Use Of Terror Research Articles

Diplomatic Statements and the Strategic Use of Terrorism in Civil Wars

How does third-party diplomatic and material support affect rebel groups’ use of terrorism in civil wars? We argue via a game-theoretic model that diplomatic support prompts prospective shifts in rebel tactics, from civilian to military targets, in anticipation of material support, while material support alters the cost structure of attacks, leading to the same tactical shift. We empirically test the model’s implications using an original dataset of UN resolutions about countries in civil wars as well as a case study of South Africa. In support of our theory, we find that both diplomatic resolutions and material interventions in favor of the rebels are associated with rebel tactical shifts, leading to decreased reliance on violence against civilians. These findings demonstrate the value of modeling civilian and military targeting as substitutes rather than examining civilian targeting in isolation.

“They Scare with Terror”: On the History of the Language of Violence in 1917

Task of the study is analysis of the specific features of political language of conflict during the revolutionary epoch. Such an approach helps analyze the processes of verbalization of violence, understand the logic of brutalization and social polarization. Without studying this problem it is hard to explain how the cult of terror targeting political adversaries became possible. The article examines the application of the concept of “terror” during the Revolution of 1917. Based on a study of speeches by materials of discussions at various levels, newspapers, diaries the author demonstrates what arguments were used for legitimation and delegitimation of the terror. The author of the article analyzed the processes of infiltration of culture of violence into the mass culture in 1917. The conflict culture, formed during the 1917 revolution under the impact of various factors (influence of the revolutionary underground subculture) increasingly widespread use of terror. The conclusion reached was that all political forces used the collocation “terror”, and they utilized the fear of terror for their own purposes. Special attention is paid to the memory policy of socialist revolutionaries. The articulation of the terror became an important factor that prepared it — concept “terror” legitimised the use of violence, formalised and structured the increasingly political conflicts. The various crisis situations of the revolutionary epoch led to escalation of the struggle against enemies: destruction (political and even physical) of the adversary was described as the means for exiting the crisis. Influence of this cultural factor reduced contributed to the processes of dehumanization, alienation of the enemy, and set up a specific framework in which various political actors had to operate. In 1917, the language of violence spread, which had an impact on the course of the revolution.

Terrorism and Global Security: A Study of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)

This paper attempts to examine terrorism as a threat to global security with a particular focus on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The ISIS was able to escalate the use of terrorism to a level beyond other terrorist groups in threatening global security. Their use of extreme violent tactics like beheadings, crucifixion and burning alive of their victims under their self-declared caliphate shocked the whole world and prompted them to rise in unison to curtail their reign of terror that spanned territories in Iraq and Syria. Terrorism has become a political weapon in the arsenal of the terrorists in terrorizing political opponents, causing fear and thereby threatening global peace and security. Status quo actors such as states often tend to abuse the term to define its actions and interests in opposition to those of the terrorists. The causes espoused by groups resorting to terrorism are varied which include ethno-nationatism and separation, left-wing revolution, religious or right-wing extremism etc. The frustration-aggression theory was used as a framework to explain these variables. The paper recommended among other options, the use of credible and actionable intelligence with military option to dismantle ISIS on a permanent basis. It concluded that until religion ceases to be a strong motivation for violence against others, terrorism will continue to pose a threat to global peace and security.

THE HERALDS OF POLITICAL TERROR: VALERIAN OSINSKY AND THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE RUSSIAN SOCIAL-REVOLUTIONARY PARTY

Th e transition of the Narodniks to the terrorist tactics is still a very debatable issue in Russian historiography. One of the pioneers of the terrorist direction was V.A. Ossinsky (1852–1879). Th e Executive Committee of the Rus-sian Social-Revolutionary Party (henceforth EC RSRP) was established on his initiative in the spring of 1878. Th e history of this revolutionary group, which was active throughout the South of Russia in 1878 and early 1879, has not yet been suffi ciently studied, although it heralded the transition of most of the revolution-ary Narodniks to political struggle, including terror. Th e purpose of this study is to reconstruct the previously little-known or completely unknown pages of the history of the EC RSRP, its structure and composition. Th e author examines politi-cal views of V.A. Ossinsky and his entourage, contacts of the members of the EC RSRP with other opposition movements in Little Russia, including liberals and representatives of the Gromada, the eff ectiveness of the EC RSRP and its infl u-ence on the administrative spheres of the South of Russia. He concludes that the transition of the part of Narodniks to political terror in the late 1870s occurred largely due to the lawless and repressive policy of the authorities and the radicals’ awareness of the futility of peaceful ways of struggle. Th e systematic use of terror-ism by the EC RCRP together with an active propaganda campaign and other acts of defi ance against the authorities (armed resistance during arrests, proclamation campaign, jailbreaks, organization of demonstrations and riots, etc.) made this organization truly dangerous in the eyes of the government. Th e actions of the EC RSRP and the very death of V.A. Ossinsky had a signifi cant impact on the future of the entire Russian revolutionary movement. Th e EC RSRP was in fact a forerun-ner of the Executive Committee of the Narodnaya Volya, which subsequently car-ried out the assassination of Emperor Alexander II, and its activity undoubtedly infl uence the fate of the Russian monarchy.

