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This article reads the political thought of a collection of treasonous and treason-sympathizing French military officers who supported the cause of the OAS (Organisation de l'armée secrète), a terrorist organization that fought President Charles de Gaulle's decision to leave Algeria in 1960. It draws upon a selection of the doctrine they wrote, that of guerre révolutionnaire or counterrevolutionary warfare; the novels that popularized their perspectives for broader audiences; and the transcripts from the trial of General Raoul Salan, the leader of the OAS. Based on these texts, it argues that counterrevolutionary warfare doctrine attempted to circumvent decolonization by articulating a form of violent nostalgia that continued colonial war without colonial conquest. In this way, counterrevolutionary warfare was a military doctrine, an ideological world view, and a theory of decolonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the significant global repercussions of terrorism, including loss of lives and economic resources, research on its relationship with crime has been limited to group-level analyses. This study examines the individual criminal activities of Australian Neo-Jihadists, via social network analysis from an individual perspective. Judicial documents and newspaper articles are analysed to determine the criminal activities and operational roles of network actors. Findings suggest a prominence of criminal activities, and a significant relationship between market criminal activities and facilitation of terrorist operations. The study concludes with suggestions for future research, emphasising the potential for disrupting terrorist networks by focusing on the new crime-terror nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One key aspect of threat in terrorists' language is incitement to violence. Contributing to a fuller understanding of how terrorists use language to encourage people to join their cause, this article examines the role of evaluative language in incitement strategies used by a far-rightist to align with and alienate particular social groups. The Affiliation framework (Knight 2010a; Zappavigna 2011; Etaywe & Zappavigna 2021; Etaywe 2022a), as grounded in systemic functional linguistics, is used to understand how values and social bonds are leveraged in the process of incitement, as explored in a manifesto published online by Brenton Tarrant, preceding his 2019 terrorist attack on two mosques in New Zealand. The findings reveal two main affiliation strategies used for incitement: communion (forging solidarity and alignments) and alienation. These strategies function to construct opposing social groups in discourse, with the condemned groups positioned as a threat, hostility legitimated as morally reasonable, and violence as warranted. (Far-right extremism, incitement, hate crimes, affiliation, morality of terrorism, forensic linguistics, conspiracy theory discourse) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the 1980s, a conflict over eight occupied houses in the Hafenstraße in Hamburg developed into one of the most contested squatter struggles in West Germany and strongly resonated with squatters abroad. As the conflict escalated, a long-drawn-out discussion unfolded between Hamburg's squatters, authorities, media and inhabitants over who the squatters were and how the city should deal with them. This article sets out to explain why these eight buildings became such a potent symbol for so many different groups. In order to do so, it combines social movement studies methods with folklore studies approaches and analyses the Hafenstraße as a site of legend, as a canvas onto which various actors projected societal hopes, ideals and fears. Central to this analysis are the four main legendary tropes that circulated in the 1980s: the Hafenstraße as a refuge for young dropouts, as a lawless zone, as a haven for terrorists and as indicative of the city's governance crisis. Finally, it asks how such legends informed people's actions and explains the importance of these tropes in the escalation and resolution of the conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU 's recent adoption of a comprehensive legislative package on AML creates a new regulatory, supervisory and institutional framework for AML in the EU, with two keyfeatures. First, a wide range of uniform requirements will constitute a Single AML Rulebook and help creating a true level-playing field across the EU. Second, a new EU authority, the AMLA, will have a variety of significant tasks and powers, including towards so-called "selected obliged entities. After summarising the historical context in which the new package is to be seen, this article summarises the key features of the new Single AML Rulebook. It thereupon deals with the key role that the AMLA plays in the new AML supervisory system, focusing amongst others on the AMLA 's supervisory, investigative and sanctioning powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research aims to study the police's countermeasures for dealing with acts of terrorism in Cirebon Regency, Indonesia. This study uses a normative juridical approach, focusing on analyzing legal regulations and their application in practice. The study identifies that although laws and regulations such as Law Number 5 of 2018 provide a strong legal basis, implementation still faces challenges related to the effectiveness of coordination between law enforcement officials and intelligence agencies. The findings of this study also contribute to the development of law and public policy in Indonesia by providing a solid academic foundation to support necessary regulatory changes or adjustments. The results of this analysis can help policymakers in formulating more responsive and adaptive strategies in dealing with the threat of terrorist, so as to create a stronger legal system and be able to protect society more comprehensively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new