Terrorism Studies Research Articles

ТЕРРОРИЗМ В СОВРЕМЕННОМ ОБЩЕСТВЕ: ФАКТОРЫ РАСПРОСТРАНЕНИЯ

Objective of the study. The study of the problems of modern terrorism and the factors of its spread. The methodological basis of the research. The article applies the methodological principles of system and historicism, methodological approaches of structural and functional analysis, behaviorism, interactionism, subjective-personal and information-communicative approaches form a methodological construct that allows to study the types and factors of terrorism. Research results. The fight against terrorism and extremism has led to the accumulation of abundant empirical material. However, its theoretical understanding is still incomplete, which makes it difficult to purposefully prevent extremist manifestations, terrorist acts and the detection of hidden cells of terrorist organizations. Given the formation of a socio-philosophical concept of the study of terrorism, its modern types, forms and methods of organizing terror and individual terrorist acts, the effectiveness of the activities of the special services would be more successful.   Prospects of the study. Modern terrorism appears to be a complex, conflicting and multidimensional phenomenon of a socio-political nature, requiring serious systematic and complex work of scientific personnel. And the fight against social and political problems is the only way to really avoid terrorist threats.

The Theorizing of Terrorism Within Criminology

Objectives: While terrorism studies were once castigated as atheoretical and unempirical, criminology has been well suited to apply theories of crime to terrorism and to then test those theories with rigorous methods and robust data. The present study takes stock of how criminologists have theorized about terrorism and tested those theories over time in 13 of the discipline's leading journals. Methods: The study systematically examines theoretical framing, hypotheses, methodological approach, focus within criminology and criminal justice, and policy recommendations in terrorism-focused articles. Results: While terrorism has become more central within top journals, sparse attention has been paid to many criminological theories that could help us understand terrorism. Additional qualitative, theoretical, and mixed-methods research is needed. Further, few articles address the making of terrorism laws. We identify other systematic strengths and weaknesses across the literature and highlight domains for future research. Conclusions: Criminological research on terrorism has engaged theories within and beyond the discipline and employed a range of methodologies with diverse data sources to make contributions to both our broader field and to the larger body of scholarship on terrorism. Yet, many opportunities exist for criminologists to expand research on the making, breaking, and reaction to break laws regarding terrorism.

Review: Pastels and Pedophiles: Inside the Mind of QAnon, by Mia Bloom and Sophia Moskalenko