Terrorism, Guerrilla, and the Labeling of Militant Groups

ABSTRACT 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.

From doctrine to detonation: Ideology, competition, and terrorism in campaigns of mass resistance

This study proposes an organizational mechanism that links ideology to the use of terrorism in mass dissident campaigns. Ideology affects the level of competition among factions within mass dissident campaigns by shaping whether actors see their interactions as a positive- or zero-sum game. We identify ideological diversity within a campaign and the degree to which ideologies embrace the principle of pluralism as key factors affecting the intensity of factional competition and, consequently, the occurrence of terrorism. We introduce new data on the ideologies of campaigns from the Nonviolent and Violent Campaigns and Outcomes 2.0 dataset and use causal mediation analysis to test our proposed mechanism. We find that greater ideological diversity within a campaign increases the likelihood of terrorism by increasing factional competition. We also find that the presence of a pluralist ideology is associated with a lower likelihood of terrorism by the lowering of factional competition. By shedding light on the mechanisms that link ideology to terrorism, this study helps advance our understanding of why dissident groups might decide to use terrorism tactics within the context of a campaign of mass resistance.

Srpski narodonosni sloj u savremenoj Republici Severna Makedonija (teritorija Stare Srbije i Makedonije)

The paper presents a historical cross-section of social, military, ethnic, and political conditions in Southeastern Europe, i.e. Balkans, more precisely in the area of Old Serbia and Macedonia, parts of today's Bulgaria, Turkey and neighboring areas. The historical course of a long duration was followed, from the pre-Nemanjic period to the Balkan wars of 1912/1913. years. Special attention is given to the Serbian ethnic group in the area of Old Serbia and Macedonia, which today covers the territory of North Macedonia. The paper lists the main historical events that connect the Serbs and their state with this area, and it primarily mentions the Serbian people, i.e. the Serbian ethnic stratum, as well as important events that speak of the history of Serbian statehood, such as the fact that the Serbian king Milutin chose Skopje as the Serbian capital, and Dušan was crowned Serbian emperor in Skopje (1346). Special attention is devoted to the depiction of the struggle between Serbs and Bulgarians who, after receiving the Exarchate (1870), worked intensively on the Bulgarianization of these Serbian areas with the use of terror, violence and murders of prominent Serbian priests and individuals from Serbian society.

Introducing ROLE: A database of rebel leader attributes in armed conflict

Existing literature on civil wars relies predominantly on state- and organization-level variables to understand conflict dynamics and outcomes. In this article, we propose that rebel leaders’ personal backgrounds and experiences are also key to explaining the behavior of the organizations they lead. Just as scholars have long highlighted the importance of state leaders’ biographical characteristics in interstate war and diplomacy, we argue that the attributes of rebel leaders affect their organizations’ decisions and actions in civil war. To substantiate our claims, we introduce the Rebel Organization Leaders (ROLE) database, which contains a wide range of biographical information on all top rebel leaders in civil wars ongoing between 1980 and 2011. We first describe the contents of the database and present a number of novel descriptive findings about rebel leaders. To illustrate its utility, we then examine the influence of rebel leaders’ attributes on their organizations’ use of terrorism in civil war. Ultimately, our work encourages – and enables – a new research agenda that goes beyond rebel organizations and campaigns as units of analysis and brings individual leaders more fully into modern conflict and peace studies.

The drawbacks of drones: The effects of UAVs on escalation and instability in Pakistan

Growing reliance on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in the effort to combat militant groups has led to considerable debate about the consequences of this new mode of warfare. While critics have focused on the impact of civilian casualties on militant recruitment and the resulting use of terrorism, evidence suggests that ‘drones’ are paradoxically more effective in limiting civilian deaths compared to other forms of military force. This article demonstrates a different causal pathway connecting militant use of force to terrorist attacks. Drone strikes encourage militants to displace operations to urban centers. Confronted with unfamiliar terrain and greater government capacity, militants emphasize terrorist attacks against civilians. The article explores these dynamics in the longest running drone campaign, in Pakistan. While civilian casualties from drone strikes have no discernible effect on terrorism, strikes that kill militants increase terrorist attacks against civilians in urban settings, while failing to reduce attacks on government targets.