national, regional and global security environment and its trends are expressed in a synthesized way in the National Security Strategy. Our region is increasingly characterized, on the one hand, by overcoming the old mindsets of confrontation between states and the perceptible reduction of traditional threats, by the promotion of a new spirit of cooperation and the values of integration in the collective security structures and on the other hand, it is facing a new nature of challenges, dangers and threats with non-traditional, asymmetric forms and contents, on terrorist, ethnic or other grounds, initiated by nationalist-extremist elements and groups. Receiving the long-awaited invitation to the Bucharest Summit in April 2008, as well as the final moment for NATO accession at the NATO Summit in Stratsburg and Kehl, marks a qualitative stage in the complete process of Albania in the Euro-Atlantic structures. In this new perspective, the security and defense of our country will suffer qualitative effects; from the concept of individual security and protection, it will finally be passed "de jure" to the concept of collective security and protection, accompanied by all the relevant benefits and contributions. Likewise, the new states of Kosovo and Montenegro have given our region a new favorable panorama of regional security. Going forward, our assessments of the security environment, expected risks and threats, and the spectrum of FARSH combat and non-combat missions will be significantly influenced by the collective security assessments articulated in the Alliance's Strategic Concept (CSC), Policy of European Security and Defense (ESDP) and the Charter of the United Nations. In this new perspective, in full accordance with the constitutional obligations, FARSH to adopt a new defense planning system, in harmony with the standards and planning processes of the Euro-Atlantic Alliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) has two main intelligence organizations: the Ministry of Intelligence (MOI) and the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The two organizations are highly active on foreign soil with malign activities like assassinations. In 2018, the third secretary of the IRI embassy in Austria, Assadollah Assadi, was arrested and later convicted of involvement in terrorism. With the help of three of his assets, they had planned to bomb a gathering in Paris arranged by the Iranian opposition to the IRI. Assadi would later be identified as the principal intelligence officer of the MOI on the European continent. Analyzing the case of Assadi shows that the IRI has the will and resources to conduct significant terrorist operations and that the regime has a vast network of assets throughout Europe. Most significant in the failed Paris plot was that evidently the IRI Intelligence Community is likely compromised and that the regime has considerable problems in trusting its own intelligence officers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The late David C. Rapoport's seminal "Four Waves of Modern Terrorism" model has exerted huge influence over approaches to historical and contemporary terrorism. Structuring the history of terrorism since the 1870s into four successive "waves", the model purports to explain the origin, duration, and end of terrorist episodes, as well as the persistence of terrorism over the longue durée. Close examination of successive elaborations of the model reveals flaws and contradictions that undermine the theory itself. Most significantly, its central contention that terrorist waves follow a generational pattern is underdeveloped and under-evidenced. Such inherent weaknesses call into question the model's usefulness. Consequently, the article argues that terrorism studies scholars should discard the model in favour of genuine historical study of terrorism in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last decade witnessed a dramatic surge in state terror and non-state terrorism in Egypt. Against this backdrop, this article investigates how the al-Sisi regime engages in a particular form of terrorism racketeering aimed at generating continued external resources as well as political and military support required for the (re)building of a highly authoritarian order. This analysis thus broadens the concept of terrorism racketeering to include the construction of an existential terrorist threat as a tool of legitimising state terror. By failing to address the conditions, which foster non-state violence, the regime can continue to utilise for purposes of diplomacy and external revenue generation the dichotomy of state terror driven "authoritarian stability" and "terrorist chaos." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of recent terrorist attacks, we introduce and study a Stackelberg game between a government and a terrorist. In this game, the government positions a number of heavily‐armed rapid response teams on a line segment (e.g., a long boulevard or shopping avenue) and then the terrorist attacks a location with the highest potential impact of an attack. This potential impact, which we call damage, is the product of the time it takes the closest rapid response team to react and the damage caused per time unit, which is modeled via a damage rate function. We prove that there exists a subgame perfect Nash equilibrium that balances the possible damage on all intervals of the line segment that result from positioning the rapid response teams. We discuss the implications for various types of damage rate functions including one mimicking a busy boulevard with various hotspot locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Islamist terrorism poses a significant threat to global security. Current prevention measures focus largely on combating terrorist financing in order to hinder terrorist organizations' ability to pay their fighters and orchestrate attacks, with the aim of weakening their structures. The banking sector in particular is