Radical Islamic Groups Research Articles

The Ottomans and the West: Some Thoughts on Mutual Perceptions and Good Government

Sir Jack Goody has been exploring the changing dynamics of East/West relations in numerous brilliant works. The key question concerns the dominance of the West since the eighteenth century. Are there features unique to the West which lead to its superiority both in arms and in culture? Or, were the last 200 years a mere passing moment in the “longue durée”? The history of the Ottomans from the thirteenth to the twentieth century provides a good background for Goody’s critical arguments. They turn out to be an unexpectedly tough adversary in the First World War, and yet the Empire fails. Does the Ottoman experience and the Turkish transformation provide new insights for the role of Islam in politics? Are there lessons to be learnt in the conduct of military operations against radical Islamic groups concerning the need for good, responsible and, above all, just governance?

HYBRID WARS: THE 21st-CENTURY’S NEW THREATS TO GLOBAL PEACE AND SECURITY

This article discusses a new form of war, ‘hybrid war’, with inclusion of aspects of ‘cyber-terrorism’ and ‘cyber-war’ against the backdrop of Russia’s ‘Ukrainian Spring’ and the continuing threat posed by radical Islamist groups in Africa and the Middle East. It also discusses the findings of an on-going hybrid threat project by the Swedish Defence College. This interdisciplinary article predicts that military doctrines, traditional approaches to war and peace and their perceptions will have to change in the future.

Afghanistan after the 2014 U.S. Drawdown

The U.S. decision to draw down its forces by December 2014 forced India to re-align its Afghanistan policy to assert its own interests. India’s on-the-ground exposure of US$2 billion and anticipation of the fallout from Pakistan-nurtured radical Islamic terrorist groups will guide the Modi government.

The arming of non-state actors in the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula

Rebellious non-state actors of the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula have been arming themselves through smuggling networks operating in north-east Africa and the Middle East. They feature complex, dynamic, open systems which include many components of various organisational and national identities, and which are driven by various motives, united in order to accomplish the goal of arms smuggling. Previously, this system was dominated by the supply of Iranian large and high-quality weapon systems, mainly rockets, to the Palestinian Hamas, enabling them to build up military force that has sustained long-standing conflict against the stronger Israel. The Arab turmoil initiated dramatic changes in the arming system: Iran stopped, at least temporarily, the channelling of weapons to the Hamas due to its support of the Syrian opposition against the Assad regime. Egypt blocked many of Hamas's smuggling tunnels, intensifying Hamas's strategic isolation. Following the removal of Gaddafi and lack of government, Libya became a major arms source, serving mainly regional radical Islamic groups. Salafist jihadist groups in Sinai revolted against the Egyptian government, using huge local stockpiles of weapons and operational cooperation with Palestinian Islamists. This article argues that to survive, rebellious non-state actors must exploit arming opportunities in the physical, social and political environment, whereas securing shared borders is vital for defeating rebellious non-state actors. The arming of non-state actors should be analysed broadly, considering the needs of the civilian population among whom the militants are operating.

The BDS Movement: That Which We Call a Foreign Boycott, by Any Other Name, Is Still Illegal

In recent years a movement advocating a program of boycotts, divestitures and sanctions against Israel has developed an increasingly visible position on the world stage. This movement, known as the BDS Movement, originated in the Arab League's boycott of Israel and has grown into a multi-faceted entity. On the one hand, it continues the Arab League's boycott of Israel; on the other hand, it is aligned with radical Islamist groups, including Hamas, and coordinates with such groups as part of an international campaign to attack Israel militarily and commercially. BDS Movement has begun to attract supporters in the United States, consisting of individuals, unions and business organizations. These supporters have been led to believe that their support of the BDS Movement is within the bounds of United States' law.This paper explores specific United States' laws, including the Export Administration Act's anti-boycott provisions, anti-trust laws, racketeering laws and anti-terrorism statutes, to show that there are a number of federal laws that apply to, and prohibit participation in, the BDS Movement's activities. This paper concludes that American individuals and organizations that participate in or support the BDS Movement may be subject to both government prosecution and private party litigation, exposing participants to monetary and criminal penalties. To the extent individuals or business organizations have experienced financial harm from the BDS Movement's activities, such damages may be compensable under applicable United States' laws.Furthermore, this paper argues that because the federal government's role in regulating foreign affairs and commerce is undermined by the BDS Movement's operations in the United States, and United States' policy towards foreign relations is at odds with the BDS Movement's objectives, the United States Department of Justice is warranted in commencing prosecution against the BDS Movement and its supporters under, inter alia, the Export Administration Act, anti-terrorism laws and RICO.The portion of this paper demonstrating that First Amendment protections are not applicable to BDS Movement boycotts has been expanded and developed into a separate paper, The Inapplicabiilty of First Amendment Protections to BDS Movement Boycotts, available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=2676307.