Do UN peace operations lead to more terrorism? Repertoires of rebel violence and third-party interventions

Recent research suggests that UN peacekeeping operations (PKOs) reduce conventional violence. However, rebel groups have been increasingly using a combination of conventional and non-conventional violence, for example, terrorism. Little is known about whether and under which conditions PKOs shape rebels’ incentives to resort to more terrorism. At the same time, existing research on the use of terrorism in civil wars primarily focuses on domestic factors, thus overlooking the impact of external shocks such as the deployment of PKOs. We argue that PKOs can have critical unintended consequences inducing tactical adaptation in rebel violence as they alter the government-rebels balance of power. Particularly, rebel groups that are militarily strong prior to the UN arrival are incentivized to escalate terrorist violence to overcome the physical barrier imposed by PKO forces and improve their bargaining position vis-à-vis the government. Weaker groups, which in the absence of PKOs are more likely to use terrorism, have not only limited capacity but also fewer incentives to escalate terrorism when PKOs deploy. Leveraging new disaggregated data on rebel terrorist attacks during civil wars, we provide the first global actor-level analysis of the relationship between PKO deployments and changes in rebels’ tactical preferences for terrorist violence. We find that, conditional on initial government-rebels power relations, PKOs can make terrorism the weapon of the strong. Our study sheds light on the unintended effects of peacekeeping, the causes of terrorism, and offers important policy implications for several current PKOs deployed in the midst of violence.

THE RISE AND DECLINE OF CHINESE ANARCHISM IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY

At the beginning of the 20th century, the anarchist movement was one of the most influential in China, but it quickly became a marginalized and isolated phenomenon, and some of its representatives sided with the marxists. The article examines the external and internal factors of the formation and decline of anarchist ideas and the activities of individual Chinese anarchists. Despite the fact that the movement lost its influence in the 1930s, the ideas and concepts brought by anarchist organizations to the intellectual debate continued to develop in marxist thought of the time. Chinese anarchism had its origins in the late Qing dynasty as a socialist movement and quickly developed into an influential and large movement, mostly led by Chinese youth, inspired by the activities of foreign anarchists and nihilists. Some of the early anarchists advocated the use of terror to achieve their own goals, while considering the human being, the individual, to be the highest value. In addition to external influences on the formation and development of the movement, it is also important to take into account the internal factors and circumstances that developed in the early 20th century, which led to the intensification and spread of radical movements in China. In its heyday, the anarchist movement tried to get closer to marxists as ideologically close activists, and marxists, in turn, intended to convince anarchists to give up their fundamental anti-statist beliefs in favor of the common cause of social revolution and the overthrow of the old order. The decline of the anarchist movement in China is associated with several factors: the death of Liu Shifu, the most authoritative representative of the movement; cultural debates between anarchists and marxists; the radicalism and utopianism of the ideas propagated, which found less approval among the intelligentsia of the time; and the internal political situation under the rule of military leaders. The article reveals the main stages and directions of the anarchist movement, identifies the most important personalities representing it, the main factions and groups. Special attention is paid to the activities of Liu Shifu, a representative of the most influential group of anarchists in Guangzhou, and his anti-Marxist views.

ON THE IDEA OF LABOR, LABOR LAW, AND FORCED LABOR SELECTED REMARKS IN THE SOVIET UNION (1917-1945)

In the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, work was compulsory according to the 1918 labor code. This stemmed from the ideas of Marx. This position was also held by Lenin, Trotsky and others. The Communist Party could assign anyone any work. Evading work was a counter-revolutionary crime. Likewise, it was a crime to arbitrarily change one’s place of work. The compulsion to work required the use of terror. Terror was an everyday phenomenon in the USSR. Low labor productivity was a constant affliction. Prison labor was used en masse from the beginning. The GULAG system (forced labor camps) expanded. Prison labor was becoming less and less productive. In 1956, the GULAG camps were renamed “penal colonies,” which still exist in Russia today.

Terrorism-Related Chemical, Biological, Radiation, and Nuclear Attacks: A Historical Global Comparison Influencing the Emergence of Counter-Terrorism Medicine.