subject to strict regulations that intend to increase transparency and identify suspicious transactions. However, the present study illustrates that the banking sector continues to offer opportunities for terrorist financing. Using a qualitative study of 15 presumed providers of illegal financial services and 15 compliance experts to detail how terrorist financiers abuse the financial system to fund terrorist organizations, this paper has implications for both compliance officers and regulating authorities. In particular, the perceived challenges facing those at the frontline of the banking sector in detecting and preventing terrorist financing are analyzed with the intention to establish avenues for future research and countering the financing of terrorism regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We applied the path to intended violence (PTIV) [Calhoun, F. S., & Weston, S. W. (2003). Contemporary threat management: A practical guide for identifying, assessing, and managing individuals of violent intent. Specialized Training Services] model and the Terrorist Radicalization Assessment Protocol (TRAP-18; [Meloy, J. R. (2017). The TRAP-18 manual version 1.0. Washington, DC: Global Institute of Forensic Research]) to study the case of a lone-actor jihadist who carried out a fatal shooting at a joint Army-Navy recruiting center in Little Rock, Arkansas, on 1 June 2009. The PTIV model examines incidents using six progressive stages: grievance; violent ideation; researching and planning; preparation; probing and breaching; and attack [Calhoun, F. S., & Weston, S. W. (2003). Contemporary threat management: A practical guide for identifying, assessing, and managing individuals of violent intent. Specialized Training Services]. The TRAP-18 is a structured professional judgment tool and comprises 18 behavior-based warning signs for terror incidents. The findings from the retroactive application of the TRAP-18, in this case, show that in the week before the attack, the perpetrator exhibited 5 of the 8 proximal warning behaviors and 5 of the 10 distal warning behaviors. The retroactive application of the TRAP-18 and PTIV to cases of targeted violence assists with identifying a timeline of behaviors, which in turn provides insight into the pathway to violence and warning signs that someone may be a threat of violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to explore how many of the politically active, highly media-exposed, young survivors of the terrorist attack on Utøya island, Norway, have had personal experiences with hate speech and threats post-terror. Further, we aimed to examine the nature of these experiences, and the impact and consequences they have had for the directly affected. Approximately 8.5 years after the politically motivated terrorist attack on Utøya island in 2011, 289 survivors (51.2 percent females, M age = 27.7, SD = 4.6) were interviewed about their personal experiences with hate speech and threats. Responses were systematically analyzed using thematic analysis. In total, ninety-nine participants (34 percent) had experienced hate speech and/or threats post-terror, of whom a majority believed that this was related to their status as a survivor of the attack. Thematically, the hate/threats mainly revolved around wishes that the survivors had died in the attack, death threats, support for the terrorist, severe accusations related to the attack, and conspiracy theories. This had affected the survivors both emotionally (e.g., inducing fear and anger, but also robustness) and behaviorally (e.g., social and political withdrawal). Immediate measures and long-term strategies need to be developed to mitigate the personal harm and threat to democracy that experiences with hate speech/threats may cause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: October 7; Israel; Hamas; Crises; Crisis studies; Crisis Leadership; Post-crisis recovery; Accountability; Terrorism. 'Crises can be conceived of as bundles of real and present dangers, ills or evils that [...]

Terrorist organizations are often described as brands. However, the most important visual representations of these brands – terrorist groups' logos – have remained unexplored. In this article, we demonstrate that logos are signalling devices that provide vital cues on the propensity to use violence. To this end, we code and analyse 562 terrorist logos (2000–16). After providing a descriptive overview of the main colours and symbols used by terrorist groups worldwide, we rely on a zero-inflated negative binomial model to analyse the relationship between these organizations' visual choices and their deadly activities. Our results show that the presence of violent, religious, and extremist symbols in terrorist organizations' logos, as well as the use of black as the main colour, correlates with more frequent and deadlier attacks. These findings have important policy implications, demonstrating that logos serve as behavioural cues predicting the threat posed by terrorist groups not less effectively than their ideology. By highlighting the importance of visual artifacts like logos and their amenability to quantitative research, our article also provides a novel methodological contribution to international relations, helping bridge the gap between explanatory and critical security studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an analysis of the documentary Don't Call Me Ternera. By reimagining the interview format, the film prompts an ethical examination of the bond between those who have suffered at the hands of ETA terrorists and those who have perpetrated violence. The analysis is further enhanced by a review of the political and media controversy preceding its release, as well as a concise comparison with other journalistic works by Jordi Évole. Furthermore, a theoretical framework has been developed to examine the representation of individuals involved in acts of bloodshed, whether as victims or perpetrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A