Factors Affecting Changes in Perceptions of Turkish People Towards Syrian Refugees

Until recently, Turkey known as a source or transit country in migration routes, transformed into a target country for refugees due to civil wars and foreign interventions in countries of the region. Refugee influxes caused by the civil war in Syria has made Turkey one of the countries with the highest refugee population in the world. With the start of the civil war in Syria, Turkey applied 'open door policy' and temporary protection was granted to all Syrians on prima facie basis. Although the adoption of the psychological threshold of 100 thousand refugees at the initial period of the crisis, threshold was exceeded in a very short time and assumptions of Turkish government about civil war have not realized. Furthermore Al-Asad regime has strengthened its position because of the disharmony and inconsistency in opposition groups. With the interval of radical islamic groups, parallel with the decline in public support in Western countries, Syrian policy of Westren governments began to change. Active support to opposition declined and civil war turned into a vicious cycle. The most significant effect of this situation on Turkey is transformation of short-term guests into permanent refugees. Prolongation of the civil war reducing the Syrian's prospects of return, made Turkey host one of the most populous diasporas in the world. With increasing economic and social burdens, Turkey's ‘human-rights based approach’ to Syrian refugee policy bagan to show signs of exhaustion and ‘security based approach’ came up to the agenda. Main factor causing this condition is perception changes of Turkish people against Syrian refugees. In this paper, factors affecting the perception of the Turkish people will be examined.

Zagrożenie fundamentalizmem islamskim w poradzieckiej Azji Centralnej

The article provides an analysis of Islamic fundamentalism in post-Soviet Central Asia as well as a contribution to the lively discussion among journalists and analysts on the threat to national security posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The main claim of the article is that post-Soviet regimes create an Islamic extremism threat themselves. The deliberation is an attempt to answer the questions about the actual significance of Islamic fundamentalism in the region and the Islamic State impact on the national security of central-Asian republics. The paper is based on scientific literature, analytical centers studies and media reports. The analysis revealed that: the Islamic State has only a limited influence on security in post-Soviet Central Asia; authoritarian regimes use Islamic fundamentalism to pursue their own political interests; the activity of radical Islamic groups should be perceived in terms of a challenge rather than a threat to security in the region.

Hybrid Wars: 21st Centuryys New Threats to Global Peace and Security

This article discusses a new form of war, ‘Hybrid War’, under inclusion of aspects of ‘cyber-terrorism’ and ‘cyber-war’ before the backdrop of Russia’s ‘Ukrainian Spring’ and the continuing threat posed by radical Islamist groups in Africa and the Middle East. It discusses the findings of an on-going Hybrid Threat project by the Swedish National Defence College. This interdisciplinary article predicts that military doctrines, traditional approaches to war and peace and its perceptions will have to change in the future.

