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The revival of loyalist terrorism has been one of the most important developments in Northern Ireland in the 1990s. This article examines the recent fund‐raising activities of the two main loyalist paramilitary groups, the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). The article focuses particularly on the financial importance of extortion and blackmail to the groups in the 1990s. It also explores how the loyalist paramilitaries have responded, as organizations, to the constant need for funds, a need that has continued unabated since both groups implemented cease‐fires in 1994. The paper concludes that because of internal arrangements, the loyalist groups are consistently risking the spread of corruption among their most senior members.

Using an encounter from Alice In Wonderland as a metaphor, this article examines the long-running attempt to apply a psychopathology label to terrorists. The disorders of greatest interest to researchers (antisocial, narcissistic and paranoid personality disorders), are described in order to highlight their attraction for theorists. A review of evidence follows. The critique finds that the findings supporting the pathology model are rare and generally of poor quality. In contrast, the evidence suggesting terrorist normality is both more plentiful and of better quality. However, in response to a failure to find any major psychopathology, a trend has emerged which asserts that terrorists possess many of the traits of pathological personalities but do not possess the actual clinical disorders. This development has effectively tainted terrorists with a pathology aura, without offering any way to easily test or refute the accusations.

Case studies of terrorist groups from before 1900 are rare and only a handful have been fully detailed in the terrorism literature. This article describes one such group, the shishi, a radical samurai movement which waged a terrorist campaign in Japan just prior to the Meiji Restoration. Placed in context, the origin, structure and methods of this group are described. Also examined is the profound impact the movement had on Japanese society. It is argued that the study of older terrorist groups warrants greater interest and that a scientific understanding of terrorism depends on the incorporation of such early examples.

The year 1999 saw the publication of Colin Crawford's first book, Defenders or Criminals? Loyalist Prisoners and Criminalization. This was a noteworthy volume for a number of reasons. Apart from ad...

Terrorism is best understood as a form of warfare. Considerable division exists among researchers on the issue of defining terrorism. A minority propose that terrorism is a form of warfare, possibly identical to guerrilla warfare. However, the majority disagree with this position, instead viewing terrorism as a distinct and separate phenomenon. This divergence has been fuelled by the distinctive questions of morality which cloak any consideration of terrorism. The impact of this special morality dimension to the problem is examined, with the focus being directed to biases arising from the moral standpoint which has been adopted by most. It is argued that many of the so‐called distinctions between terrorism and warfare are illusionary. The article concludes that while there are solutions to the current conceptual deadlock these are unlikely to be realised in the near future.

1. Towards an Understanding of Terrorism and the Olympics Anthony Richards, Pete Fussey, Andrew Silke 2. Terrorism, the Olympics and Sport: Recent Events and Concerns for the Future Anthony Richards 3. Al Qaeda and the London Olympics Afzal Ashraf 4. Understanding Terrorist Target Selection Andrew Silke 5. Securing the Transport System Steve Swain 6. Surveillance and the Olympic Spectacle Pete Fussey 7. Strategic Security Planning and the Resilient Design of Olympic Sites Jon Coaffee 8. Governing the Games in an Age of Uncertainty: the Olympics and Organisational Responses to Risk Will Jennings 9. The Role of the Private Security Industry David Evans 10. The Challenge of Inter-Agency Coordination Keith Weston 11. The European Union & the Promotion of Major Event Security Within the EU Area Frank Gregory 12. Critical Reflections on Securing the Olympics: Conclusions and Ways Forward Anthony Richards, Pete Fussey, Andrew Silke Appendix: Terrorist Threats to the Olympics, 1972-2016 Pete Fussey

This animated short film is a toad's perspective of the dangers involved in being a wanted species. Young Baz has gone missing and his good mate Dazza gives an insight into what may have happened to the little fella. Cane-Toad was made in a Brisbane "share house" by independent animators Dave Clayton and Andrew Silke. Copyright held by creator.

One of the best books to come out of the recent period of Troubles in Northern Ireland was Max Arthur's excellent—but sadly often overlooked—Northern Ireland: Soldiers Talking (London: Sidgwick and...

President Obama is showing astute caution in refusing to release the photos of Osama bin Laden's corpse, says Andrew Silke

Eco-terrorism is motivated by a diverse range of issues and is mainly carried out by lone actors or relatively small and diffuse groupings. Attacks primarily target the destruction of property and vandalism, and are 70 times less likely to result in fatalities compared to the average terrorist attack recorded in the Global Terrorism Database. The most commonly used weapons are incendiary and explosive devices. While only used in a small number of cases, environmentally-motivated terrorist attacks are, however, more likely to involve chemical, biological or radiological weapons compared to average terrorist attacks. Businesses are the primary targets for environmentally-motivated terrorism, followed by research/educational facilities and personnel. Trends currently do not show a rise in traditional environmentally-motivated terrorist attacks connected to the climate change crisis. This may change, however, as the climate crisis worsens and may also be affected if plans to more heavily criminalise non-violent climate protest activity are realised. The recent rise of eco-fascism indicates that environmentally-motivated narratives can be co-opted by other extremist ideologies and that this can have an impact on real-world violence. The potential for this to also eventually happen with regard to Islamist and nationalist-separatist extremism, for example, seems real, particularly in the context of a deepening climate crisis.

Since the attacks of 9/11, political, public, media and academic focus on terrorism and counter-terrorism has proliferated. According to Crenshaw (2004, p. 82), ‘[t]he attacks of September 11 propelled terrorism from obscurity to prominence in the wider field of international relations and foreign and security policy,’ adding that ‘[s]cholars who had previously ignored terrorism now acknowledged it as a major national security concern’. According to Silke (2008, p. 47), prior to 9/11, the study of terrorism was peripheral in academia, but ‘[s]ince the terrorist attacks of 9/11, interest in – and funding for – terrorism related research has increased enormously’. Yet, he argues that there has been an over-emphasis on al-Qaeda and a lack of historical research (Silke, 2009). In fact, when 9/11 occurred it became difficult for many to remember a time when it was someone other than a Muslim perpetrator. In addition to this, much literature, media attention and counter-terrorism since 9/11 has focused on international terrorism and foreign actors, sources and threats, as opposed to domestic ones. The events of 9/11 not only served to determine the terms of terrorism and counter-terrorism, but also overwrote, if not erased, the collective and institutional memory of pre-9/11 terrorism. According to Singh (2003, p. 52), 9/11 ‘heralded a dangerous and unprecedented chapter in the “American experiment”. 9/11 represented the end of what remained of America’s post-1991 innocence about the severity of global threats’. Former Director of the CIA R. James Woolsey (2002, p. v) argued that ‘[i]f the world did not change on September 11, 2001, at least most people’s perception of it did’.