model based on the cluster process representation of the self‐exciting process model is derived to allow for variation in the excitation effects for terrorist events in a self‐exciting or cluster process model. The model's derivation and implementation details are given and applied to data from the Global Terrorism Database (National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), 2015) from 2000 to 2013. Results regarding the practical interpretation and implications for a theoretical model paralleling existing criminological theory are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has recurrently delayed, blocked, and/or stopped attempts by India (and other countries) to designate Pakistani citizens as terrorists under the UN Security Council 1267 Committee rules by placing "technical hold" or employing its veto. Question arises "why does China shield Pakistan on terrorism and block India's attempts to designate Pakistani citizens as terrorists?" Employing asymmetric alliance in conjunction with quasi-alliance as the analytical framework, the article argues that China's motives are explained by the India–China rivalry resulting in a quasi-alliance between China and Pakistan against their common enemy India. The China-Pakistan quasi-alliance is geared toward balancing and containing India. India's rise poses a challenge to China's ambitions of being the pre-dominant power in Asia. An important characteristic of this quasi-alliance is China's support to Pakistan's policy of asymmetric balancing against India by employing a plethora of terrorist organizations to target India and Indian interests abroad. Non-state actors fostered by Pakistan provide China with a low-cost option to ensure that India is wary of its western neighbor and its political, military, and diplomatic energies are fixed on Pakistan. This prevents India from focusing its resources toward China, prevents India's rise and its ability to challenge China in Asia and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work investigates whether the assumed religious background of a perpetrator in a carried out (Study 1) and attempted mass shooting (Study 2) influences attribution of the crime to mental health problems or terrorist motives as well as to evaluation of appropriate punishment. In two experimental studies (n = 113 and n = 340) participants were confronted with a scenario depicting an (attempted) mass shooting that was either carried out by a perpetrator with a German or an Arabic/Muslim name. Results indicate that compared to a perpetrator with a German name, a shooting carried out by a perpetrator with an Arabic/Muslim name led to increased attributions to a terrorist motive and fewer attributions to mental health problems. Moreover, in Study 2, this attribution pattern was accompanied by increased punitiveness. The findings are discussed against the background of previous work showing comparable results as well as practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a global phenomenon that has been associated with a growing list of concerns in society today, often leaving more questions than answers. Thus, it is no surprise that questions are forming regarding the effects of climate change on global security, and more specifically, terrorism. India is the ideal case study for investigating the relationship between climate change and extremism, with average temperatures in the country reaching record highs as well as having 9,096 terrorist incidents occur during our 20-year study period between 1998 and 2017. Using daily temperature, precipitation, elevation, and distance to the equator data from the National Climatic Data Center and terrorist incidents from the Global Terrorism Data base (GTD), this study assesses the spatial relationship between these factors through geospatial analyses. Suitability analyses indicate that all the climatological variables tested—temperature, precipitation, and elevation—relate to shifting patterns of terrorist activity. We also found that beyond intensity, seasons result in a shifting of patterns in terrorist behavior to other locales. Implications for the global community and for India specifically are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research article aims to examine the influence of US withdrawal from Afghanistan on the US hegemonic position in the world. On 30th August 2021, after twenty years of its presence, the US officially ended the war in Afghanistan, exiting its troops from the Afghan land with the Afghan Taliban returning to power in Kabul. The withdrawal raised questions on the credibility of the US hegemonic power. To analyze the hegemonic position of the US, a qualitative approach and secondary data sources from journals, official reports and news articles are utilized. The 20-year war was a success as the US would not face any attack from terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda on its land. On the other hand, the long war on terror in Afghanistan was also aimed at nation-building and the spread of democracy, which the US failed to implement. The article argues that the US obsession with the Global War on Terror has damaged its hegemony and has led to the rise of counter-hegemonic forces. The US needs to reiterate its commitment towards its ideals of democracy, free market, and human rights in the changing global power dynamics to legitimize its position as a hegemon in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of terrorism is gaining scale and acquiring new forms, requiring the international community to develop new approaches to combating threats. The aim of the work is to assess the Lublin Triangle countries' counterterrorism activities and identify the potential problems associated with such activities. The research used the doctrinal approach, content analysis, and descriptive and comparative methods. The conducted research described such a format of international cooperation as the Lublin Triangle. Improving the defence