Climatic Disasters and Radical Politics in Southern Pakistan: The Non-linear Connection

This paper is a local level examination of the political spaces and opportunities that arise for radical political agents in the aftermath of a climatic disaster. It explores the theoretical argument that disasters break the social contract between the state and disaster-affected communities by opening political space for change. The empirical work is based on a large-scale flooding disaster that affected southern Pakistan in 2010 and 2011 and caused international concern around increased Islamist mobilisation through their disaster relief programmes. The case study investigates the extent to which the climatic disaster opened political space for the radical Islamist group, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, to mobilise. Based on fieldwork conducted in three districts of Sindh in southern Pakistan, this paper demonstrates that climatic disasters are able to impact radical politics. This connection is not linear or causal but rather very complex. It further explains why this type of inquiry is relevant in order to understand climate change and security.

The ‘Arab Spring’: implications for US–Israeli relations

This article argues that the ‘Arab Spring’ has ended the long-standing US–Israeli common strategy of supporting pro-Western and semi-secular autocracies in the Arab world. During these tumultuous events Washington chose to support the rebellions to varying degrees, thus exacerbating Israel's concerns regarding the adverse regional implications attending this shift (notably the ascendance of Islamist regimes and the diversion of world attention from Iran's nuclear quest). By way of ameliorating such threats, the US needs to pursue a policy of supporting pro-democracy groups in the region while formulating a clear policy to deal with the threats from Iran and radical Islamist groups. All in all, the ‘Arab Spring’ has created a highly volatile strategic environment thus making Israel an even more valuable strategic ally for the US

A ‘System of Self-Appointed Leaders'? Examining Modes of Muslim Representation in Governance in Britain

Research Highlights and Abstract This article Contributes to theoretical debates about the significance of group identity and political representation; Contributes to academic research into the shift from formal and hierarchical to more informal and network-based styles of governance; Contributes to research on the integration of Muslims in Britain by elucidating the emergence and diversification of Muslim representative organisations in Britain since 1970; Demonstrates the multifaceted and dynamic nature of Muslim representative claims-making in contemporary UK governance by identifying and analysing a range of modes of Muslim representation. Since the turn of the century Britain has seen a proliferation of Muslim civil society organisations and an increase in the number of points of contact between Muslim spokespersons and government. Yet, this increased participation in UK governance has been a source of fierce controversies centring on the role of conservative male leaderships and the influence of radical Islamic groups. Drawing on interviews with 42 national elites who have engaged in UK Muslim–government relations in the past decade, this article charts the emergence of national-level Muslim representation and assesses its relationship to democratic participation and accountability. Building on the work of Michael Saward, we argue that unelected civil society representatives can act as an important supplement to elected representatives. We show how four modes of Muslim representation have emerged in the last decade—‘delegation’, ‘authority’, ‘expertise’ and ‘standing’—creating dynamic competition among representative claims.

Izraelská konceptualizace hájitelnosti hranice:Čas pro změnu?

The article deals with important aspects determining the defensibility of the State of Israel borderlines and its current conditions. It outlines trends and tendencies in Israeli approach to this burning issue and depicts important political and military - strategic factors concerning Israeli concept for countering military and paramilitary (i.e. terrorist, insurgent etc.) threats in border region. Particular focus is dedicated to the new regional security situation after the outbreak of the Arab Spring and its impact on securing the Israeli sovereignty. Furthermore, it depicts the question whether current unsatisfied security situation in surrounding Arab countries could eventually turn into an outbreak of conventional military conflict and/or whether the State of Israel could possibly face concentrated strain of radical Islamic groups operating in the border area. Last but not least, the article concludes an outline of Israeli doctrinal approaches and examines the impact of budgetary restraints into the development of IDF.

Al-Muhajiroun in the United Kingdom: the role of international non-recognition in heightened radicalization dynamics

This article aims at uncovering the dynamics between non-recognition – real or perceived – and increasingly violent practices, with a case study focusing on the representations of the violent radical Islamist group Al-Muhajiroun following the 9/11 attacks and the outbreak of the war in Afghanistan in 2001. The article argues that these two events were considered salient by the group in terms of both ‘Muslims’ social value and self-esteem and were presented, on behalf of the Ummah, as instances of non-recognition. From this interpretation, the group’s discourse became increasingly political, structured and violence-endorsing. The article concludes by showing that Al-Muhajiroun’s distorted claims for recognition translated into policy prescriptions advocating an all-out Jihad to try and establish a world caliphate as an alternative, superior hegemony.