This book is an excellent introduction to the origins of the QAnon posts (“drops”), their origin and history, the constituencies who were most influenced by QAnon, why people were attracted to the worldview, and what can be done when family members go down the rabbit hole of QAnon conspiracy theories.Mia Bloom is a political scientist who researches and publishes on various aspects of terrorism studies. Sophia Moskalenko is a psychologist who studies “mass identity, inter-group conflict, and conspiracy theories” (back cover flap). She has published books on how conflict contributes to radicalization and on the attraction of martyrdom. Pastels and Pedophiles is written in the combined voice of the two authors. Due to their different specializations, it is possible to distinguish one author’s writing from the other’s but this does not detract from the cohesion of the book.Chapter 1, “Looney Lies and Conspiracies: Making Sense of QAnon,” introduces the QAnon conspiracy theories, describes the origin of QAnon posts on 28 October 2017, discusses QAnon-supporting candidates for political office in 2020 and the ones elected to Congress, and reports statistics showing the growing percentage of QAnon believers in the United States—from 5 percent in 2019 to 17 percent in February 2021 (3). This chapter explores evidence for who QAnon poster(s) might have been. The authors demonstrate how the QAnon conspiracy theories are modeled on prior antisemitic conspiracy theories, notably the fictitious pamphlet, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion (1902/1903) produced in Russia. The QAnon conspiracy theory that Democrats and their Hollywood elite supporters kidnap and torture children to extract a chemical that they use to keep themselves youthful is a reformulation of the old “blood libel” Christian conspiracy theory against Jews. Democrats are also accused of child sex-trafficking in the QAnon conspiracy theories. The chapter describes QAnon as a collection of conspiracy theories with believers continuing to create new variations.Chapter 2, which examines the 6 January 2021 insurrection, links former President Donald Trump’s supporters’ belief in QAnon conspiracy theories with the attempt to overthrow the outcome of the 2020 presidential election by attacking Congress. The chapter delves into contributing factors for people’s acceptance of QAnon conspiracy theories, including former military personnel suffering from PTSD, troubled family or personal backgrounds, and the monetization of QAnon merchandise. QAnon was marketed to women’s concerns about protecting children in posts in pastel colors. The authors argue that the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent shutdowns and social isolation contributed to more people reading QAnon conspiracy theories online and becoming converted.Chapter 3 looks at the radicalization of QAnon believers. It discusses how QAnon adherents say their conversion is similar to the character Neo in The Matrix (1999), who takes a red pill that awakens him to reality. This chapter also considers the QAnon belief in Trump as a savior, “the ultimate masculine hero who would rescue abused children” (100). In this regard, Bloom and Moskalenko argue that QAnon is “a kind of religion” (98). According to the authors,FolQlore satisfies four important needs for QAnon followers: a need to feel smart (cognitive utility); a need to feel connected (social utility); a need to feel positive emotions (emotional utility); and a need to feel like one’s life has a purpose (personal utility). (104)Chapter 4 explores the movement after the 6 January 2021 assault against the Capitol, when QAnon believers sorted themselves into “the Diehards,” “the Doubters,” and “the Defectors.” Strategies to promote critical thinking and social media literacy among Americans are discussed. The authors assert that online efforts to utilize QAnon to divide Americans have particularly originated from Russia (123–4, 132). Concerning the types of people who attacked the Capitol on 6 January, the chapter cites studies concluding that 68 percent of those individuals had psychopathologies (137). Steven Hassan’s theory of mind control is mentioned briefly (141) but not emphasized. Reflecting Moskalenko’s background in psychology, the authors recommend mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) formulated by Jon Kabat-Zinn as a way that people can cope with their concerns without resorting to conspiracy theories (147–8).Chapter 5, “Qontagion,” traces the spread of QAnon conspiracy theories worldwide and the appeal of QAnon to evangelical Christians. The role of Vladimir Putin utilizing online trolls to spread QAnon conspiracy theories in social media is also considered. The authors conclude that “QAnon’s spread is a well-executed psyop…a speciality of Putin’s KGB training” (169).The final chapter, “FAQs,” answers questions about QAnon, including how best to deal with family members who are QAnon adherents with varying levels of commitment and radicalization.Pastels and Pedophiles is an indispensable study of all aspects of the QAnon conspiracy theories for scholars studying and teaching about the movement.

Analysis of the Relationship Between Climate Change Impacts and Terrorism in ASEAN (1990-2018)

In August 1967, realizing that peace and stability is the catalyst to economic growth, 5 nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and The Philippines) formed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The group eventually evolved and adding more members resulting with a grouping of 10 states with the addition of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao’s PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam. This paper intends to review the link between climate change and terrorism in member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Association of Southeast Asian Nations/ASEAN). The datasets used to form the empirical model are the number of terrorist attacks from 1990-2018 recorded in the Global Terrorism Database (National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) and Climate Change Indicators 1990-2018 recorded in The World Bank. Using multiple regression analysis, the study answered the research question as ‘An increase in access to electricity, rainfall, and farmland size has a statistical probability of increasing terrorism attacks in ASEAN, while an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, statistically has a probability of reducing terrorism attacks in ASEAN member states.

GTDOnto: An Ontology for Organizing and Modeling Knowledge about Global Terrorism

In recent years and with the advancement of semantic technologies, shared and published online data have become necessary to improve research and development in all fields. While many datasets are publicly available in social and economic domains, most lack standardization. Unlike the medical field, where terms and concepts are well defined using controlled vocabulary and ontologies, social datasets are not. Experts such as the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) collect data on global incidents and publish them in the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). Thus, the data are deficient in the technical modeling of its metadata. In this paper, we proposed GTD ontology (GTDOnto) to organize and model knowledge about global incidents, targets, perpetrators, weapons, and other related information. Based on the NeOn methodology, the goal is to build on the effort of START and present controlled vocabularies in a machine-readable format that is interoperable and can be reused to describe potential incidents in the future. The GTDOnto was implemented with the Web Ontology Language (OWL) using the Protégé editor and evaluated by answering competency questions, domain experts’ opinions, and running examples of GTDOnto for representing actual incidents. The GTDOnto can further be used to leverage the publishing of GTD as a knowledge graph that visualizes related incidents and build further applications to enrich its content.