capabilities of the countries within the alliance and countering terrorist threats from the Russian Federation is of particular importance because of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Both prospects and problems in the activities of the association were identified. The problematic aspects are related to the aggravation of relations between Ukraine and Poland. Coordinated work of countries in the field of combating disinformation was noted. Several recommendations provided by representatives of non-governmental organisations of the Lublin Triangle countries in this area are summarised. Potential directions for further development of relations between the studied countries were outlined. It was noted that cooperation will only be effective when resolving contradictions and establishing mutual respect and trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do insurgents resort to kidnapping in civil war? What explains variation in the selection and intensity of the tactic over time and space? Despite an increase in the use of kidnapping over time, existing research has yet to develop an explanation that explains spatiotemporal variation and extends beyond financial motivations. I argue the decision to kidnap hostages is shaped by insurgents' behavioral interactions in the conflict environment. It occurs under two conditions: to generate support and reinstate bargaining capacity when organizations suffer military losses on the battlefield and to enforce loyalties and display strength when organizations face violent competition from other non-state actors. The observable implications of the theory are tested at the macro- and micro levels. At the macro-level, I conduct a quantitative cross-group analysis on over 200 organizations involved in an armed intrastate conflict (1989–2018). At the micro level, I consider the kidnapping strategy of the Taliban in Afghanistan over time and space (2010–2018). Taken together, the analyses provide robust support for the theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through a close textual analysis of US diplomatic cables and other relevant documents, this article provides new empirical data to trace the mutual construction of Mali as a site of terrorist threat. It argues that this mutual construction paradoxically enhanced the agency of Malian foreign policy elites in negotiations with their US interlocutors and highlights the effectiveness of Malian deployment of this discourse to shape the terms upon which intervention took place in the 2002–2012 period. It shifts the focus of the analysis of intervention in Mali both in space and in time through centering the US–Mali relationship pre-2012, displacing the dominant post-2013 France–Mali frame. This opens up a new dialectical and interimperial perspective on the agency of the Malian foreign policy elite in shaping the terms upon which intervention took place. This demonstrates the need for both a wider lens and a longer historical scope on investigations of intervention, particularly relevant as this discourse of terrorist threat has since 2013 spread beyond Mali to the wider Sahel region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do governments block efforts to hold perpetrators of human rights violations accountable, including against actors linked to proscribed groups? This article explores the Malian government's decisions to support or suspend accountability efforts against prominent individuals during the peace negotiations between 2012 and 2017, including those with links to jihadist groups. By tracing the micro-processes determining how and why certain individuals faced justice for crimes and not others, the article shows how Malian authorities used implicit amnesty measures as a tool of strategic legitimation for certain rebel leaders. This helped constitute certain actors as part of the legitimate opposition and gloss over both their alleged responsibility for human rights abuses and their involvement in jihadist groups excluded from the talks. This article presents a framework that demonstrates how elite bargaining around accountability follows four political rationales and shows how a government's selective approach to justice can enable actors to use peace processes as a means of impunity and political rehabilitation. This reveals the political significance of implicit amnesty measures, which achieve similar aims as formal amnesties yet without crossing the red line of providing formal amnesty for international crimes and serious human rights violations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study establishes the degree to which terrorist organisations are successful in achieving their stated goals and objectives. The analysis is undertaken within the framework of the strategic actor theory, which argues that terrorist organisations are rational actors that undertake a series of calculated actions towards the achievement of predetermined goals. The Key Performance Indicator (KPI) methodology, borrowed from the discipline of Management, was used as the analytical framework to measure the performance of the Islamic State. The study notes that the Islamic State's ideology and brand continue to attract sympathisers, but the organisation has lost significant territory, financial resources, and the ability to carry out terrorist attacks that produce mass casualties. This has undermined the attainment of its key goals of spreading radical Islam worldwide and establishing a caliphate in the Levant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document titled "Change as Impossible Necessity: Change for the Worse as Depicted in Wajdi Alahdal's A Crime at Restaurant Street" is an article published in the Forum for World Literature Studies. It explores the themes of political corruption and psychoanalytic theory in Alahdal's play. The article also discusses the impact of Yemeni theatre performance on the Yemeni people and the betrayal of opinion shapers. The document references various sources and provides an analysis of the major themes in the play. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses Ido Levy's book, "Soldiers of End-Times: Assessing the Military Effectiveness of the Islamic State," which examines the combat power of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Levy argues that when terrorists transition from creating chaos to seizing and holding territory, they adopt some characteristics of professional military forces. He explores how ISIS utilized psychological operations, suicide bombings, and shock tactics to overcome better-equipped opponents. The article emphasizes the importance of considering factors beyond quantitative measures when assessing military effectiveness and highlights the fleeting nature of tactical success without a strategic vision. [Extracted from the article]