Some Things We Think We've Learned Since 9/11: A Commentary on Marc Sageman's “The Stagnation in Terrorism Research”

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes Christian Leuprecht, Todd Hataley, Sophia Moskalenko, and Clark McCauley, “Containing the Narrative: Strategy and Tactics in Countering the Storyline of Global Jihad,” Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism 5, no. 1 (2010): 42–57. Ibid. Clark McCauley and Sarah Scheckter, “What's Special About US Muslims? The War on Terrorism as Seen by Muslims in the United States, Morocco, Egypt, Pakistan, and Indonesia,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 31, no. 11 (2008): 1024–1031. Clark McCauley, Christian Leuprecht, Todd Hataley, Conrad Winn, and Bidisha Biswas, “Tracking the War of Ideas: A Poll of Ottawa Muslims,” Terrorism and Political Violence 23, no. 5 (2011): 804–819. George W. Bush, Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People, United States Capitol, Washington, DC, 2001, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html 1/27/2014. Clark McCauley, “Ideas Versus Actions in Relation to Polls of US Muslims,” Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy 13, no. 1 (2013): 70–76. Leuprecht et al., “Containing the Narrative” (see note 1 above). Clark McCauley and Sophia Moskalenko, “Toward a Profile of Lone Wolf Terrorists: What Moves an Individual From Radical Opinion to Radical Action,” Terrorism and Political Violence 26, no. 1 (2014): 69–85. Clark McCauley and Sophia Moskalenko, Friction: How Radicalization Happens to Them and Us (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011). Ibid., Chapter 9: Group Competition. John Horgan, Leaving Terrorism Behind: An Individual Perspective (Chichester: John Wiley, 2003). McCauley and Moskalenko, “Toward a Profile of Lone Wolf Terrorists” (see note 8 above). Ibid. Metin Turcan and Clark McCauley, “Boomerang: Opinion Versus Action in the Radicalization of Abu-Mulal al-Balawi,” Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict 3, no. 1 (2010): 14–31. Emmanuel Karagiannis and Clark McCauley, “Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami: Evaluating the Threat Posed by a Radical Islamic Group that Remains Nonviolent,” Terrorism and Political Violence 18, no. 2 (2006): 315–334. Gary LaFree, Laura Dugan, and Raven Korte, “The Impact of British Counterterrorist Strategies on Political Violence in Northern Ireland: Comparing Deterrence and Backlash Models,” Criminology 47, no. 1 (2009): 17–45. Clark McCauley, “Group Desistance from Terrorism: A Dynamic Perspective,” Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict 1, no. 3 (2008): 269–293. McCauley and Moskalenko, Friction (see note 9 above), Chapter 13: Martyrdom. Clark McCauley, Discussion Point: Introducing “Political Resilience” (College Park, MD: National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (NC-START), August 31, 2012), http://www.start.umd.edu/news/discussion-point-introducing-political-resilience. Additional informationNotes on contributorsClark McCauleyClark McCauley is a Professor of Psychology at Bryn Mawr College; Co-Director of the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict; and Editor of the journal Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict.Sophia MoskalenkoSophia Moskalenko is a Social Psychologist working on questions of radicalization at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), University of Maryland, and is also affiliated with the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict.

Membendung Arus Radikalisasi di Indonesia

This paper seeks to examine religious phenomena in the Islamic community in Indonesia which have undergone significant changes since the fall of the New Order regime in 1998. One of the significant changes that drew the attention of some observers is the proliferation of various religious groups that carry radical ideologies. The presence of radical Islamic groups or organizations is never static, but continues to develop in line with the dynamics of the country and global environment. These developments invite public concern and anxiety because the radical Islamic organizations often spread terror, both to civilians and to the perpetrators alike. Is the development of radical Islamic organizations can be dammed? This paper offers education as one of the institutions that can be optimized to promote what is called de-radicalization. The educational institutions mainly run by Muslims are expected to perform these roles in cooperation with other institutions in order to present the face of Islam in Indonesia that is friendly, tolerant, moderate, but still has dignity in the eyes of the world.

