{"title":"Adversarial Framing: President Bashar al-Assad’s Depiction of the Armed Syrian Opposition","authors":"F. Merz","doi":"10.15664/JTR.881","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15664/JTR.881","url":null,"abstract":"This paper evaluates how Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is framing his opponents in the context of the Syrian civil war. The question is addressed by conducting a qualitative thematic analysis of 13 interviews he gave to international television news networks and newspapers between March and November 2013. It is found that Al-Assad consequently labels the armed opposition as “terrorists” preponderantly composed of groups affiliated to Al-Qaeda. The “terrorists” are framed as posing a threat to the region as well as to international security on a global scale. Furthermore, Al-Assad denies the armed opposition its Syrian grassroots by portraying them as outside aggressors fighting for foreign interests. They are also depicted as “enemies of the Syrian people”, responsible for all the atrocities and human suffering committed during the Syrian civil war.","PeriodicalId":89695,"journal":{"name":"Journal of terrorism research","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67201751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Operation Pillar of Defence and the 2013 Israeli Elections: Defensive or Provocative Intervention?","authors":"Philippse Orenes","doi":"10.15664/JTR.882","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15664/JTR.882","url":null,"abstract":"Based on the research on the psychological and political effects of terrorism, this paper focuses on the possible use of provocative counter-terrorism operations in order to influence the outcome of elections. Exploring the case of the Israeli Operation Pillar of Defence, that occurred from 14 November, 2012 to 21 November, the study resorts to qualitative and quantitative methods in a semi-flexible design with a view to exploring whether this operation, and the major escalation it took part in, was necessary and proportionate. The findings are that, in light of the broader context and Israeli experience with counter-terrorism responses, the political exploitation of the psychological effects of this crisis may have been a major motive in the decision to launch this operation.","PeriodicalId":89695,"journal":{"name":"Journal of terrorism research","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67201805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Case Study of Anders B. Breivik’s Intergroup Conceptualisation","authors":"Mathias Holmen Johnsen","doi":"10.15664/JTR.879","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15664/JTR.879","url":null,"abstract":"This paper undertakes summative content analytical case study of Anders Behring Breivik’s political manifesto, analysing Breivik’s conceptualisations of social ingroup and outgroup, and how these concepts interact. Findings indicate that Breivik conceptualises his ingroup on a three-level scale, ranging from specific to general. The outgroup is conceptualised as twofold, seen as either originating inside Breivik’s ingroup society or outside. A basic interaction pattern between the two group-conceptualisations was found, suggesting mutual reinforcement and a self-replicating pattern of radicalization and entrenched group-conceptualisation. Ingroup categories appeared to exist as hierarchical subsets, while outgroup categories were clearly differentiated as separate entities.","PeriodicalId":89695,"journal":{"name":"Journal of terrorism research","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67201318","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Operation Enduring Freedom: Institutional Constraints, Alliance Commitments, and the Power Capabilities of Counterterrorism","authors":"Kyle Kattelman","doi":"10.15664/JTR.880","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15664/JTR.880","url":null,"abstract":"What prompted states to participate in the War on Terror? Conventional wisdom concludes that the endeavor is an unpopular exercise in US imperialism, yet this argument is juxtaposed with the overwhelming amount of international support in its initial stages. Additionally, while there is a great depth and breadth of information on aggregate terrorist attacks and their theoretical motivation, there is relatively little with regards to counterterrorist behavior. This study represents the first of its kind to examine from a global perspective the counterterrorist behavior of states by linking it to the conflict theories of general and immediate deterrence. The results will show how democratic characteristics inhibit military commitment while alliance obligations act as an outside constraint that engenders preemptive behavior. However, once committed militarily, state capabilities are the main influence on the level of preemptive action applied. This analysis supports the utilization of traditional conflict theories when examining state counterterrorist behavior.","PeriodicalId":89695,"journal":{"name":"Journal of terrorism research","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67201738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Who Is to Teach “These Guys” to “Shoot Less?”","authors":"K. Rekawek","doi":"10.15664/JTR.831","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15664/JTR.831","url":null,"abstract":"While conducting research on counter-terrorism (CT) systems of the Central and Eastern European Member States of the European Union, a unique perspective on the European involvement in countering terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa was offered to the author by a Czech defence ministry official. In his view, the fact that his country made a decision to contribute “boots on the ground” to the European Union Training Mission in Mali (EUTM Mali) was astonishing, to say the least: “Things like Mali, you sometimes wonder how these thing happen, even if you are part of them (Havranek 2013).” Thus a decision to participate in this latest CT motivated (building a Malian military capable of taking on the jihadists of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, AQIM) EU venture in Africa seems not to have been preceded by a careful analysis and weighting of the options on behalf of his country. In fact, it seemed like a knee jerk reaction to a call for troops from