Whenever revolutionaries in Nigeria challenge the powers that divest them of their space, rights, and security, state-actors label them terrorists. It is puzzling how terrorism is often defined as a paroxysm perpetrated by groups seeking their unassailable rights in their societies while the combustible actions of the state are ignored. Using the reader-response criticism, this study defines terrorism as an act of intimidation and oppression from the upper place of power to the lower place of marginalization. Charles Akinsete's Dance of a Savage Kingdom poem and Ndubuisi Martins' Answers through the Bramble poem aptly portray the monstrosity of the state in calibrating what is termed terrorism and picturing same in the oppressed. The poems portray the failure of the Nigerian State to provide an enabling environment for its teeming population to strive and grow. The structures of the poems indict state-actors for terrorism and depict the oppressed masses and activists as reactors to the inimical actions of the state. Rather than being sober, the oppressive state continually clamps down on aggrieved revolutionaries whose rights have been contravened, and cynically projects their oppressive actions as war against indiscipline and terrorism. Ironically, the masses strongly believe that the war against terrorism which the state-actors flaunt as an alibi for their wrongdoing is devious and self-serving. Leaning on the remonstrations of the poets, this study advocates that terrorism be situated properly within the context of its progenitors and stopped. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the aim of characterising the evolution of the phenomenon of terrorist attacks in the 20 years since 9/11, this paper conducts a broad analysis of terrorist events from 2000 to 2019, based on information made available by the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). The first part of the document illustrates the evolution of terrorist attacks worldwide, while the second part focuses on the type of targets favoured by terrorists. As a key result of the analysis, it will be shown that in recent years many attacks have been directed against simple public and private buildings, targeting and killing individuals, typically civilians. These types of targets have been referred to in the literature as soft targets , as opposed to the term hard targets or hardened structures, government, military, police and intelligence buildings and sites. In the work, specific definitions of soft target and hard target related to GTD information fields are proposed and evaluated over the period 2000-2019. Furthermore, detailed items of the terrorist targets, such as houses, schools, universities, restaurants, theatres etc., were considered and analysed. The evidence obtained provides an up-to-date view of terrorists' recent approaches to selecting targets and conducting attacks. The understanding of the evolution of these approaches can allow for better organisation of future prevention and protection of potential soft and hard targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting from the terrorist events recorded in the Global Terrorism Database (GTD), a very detailed and original analysis has been performed on the evolution, starting from the attach to the Twin Towers in New York in 2001, over the last 21 years of terrorist attacks on specific targets related to critical infrastructures, essential services and facilities. Specifically, a set of targets extracted from the GTD referred to in the paper as ESIF (Essential Services, Infrastructures and Facilities) macro-target has been selected to carry out an original focus on terrorist events perpetrated in G7 countries (USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan). This ESIF macro-target typically contains most of a country's strategic industrial assets, infrastructure and services. The hereby analysis has been conducted in a timely manner for the period 2000-2020, in order to carry out a comparison of the different situations recorded in the most developed world countries, to intercept possible trends, also verifying the type of weapon used for the attacks, then focusing the analysis on CBREI (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Explosive and Incendiary) attacks, which constitute the most destructive and impactful terrorist attacks found in the GTD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Convicted terrorists released from prison often experience social stigma, exclusion, and difficulties reintegrating into society. Authorities have identified the utility of using formerly convicted and released terrorists or disengaged terrorists as an intermediary to help and support terrorist inmates as they go through social reintegration processes. This article explores their role as an intermediary who advocates for fair treatment and rights for their fellow ex-inmates, assisting families and helping them undergo the reintegration process. This research involved interviews with members of three foundations: Yayasan Persadani, Hubbul Wathon Indonesia 19, and DeBintal. By analysing the narrative of the participants, this study found that social