Fighting terrorism in Africa by proxy: the USA and the European Union in Somalia and Mali

The French intervention in Mali in early 2013 emphasizes that the decision-makers in Paris, Brussels, and Washington considered the establishment of the radical Islamist regime in Northern Mali a threat to their security interests. The widespread instability including the rise of radical Islamist groups in Somalia was perceived as a threat to western interests. It is the core argument of the paper if western powers decide to provide security in Africa, they will be inclined to use proxy instead of deploying own troops. Security provision by proxy in African means that African troops are doing the actual fighting and peacekeeping on the ground while western powers basically pay the costs, the logistics, and the training of local African troops. The paper concludes that the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in Somalia and The African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) in Mali are proxies for the USA and the European Union.

Rola czynnika kurdyjskiego w syryjskiej wojnie domowej

The Syrian civil war is one of the most important problems which the international community is currently facing, but which remains unsolved since its beginning in March 2011. The high level of complexity of the conflict, the multiplicity of participants and difficulties in recognizing their true intentions make finding possible solutions less probable as the months go by. All this chaos results in the underestimation of the Kurdish factor, which is often, especially because of the increasing role of radical Islamic groups, belittled by some commentators and analysts. Moreover, the lack of unitary organizational structures that can be recognized as a representation of the interests of the Kurdish community living in the territory of Syria, its internal divisions, and the disability in creating the commonly accepted leadership makes regarding the Kurds as a uniform and internally coherent party in the war impossible. The aim of the paper is to present the role of various Kurdish organizations participating in the conflict and analyze the connections and divisions which make the Kurds unable to create a homogenous.

Peace at Daggers Drawn? Boko Haram and the State of Emergency in Nigeria

More than 3,500 people have died in Nigeria since 2009 when Boko Haram, a radical Islamist group from northeastern Nigeria, launched its violent campaign to wrest power from the Nigerian government and foist an Islamic state under the supreme law of Sharia. Attempts at negotiating with the group, including the recent amnesty offer extended to its members by the Nigerian government, have stalled due to distrust on both sides and the factionalized leadership of the group's different cells. This article provides a systematic account of Boko Haram's emergence, demands, and modus operandi. It also evaluates how the Nigerian government has responded to the group's threat and how they should respond. The socioeconomic approach of this article helps to explain the Boko Haram problem beyond a usual religious agenda and to evaluate the development of the group in the context of Nigeria's checkered political history and local economic grievances.

Modern Islamist Movements

Jon Armajani’s book seeks to explain developments within Islam that have
 led to the rise of such radical Islamist groups as al-Qaida and the Taliban. The
 text provides an intellectual background for these movements in an attempt
 to explain how groups that profess to pursue religious objectives could justify
 engaging in horrific acts of terror.
 Armajani opens with a thirty-six-page introduction (including notes) in
 which he lays out the book’s theoretical foundations. He begins by defining
 Islamism as a subset of Islamic fundamentalism. His interest in al-Qaida and
 9/11 quickly becomes clear, particularly in his discussion on whether or not
 the September 11 attacks could legitimately be viewed as acts of self-defense ...

Sectarian Rebellions in Post-Transition Nigeria Compared

The Boko Haram, a radical Islamic group based in north-east Nigeria, has killed over 1,000 people since mid-2011. This article explores the historical origins and structural drivers of Boko Haram and puts them into context. It argues that the Nigerian government's coercive response to Boko Haram has perpetuated a cycle of violence and undermined endogenous sources of moderation based on cultural, institutional, and political conditions. State repression to implement a counter-terrorism strategy has radicalized the group, created incentives to find international sympathizers, and contributes to fragmentation that impedes political solutions. A comparison with rebellions in the oil producing Niger Delta helps identify some barriers to and opportunities for conflict resolution.