France and subsequently from Brussels. In the end, we might even speculate if, in this very case, the Czech Republic duly settled on a number of troops to be sent to Mali (very low – in dozens) and comfortably ticked off the box on its involvement in yet another Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) military mission in Africa, and its contribution to external aspects of combating terrorism on EU level.","PeriodicalId":89695,"journal":{"name":"Journal of terrorism research","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67201233","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sub Saharan African Terrorist Groups’ use of the Internet","authors":"S. Bertram, Keith Ellison","doi":"10.15664/JTR.825","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15664/JTR.825","url":null,"abstract":"Recent actions by French military forces in Niger and the global prominence of terrorist groups such as Al Shabaab and Boko Haram, have highlighted the growing counter terrorist focus on the countries of Sub Saharan Africa. Additionally in a post Bin Laden world and with the immanent withdrawal of coalition combat troops from Afghanistan, there is the possibility of Africa as a continent becoming the new front in the Global War on Terror ( Mben et al., 2013). However, it is a mistake to assume that Africa’s story is uniformly one of violence and death. Vibrant cultures and a rugged entrepreneurial spirit have combined with a robust Internet backbone, to create the embryonic emergence of high tech hotspots across Africa. With rising IT literacy levels, more and more Africans are becoming connected to the information super highway on a daily basis (Graham, 2010). A tiny minority of these Africans are terrorists.","PeriodicalId":89695,"journal":{"name":"Journal of terrorism research","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67201588","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tracing Al Shabaab’s Decision to Cooperate with Al Qaeda in Somalia (2008)","authors":"Adlini Ilma Ghaisany Sjah","doi":"10.15664/JTR.827","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15664/JTR.827","url":null,"abstract":"Al Shabaab, a Somali insurgent with predominantly nationalistic causes (alongside transnational [global Jihad] and Islamic goals) made the choice to fight on behalf of Al Qaeda in 2008. The decision to do so contrasted with Al Shabaab’s previous behaviour of actively denying cooperation and distancing itself from Al Qaeda. This study aims to uncover factors that contributed to Al Shabaab’s decision through the use of process-tracing. The results show that Al Shabaab’s declaration of cooperation with Al Qaeda in August 2008 was brought about by a series of events that traced back to four factors: public reactions to the implementation of a Salafi ideology, the shift to a radical leadership, Al Shabaab’s inability to maintain stability in areas under its control and its increasing attacks by Al Shabaab on the Somali public. Al Shabaab pursued cooperation with Al Qaeda after realizing that their nationalistic preference was no longer achievable in the near future.","PeriodicalId":89695,"journal":{"name":"Journal of terrorism research","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67201634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Women, Gender and the evolving tactics of Boko Haram","authors":"Jacob Zenn, Elizabeth Pearson","doi":"10.15664/JTR.828","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15664/JTR.828","url":null,"abstract":"This article addresses an under-researched aspect of Boko Haram’s activities: gender-based violence (GBV) and its targeting of women. It argues that 2013 marked a significant evolution in Boko Haram’s tactics, with a series of kidnappings, in which one of the main features was the instrumental use of women. This was in response to corresponding tactics by the Nigerian security forces. Additionally the analysis provides evidence of a shift by Boko Haram to include women in its operations, in response to increased pressure on male operatives. It also considers the gendered rationale for instrumentalizing women within the framework of Boko Haram’s ideology and culture, arguing for a greater appreciation of how gender factors in the group’s violence.","PeriodicalId":89695,"journal":{"name":"Journal of terrorism research","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67201669","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Assessing Boko Haram: A conversation","authors":"Mark Amaliya, M. Nwankpa","doi":"10.15664/JTR.832","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15664/JTR.832","url":null,"abstract":"In terms of the current terrorist organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa, Boko Haram is undoubtedly one of the most high profile and among the more long-established. Following a panel session on the group at the 2013 conference of the Society for Terrorism Research at the university of East London, two of the panellists discuss the conceptualisation of the group, the nature and scale of the threat posed by the group, and what responses might offer a viable route away from the violence that has affected particularly Northern Nigeria since the onset of the Boko Haram insurgency.","PeriodicalId":89695,"journal":{"name":"Journal of terrorism research","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67201306","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"‘Soldiers of God or Allah’: Religious Politicization and the Boko Haram Crisis in Nigeria","authors":"Benjamin Maiangwa","doi":"10.15664/JTR.829","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15664/JTR.829","url":null,"abstract":"Several works on Boko Haram have underscored the issues of state weakness and bad governance in Nigeria as the major problematic fuelling the group’s violent activities. While the state fragility argument is indispensable, this paper argues that the religious dimension is also critical to any attempt to understand the Boko Haram crisis. To this end, the paper will examine how the historical and contemporary processes of religious politicization in Nigeria have contributed to the rise and radicalization of Boko Haram.","PeriodicalId":89695,"journal":{"name":"Journal of terrorism research","volume":"408 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67201679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}