reintegration efforts led by disengaged terrorists fostered a sense of social belonging and connectedness among ex-inmates. In addition, these foundations offer valuable assistance to terrorist inmates while ensuring community safety. They serve as a reliable support system during times of need and act as a communication bridge between them and the government. This framework positions these foundations as integral components in addressing concerns about the effectiveness of government-led integration initiatives. The approach adopted by these foundations has positive effects on preventing the re-engagement of released inmates with extremist networks. Despite the need to measure the effectiveness of these initiatives comprehensively, efforts made by these foundations provide potential for societal resilience against terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When it comes to domestic terrorism (DT), state capacity matters in 'the middle.' Our article aims to bring together two apparently separate strands of terrorism research: one concerning the effects of regime type; and another concerning the effects of state capacity. We argue that state capacity can reduce DT in anocracies, but not so much in full dictatorships and democracies. Terrorists seek to maximize the reach of their attacks by exposing themselves to a larger audience. As a result, regimes with higher audience costs tend to be more vulnerable to domestic terror attacks. In anocracies, there is room for state capacity to influence the audience costs of a domestic terrorist attack. In full democracies and dictatorships, on the other hand, state capacity has little influence on the audience costs of DT. Consequently, if previous studies have purported linear, U -shaped, and inverted- U -shaped links between democracy and terrorism, we argue that the shape of the relationship is contingent on the level of state capacity. Theoretically, we substantiate our argument with a two-player simultaneous game between a terrorist group and a government. On the empirical side, we conduct a series of negative binomial panel regressions upon a time-series cross-sectional dataset of no less than 108 countries from 1970 to 2007. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the motivations of ideological killers by investigating their justifications for violence. These justifications are divided into three categories: those that are grounded in actual social/political realities that are present in the lives of the perpetrators; those that utilise geographically and/or temporally distant vicarious victimisations; and those that are fictional, i.e., they have no basis in reality. These concepts are illustrated through discussions of a range of perpetrators of ideological violence. The implications of vicarious and fictional motivations are discussed in terms of our understanding of the psychology of perpetrators, the process of radicalisation, and counterterrorism efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to highlight the risks and threats posed by crowdfunding. It also looks at the new European Union regulation on crowdfunding, which is intended to give participants confidence that there will be specific minimum regulatory standards to protect parties against mis-selling issues affecting some platforms. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based upon a thorough literature review. Findings: Crowdfunding is an essential alternative for financing commercial and non-commercial projects. Although it is a fast-growing digital financial tool, it can also be considered extremely risky. It can be an ideal platform for money laundering and can facilitate the financing of terrorism and fraud. Originality/value: Crowdfunding is still in its infancy, so the literature has not yet sufficiently addressed the compliance risks of crowdfunding. As a result, there is a significant research gap. Thus, this study aims to analyse and propose suggestions to mitigate the risks that all crowdfunding stakeholders may face when deciding to participate in a crowdfunding activity or when they want to set one up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terrorist organizations are presumed to specialize in the planning and execution of acts of terrorism, but to what extent do these groups actually employ terrorism? The answer can help inform the debate over whether such groups should be labeled terrorist organizations at all. We explore these questions by examining the relative use of terrorism vis-à-vis guerrilla tactics among 1,013 groups listed in the Global Terrorism Database from 1970 to 2019. We find, first, that "terrorist groups" have historically relied on a combination of terrorist and guerrilla tactics. Second, while terrorism has been the preferred mode of warfare in the first four decades examined, guerrilla tactics have predominated in the 2010s. Our findings imply that the use of the "terrorist group" label had empirical justifications in the first four, although not the most recent decade under review. The data support calls for the adoption of value-neutral labels for contemporary militant groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though the mass media, anecdotal accounts, and popular opinion have consistently alluded to a connection between terrorism financing and kidnapping in northern Nigeria, empirical research focusing on this subject is rare. Therefore, this research investigated the involvement of members of the Boko Haram terrorist group in kidnapping to help finance terrorism. Using in-depth and key-informant interviews, data were elicited from 27 Boko Haram suspects apprehended in Gonan-Magajin-Gari village. The findings revealed that the involvement of Boko Haram in kidnapping was necessitated by the need to devise an alternative source of funding owing to dwindling financial support from the group’s sponsors. Furthermore, group members systematically sourced recruits among individuals perceived to have criminal tendencies.