Protocols of extra-judicial instances as a source for the study of mass operations of 1937-1938 in the Kazakh SSR

This article characterizes such a massive source for the study of the Great Terror as an extrajudicial decision. During the period 1937–1938. The NKVD authorities carried out repression in three main areas, which included the “kulak” operation, a series of “national” punitive actions, as well as prosecutions against violators of the passport regime, criminal and declassed elements. Endowed with extrajudicial powers, the security officers independently sentenced those arrested to various penalties, including the death penalty. Extrajudicial bodies (“kulak”, police, Special troika, Special meeting under the NKVD of the USSR, Commission of the NKVD and the Prosecutor of the USSR), created to pronounce and approve sentences, recorded their repressive decisions. Until now, access to these types of sources is difficult, but they contain rich material for the study of mass operations. The researchers of this article managed to collect decisions of extrajudicial instances in the Kazakh SSR, deposited in Russian and Kazakh archives. Using their example, a description is given of each type of extrajudicial protocols that functioned during the years of the Great Terror. It is concluded that this type of sources is important material for the study of political terror, since detailed data processing allows us to draw conclusions about the scale of repression, target categories, mechanisms of implementation, both at the regional and union levels, and territorial features of persecution.

Protocols of extra-judicial instances as a source for the study of mass operations of 1937-1938 in the Kazakh SSR

This article characterizes such a massive source for the study of the Great Terror as an extrajudicial decision. During the period 1937–1938. The NKVD authorities carried out repression in three main areas, which included the “kulak” operation, a series of “national” punitive actions, as well as prosecutions against violators of the passport regime, criminal and declassed elements. Endowed with extrajudicial powers, the security officers independently sentenced those arrested to various penalties, including the death penalty. Extrajudicial bodies (“kulak”, police, Special troika, Special meeting under the NKVD of the USSR, Commission of the NKVD and the Prosecutor of the USSR), created to pronounce and approve sentences, recorded their repressive decisions. Until now, access to these types of sources is difficult, but they contain rich material for the study of mass operations. The researchers of this article managed to collect decisions of extrajudicial instances in the Kazakh SSR, deposited in Russian and Kazakh archives. Using their example, a description is given of each type of extrajudicial protocols that functioned during the years of the Great Terror. It is concluded that this type of sources is important material for the study of political terror, since detailed data processing allows us to draw conclusions about the scale of repression, target categories, mechanisms of implementation, both at the regional and union levels, and territorial features of persecution.

МЕДІАТЕРОРИЗМ В УМОВАХ ПОСТПРАВДИ: ДО ПОСТАНОВКИ ПИТАННЯ

The article describes the concept of media terrorism in the foreign scientific discourse related to such sciences as media analysis, communication theory, media discourse analysis, psychology, philosophy, sociology, political science, international relations, and terrorism studies. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of theoretical developments of such scientists as A. N. Awan, M. B. Altier, D. L. Altheide, C. Archetti, S. Atran, E. L. Briant, J. M. Berger, M. Bloom, G. Weimann, B. Hoffman, A. Dalgaard-Nielsen, B. M. Jenkins, J. der Derian, D. Kellner, M. Conway, S. Cottle, D. Kumar, A. Lankford, J. M. Metzl, B. Nakos, P. Seibe, B. J. Phillips, who studied the links between terrorism and the media. The papers analyze certain aspects of media involvement in the coverage and/or dissemination of terrorist ideas, including the role of women and the peculiarities of social media in spreading panic and terror, including in the post-truth context. The conditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war compel researchers to pay attention to the use of media as a tool for spreading fear, panic, and disinformation among the public for the purpose of political and ideological manipulation. In recent years, there has been a constant development and emergence of new ideas and approaches to analyzing the interaction between media and terrorism, as well as the expansion of the potential of new communication platforms. Given this context, the research on media terrorism in the post-truth era becomes particularly relevant. The objective of this study is to characterize the concept of media terrorism in the post-truth era based on an analysis of recent foreign scientific sources and literature. The research object is media terrorism in the post-truth era. Through the use of general scientific methods such as analysis, synthesis, generalization, and systematization, as well as the descriptive method of analyzing foreign scientific discourse, an analysis of recent research and publications on this topic was conducted. The scientific novelty lies in the definition and consideration of the concept of «media terrorism» in the context of the post-truth era, which is of significant importance for understanding the relationship between media and terrorism in the contemporary social communication space. The author concludes that further scientific research on the interconnections and interdependencies of media and terrorism is advisable. Keywords: media, mass media, terrorism, post-truth, terrorist activity

