violent Substate Conflict","authors":"David W. Brannan, Anders Strindberg","doi":"10.1080/1057610x.2023.2256538","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610x.2023.2256538","url":null,"abstract":"This research note is documentation of the Social Identity Analytical Method (SIAM), an analytical framework specifically developed for, and in cooperation with, law enforcement and other homeland security (HLS) leaders engaged with countering terrorism, violent extremism, organized crime, and criminal gangs. A key requirement voiced by these practitioners has been the ability to apply one analytical framework to multiple social groups – violent and non-violent, political, and non-political – without prejudice. Rooted in Social Identity Theory and anthropological scholarship, SIAM is designed to give practitioners a method for organizing analysis of actors, events and developments that is both adaptable and repeatable. Moreover, the framework allows practitioners to integrate insights from other analytical approaches, such as those centering on organizational concerns, rationality, and psychology. SIAM is now in use by federal, state, and local practitioners across the US. This note is the third publication documenting the framework’s development.","PeriodicalId":38834,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Conflict & Terrorism","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135826321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Radical Feminist Rhetoric and Terrorism: The May 19th Communist Organization","authors":"Cameron Crawford Berger","doi":"10.1080/1057610x.2023.2256533","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610x.2023.2256533","url":null,"abstract":"Scholars have historically focused on explaining terrorist groups by reference to a variety of external factors believed to prompt politically motivated acts of violence. This essay seeks to extend and sharpen these insights. First, members of the May 19th Communist Organization were alienated by contemporary social justice movements. The members developed strong affective bonds with revolutionary figures which created a sense of differential belonging. Second, their commitment to a Marxist-Leninist utopian ideal functioned as an encyclopedic myth. These two elements provided them with a specific sense of agency, and established a rationale for violence. Several implications follow from these observations.","PeriodicalId":38834,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Conflict & Terrorism","volume":"77 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136072331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Oil and the Islamic State: Revisiting “Resource Wars” Arguments in Light of ISIS Operations and State-Making Attempts","authors":"Philippe Le Billon","doi":"10.1080/1057610X.2020.1846252","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2020.1846252","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Debates over the relationship between natural resources and armed conflicts have flourished in the past two decades, but few studies have considered the case of oil and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. This paper reviews key scholarly arguments concerning the relationship between natural resources and armed groups, and examines the interrelationship between oil, armed conflict and ISIS. Building on this analysis, the paper offers insights into dilemmas of oil dependence for non-state armed groups controlling proto-states: specifically, while oil enabled ISIS to consolidate its attempts at establishing a de facto state, it also created vulnerabilities. Among these, U.S.-led forces deliberately targeted oil to deny ISIS’ attempts to achieve statehood, and to politically confine its status to that of a terrorist organization ruling over an oil rich and dangerous proto-state targeted for military and political eradication. These findings point to the value of nuanced analyses of relations between resource wars arguments and terrorism studies, as well as the need to more broadly consider the various political dimensions of natural resources in the study of armed conflicts and campaigns against terrorist organizations.","PeriodicalId":38834,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Conflict & Terrorism","volume":"64 1","pages":"1417 - 1439"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82789280","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Iran's Security and the Islamic State through the Lenses of the Copenhagen School","authors":"Mahdieh Aghazadeh Khoei","doi":"10.1080/1057610X.2015.1040293","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2015.1040293","url":null,"abstract":"After the Cold War, a new generation of security studies emerged that moved debates beyond traditional, narrow, state-centric definitions of security toward considering other aspects like economic, political, social, and environmental contexts. This article evaluates one such contemporary important security concern—the threat of the Islamic State (IS), mainly against Iran, in the framework of the Copenhagen School security approach. The analysis concludes that IS threatens Iran's security by increasing the possibility of Kurdish sectarianism, widening the Shi’ite–Sunni gap, creating economic threats, decreasing Iran's influence in Syria, and challenging its power in the region. Analyzing Iran's stance against IS and the ensuing security debate is important to predict the future of the Middle East.","PeriodicalId":38834,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Conflict & Terrorism","volume":"119 5","pages":"1035 - 1041"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/1057610X.2015.1040293","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72451926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Do Vigilante Groups Reduce Cartel-Related Violence? An Empirical Assessment of Crime Trends in Michoacán, Mexico","authors":"Juan del Río","doi":"10.1080/1057610X.2020.1816683","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2020.1816683","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract When the Knights Templar cartel targeted the people of Michoacán, vigilantes formed for protection. This study uses a paired sample t-test to investigate the effect that the emergence and subsequent removal of the vigilantes and their confrontational approach against the Knights Templar had on cartel-related crimes. Initially, homicides increased in vigilante areas, while kidnappings and extortions decreased. After vigilantes were removed, homicides and kidnappings increased, while extortions decreased. Government removal of vigilantes allowed for a power vacuum to ensue, allowing violence to increase. Therefore, violence initially increases with vigilante presence, then decreases, while increasing again once the group is removed.","PeriodicalId":38834,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Conflict & Terrorism","volume":"31 1","pages":"1216 - 1240"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82875363","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Crime Script Analysis of Involuntary Celibate (INCEL) Mass Murderers","authors":"A. Wood, P. Tanteckchi, D. Keatley","doi":"10.1080/1057610x.2022.2037630","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610x.2022.2037630","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":38834,"journal":{"name":"Studies in Conflict & Terrorism","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89694281","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}