Constructivism, Identity, and Discourse in Terrorism

Terrorism is a phenomenon with a long history. Scholars from many different disciplines research terrorism. One of the disciplines studying the phenomenon of terrorism is International Relations. Significantly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the discipline's interest in terrorism increased dramatically. However, increasing academic studies since the early 2000s did not lead to an increase in the contribution of the field to Terrorism Studies. The state-centric perspective of Neorealism and Neoliberalism is a fundamental reason behind this problem. Constructivism offers an alternative to the state-centric view. In this context, I examine the role of identity and discourse on terrorism by adopting the Constructivist perspective. Within this scope, the manifestos of eight different terrorists within three various terrorist organizations were examined. In parallel, news about the terrorists whose manifestos were examined was analyzed. Using text analysis, results suggest that both terrorists and the media divide the world into two "us" and "them." The results of this study provide interesting insights and empirical implications on International Relations. In this research, I give an overview of this research area. I then discuss this research's primary results and explain why the Constructivist approach, identity, and discourse are essential in terrorism research.

Victims of Transnational Terrorist Organizations Crimes

The publication of a book containing statistics on the victims of terrorism is essential for not only the study and analysis of terrorism and strategies to respond to it, but also for the support of victims of terrorism. One of the goals of initiating such a publication in the West («White and Black Book of Terrorism in Europe») is precisely to propel forward the adoption of a special European law on assistance to victims of terrorism. The paper supports the publication of a similar book in Russia, which itself has been a target for transnational terrorist organizations for many years, primarily the so-called Islamic State (hereinafter referred to as IS, ISIS), banned on the territory of the Russian Federation. The paper contains a description of the victims of the ISIS crimes, and the victims of not only its terrorist attacks, but also other crimes, among which the crime of genocide should be especially noted. The adoption and implementation of programs of psychological and other assistance to victims of terrorism in the states of Western Europe makes it relevant to take support measures in relation to these persons also in Russia. Among such measures is the development and adoption of a federal law on support for victims of terrorism.

Terrorism as a conceptual site for power struggles: problematization of terrorism in Turkey in the 1970s

In critical terrorism analysis, (counter-)terrorism is thought to be a discursive formation of power/knowledge comprised of some security experts from governments, the media, and academics. However, this one-sided articulation ignores the struggles in the concept of terrorism between historical narratives and counter-narratives, and it may be understood as a conceptual site where different political actors interpret it universally to strengthen or resist preexisting power relations. This article proposes that the problematization of terrorism can be studied by evaluating opposing narratives produced by political actors aiming to assert their power positions, drawing on Foucault’s analysis of problematization. From this theoretical perspective, this article examines how terrorism was problematized in relation to political violence in Turkey between 1971 and 1977, and how political actors used the concept of terrorism as a site for power struggle to gain dominant positions or weaken others, insofar as discrete ideological attitudes (communism and neo-fascism/racism, respectively) were abnormalized by universalizing them as a part of “international” terrorism. In this sense, the article contends that examining terrorism as a “universalized” site of power struggle can improve the analytical framework of critical terrorism studies by integrating the possibility of counter-narratives and, as a result, contradictions in the terrorism discourse.

Terörist Özneyi Tarihselleştirmek: İktidar İlişkileri Çerçevesinde Türkiye’de Terörizm Söyleminin İnşası (1973-1980)

Türkiye’deki terörizm çalışmaları, terörist özneyi tarihsel olarak sabitlenmiş biçimde ele alarak, onun tarihsel ve mekânsal olarak inşa edilme süreçlerini es geçmektedir. Halbuki, terörist özne tüm tarihsel dönemlere aşkın bir konumda değildir, toplumdaki iktidar ilişkileri ve mücadeleleri neticesinde inşa edilmiştir. Bu makale, eleştirel terörizm çalışmalarının post-pozitivist ontolojik ve epistemolojik katkılarından faydalanarak, Türkiye’deki terörist öznenin inşasını 1970’lerdeki iktidar mücadeleleri ve toplumsal gelişmeler ışığında analiz etmektedir. Buna göre, Türkiye’deki hegemonik terörist öznenin inşası sürecinde 1970’lerde Türkiye sağı ile CHP arasındaki iktidar mücadelesi çerçevesinde iki temel anlatının bulunduğu iddia edilecektir. Dahası, Maraş Katliamı ertesinde ilan edilen sıkıyönetim ve ardından gelen 12 Eylül Darbesi’nin terörist özneyi tarihte sabitleyerek Türkiye sağının anlatısını hegemonikleştirmesi süreci analiz edilecektir. Analiz için gerekli veriler TBMM Tutanaklarından elde edilmiştir.

Understanding Africa’s terrorism debacle: a critical analysis of counterterrorism in Burkina Faso

ABSTRACT Despite Burkina Faso’s emergence as a strong player in terrorism activity in Africa, the country is practically overlooked by Critical Terrorism Studies scholarship. This article is framed at the intersection of Critical Terrorism Studies and Postcolonialism, investigating how a “critical” examination of the terrorism situation in Burkina Faso could advance our knowledge of terrorism in Africa. In-depth interviews were conducted with senior military officers and security practitioners in and out of Burkina Faso. These interviews, together with political speeches and media reports, were analysed using Critical Discourse Analysis. The study found a bifurcated counterterrorism policy in Burkina Faso with overdependence on “sticks” approaches, yet without the funds or morale to implement them. This is, however, not unique to Burkina Faso, as countries like Nigeria and Kenya have also struggled with the ineffective use of force to tackle terrorism violence. The article argues that the Western-centric post-9/11 global discourse on terrorism transposed and patronised a kind of uncritical terrorism knowledge to African spaces, effectively contributing to the lack of progress in addressing the incessant violence. It recommends to African policy makers to rethink counterterrorism from African philosophical standpoints, view preponderant terrorism knowledge more critically, and adopt context-specific measures against terrorism violence.

The Makings of a Terrorist: Continuity and Change Across Left-, Right- and Jihadist Extremists and Terrorists in Europe and North-America, 1960s-Present

ABSTRACT This article conducts comparative research to advance our understanding of the causes of terrorism. Primarily, by assessing differences and similarities between left-, right- and jihadist extremists and terrorists, the prevalence of certain variables amongst populations of radicalized individuals will be determined. Secondly, by contrasting, where possible, these prevalence rates with representative samples from the broader population, the distinctiveness of these biographical details amongst extremists and terrorists is discussed. The article compares the Analysen zum Terrorismus, one of the most comprehensive studies of (left-wing) terrorism ever conducted, with original empirical work on contemporary right-wing and jihadist extremism and terrorism. Results suggest that extremists and terrorists from these contexts are not distinctive in terms of socio-economic backgrounds, educational achievements, criminal antecedents or suicide attempts. There does appear to be a higher prevalence of unemployment, broken homes and related childhood stressors. The importance of social movements and groups in drawing and anchoring individuals to extremism and terrorism is emphasized across ideological boundaries, as is the influence of societal and political contextual factors, such as political representation of extremist views.

Democratization of terrorism: an analysis of vehicle-based terrorist events

ObjectivesThe COVID-19 pandemic inspired social changes that promote outdoor activities including eating at restaurants, which may linger in a world hyperfocused on disease transmission prevention, increasing the vulnerabilities to vehicle-based...

Stopping state repression: An examination of spells

While research into why repression/human rights violation goes up or down has thrived over the past 50 years, essentially no effort has been made to examine what stops this behavior once under way – especially activity that is large-scale as well as violent. To address this topic, we put forward the idea of a repressive spell (similar to that in the study of war, civil war, and terrorism) and a new theoretical framework that conceptualizes repression as a sticky process that is unlikely to terminate unless it is disturbed in some manner. Such an orientation is important because it leads us to conclude that disturbance is more likely to happen under situations of democratization compared to any of the factors typically highlighted in the literature and relevant policy community. Investigating a new database regarding 239 large-scale repression spells from 1976 to 2006, we find that democratization is associated with spell-termination and there is little systematic pacifying influence from anything else. Additionally, we find that nonviolent movements for change principally drive democratization but that these movements have little direct impact on state repression spells in and of themselves.

Globalising the ‘war on terror’? An analysis of 36 countries

The war on terror as a discourse assumes that terrorism is an essential threat of global proportions, is mostly perpetuated by Islamist networks, and requires a strong international response. This discourse had tremendous impacts on both domestic and international politics. Consequentially, a large number of studies analyse the assumptions underlying and the policies legitimised by the war on terror discourse. However, existing work mostly focusses on one or a few cases, predominantly in the global north. This article introduces a novel dataset containing information on the war on terror discourse in the school textbooks of 36 countries, representing around 64% of the world’s population, for the period 2003–2014. Based on this dataset, I present the first comprehensive analysis of the global diffusion of the war on terror discourse. The study finds that the discourse has by no means globalised but is mostly limited to wealthy countries in Europe and North America. There are hence clear limits to the USA’s soft power and the hyper-globalisation of terrorism discourses. Factors like terrorism intensity, armed conflict and authoritarian regime have little predictive power. This is despite clear incentives for challenged (authoritarian) regimes to adapt the war on terror discourse. Contrary to common assumptions in critical security and terrorism studies, the war on terror discourse is hardly associated with an emphasis on terrorists’ irrationality and hatred or with the marginalisation of socio-political grievances.

Who Supports Political Violence?

The last few years have witnessed an increase in democratic “backsliding” in the United States—a decline in the quality of democracy, typically accompanied by an influx of non-normative behavior, such as political violence. Despite the real consequences of support for violence, fairly little is known about such an extremist attitude outside studies of terrorism or aggression. Using a unique survey containing many psychological, political, and social characteristics, we find that perceived victimhood, authoritarianism, populism, and white identity are the most powerful predictors of support for violence, though military service, conspiratorial thinking, anxiety, and feelings of powerlessness are also related. These patterns suggest that subjective feelings about being unjustly victimized—irrespective of the truth of the matter—and the psychological baggage that accompanies such feelings lie at the heart of support for violence. We use these results to build a profile of characteristics that explain support for violence; the predictive validity of this profile is then tested by examining its relationship with support for the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, with which it is strongly associated, even accounting for support for Donald Trump. Our findings have implications for the detection of extremist attitudes and our understanding of the non-partisan/ideological foundations of anti-social political behavior.

Dams, Terrorism, and Water Nationalism’s Response to Globalization and Development: The Case of South Asia

ABSTRACT Building on a global research sweep of terrorist organizations’ (as well as other non-state actors such as separatist and insurgent groups) use of fresh water as a target, weapon, or source of control, this paper analyzes attacks on major water projects (specifically dams and other related infrastructure) in South Asia—the region identified to have had the largest number of recorded water-related violent incidents. Focusing on India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, and the post 9/11 period through 2019, the paper explores how large water infrastructures (and their environs) have become hot spots for violence between states that use water development projects to consolidate power, garner local loyalty, and create a national narrative and non-state actors who attempt to target these same projects to assert indigenous self-determination, subvert state power, or challenge state authority through terrorist means. Since fresh water is shared across borders, dam projects can become entangled in regional political disputes further exacerbating violent conflict between state and non-state actors. Given its impacts on water resources, climate change may act as a “threat multiplier” by enhancing local grievances, providing both government and terrorist groups additional incentives for exploitation, and further contributing to instability. The analysis provided here borrows from and contributes to the fields of development, environment and security, and terrorism studies.

The Class Conflict Rises When You Turn up the Heat: An Interdisciplinary Examination of the Relationship between Climate Change and Left-Wing Terrorist Recruitment

ABSTRACT The increasing impacts of climate change have created a global humanitarian crisis. Growing populations, unstable political structures, and competition over scarce resources are generating unprecedented levels of insecurity. Capitalising on these complex situations, terrorist organisations are using the environment as a weapon of war, exploiting the strains and grievances exacerbated by climate change to increase support, aid recruitment, and incite violence. Often neglected within contemporary analyses is the potential impact of anthropogenic climate change on left-wing terrorist organisations. Consequently, the research presented in this paper takes an interdisciplinary approach, combining terrorism studies with disaster management to examine a specific type of security crisis that exists in this overlapping relationship between climate change and left-wing conflict. Three regional case studies of terrorist groups and activity are examined in detail—the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the Shining Path in Peru, and Naxalites in India. The article reveals the complex issues that underlie climate disasters, focusing on the impact hazards such as deforestation, rising sea levels, extreme weather, glacial retreat, drought, famine, water scarcity, and migration have on left-wing terrorist recruitment and activity.