Terrorist attacks are growing in complexity, increasing concerns around the use of chemical, biological, radiation, and nuclear (CBRN) agents. This has led to increasing interest in Counter-Terrorism Medicine (CTM) as a Disaster Medicine (DM) sub-specialty. This study aims to provide the epidemiology of CBRN use in terrorism, to detail specific agents used, and to develop training programs for responders. The open-source Global Terrorism Database (GTD) was searched for all CBRN attacks from January 1, 1970 through December 31, 2018. Attacks were included if they fulfilled the terrorism-related criteria as set by the GTD's Codebook. Ambiguous events or those meeting only partial criteria were excluded. The database does not include acts of state terrorism. There were 390 total CBRN incidents, causing 930 total fatal injuries (FI) and 14,167 total non-fatal injuries (NFI). A total of 347 chemical attacks (88.9% of total) caused 921 FI (99.0%) and 13,361 NFI (94.3%). Thirty-one biological attacks (8.0%) caused nine FI (1.0%) and 806 NFI (5.7%). Twelve radiation attacks (3.1%) caused zero FI and zero NFI. There were no nuclear attacks. The use of CBRN accounted for less than 0.3% of all terrorist attacks and is a high-risk, low-frequency attack methodology.The Taliban was implicated in 40 of the 347 chemical events, utilizing a mixture of agents including unconfirmed chemical gases (grey literature suggests white phosphorous and chlorine), contaminating water sources with pesticides, and the use of corrosive acid. The Sarin gas attack in Tokyo contributed to 5,500 NFI. Biological attacks accounted for 8.0% of CBRN attacks. Anthrax was used or suspected in 20 of the 31 events, followed by salmonella (5), ricin (3), fecal matter (1), botulinum toxin (1), and HIV (1). Radiation attacks accounted for 3.1% of CBRN attacks. Monazite was used in 10 of the 12 events, followed by iodine 131 (1) and undetermined irradiated plates (1). Currently, CBRN are low-frequency, high-impact attack modalities and remain a concern given the rising rate of terrorist events. Counter-Terrorism Medicine is a developing DM sub-specialty focusing on the mitigation of health care risks from such events. First responders and health care workers should be aware of historic use of CBRN weapons regionally and globally, and should train and prepare to respond appropriately.

Editor's Note: Harold Pinter's Pandemic Aesthetics: Pinter, COVID, and Black Lives Matter

Editor's Note: Harold Pinter's Pandemic Aesthetics: Pinter, COVID, and Black Lives Matter

Chemical Warfare Agents in Terrorist Attacks: An Interregional Comparison, Tactical Response Implications, and the Emergence of Counterterrorism Medicine.

Terrorist attacks are growing in frequency, increasing concerns about chemical warfare agents (CWAs). Asphyxiants (e.g., cyanide), opioids (e.g., carfentanyl), and nerve agents (e.g., ricin) represent some of the most lethal CWAs. Our aim was to define the epidemiology of CWA use in terrorism and detail specific agents used to allow for the development of training programs for responders. The open-source Global Terrorism Database (GTD) was searched for all chemical attacks from January 1, 1970, to December 31, 2018. Attacks were included when they fulfilled the terrorism-related criteria as set forth in the internal Codebook of the GTD. Events meeting only partial criteria were excluded. A total of 347 terrorism-related chemical events occurred, with 921 fatalities and 13,361 nonfatal injuries (NFIs) recorded during the study period. South Asia accounted for nearly 30% (101 of 347) of CWA attacks, with 73 of 101 occurring in Afghanistan. The Taliban was implicated in 40 of 101 events utilizing a mixture of agents, including unknown chemical gases (likely representing trials of a number of different chemicals), contamination of water sources with pesticides, and the use of corrosive acid. The largest death toll from a single event (200 fatalities) was attributed to a cult-related mass murder in the Kasese District of Uganda in March 2000. East Asia sustained the highest NFI toll of 7,007 as a result of chemical attacks; 5,500 were attributed to the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack of 1995 by Aum Shinrikyo. The use of CWAs remains a concern given the rising rate of terrorist events. First responders and healthcare workers should be aware of potential chemical hazards that have been used regionally and globally and should train and prepare to respond appropriately.

The First Conceptualization of Terrorism: Tallien, Roederer, and the "System of Terror" (August 1794).

While it is generally known that the word terrorism originated in the French Revolution, the exact circumstances of its emergence are much less known. First used publicly by Tallien, the neologism had actually been shaped by Pierre-Louis Roederer. From the outset, the latter had given it a conceptual scope by integrating it into a reflection on the characteristics of the use of terror for political purposes.

Soviet repressions against the clergy and believers of the Dnepropetrovsk region in 1939–1942

The study is carried out in line with general problems of the history of state- church relations in the conditions of the Soviet totalitarian system. For a long time modern historiography did not pay proper attention to anti-religious politics in the USSR in 1939–1941, both at general and regional levels. Most scholars avoided themes related to repressive policy regarding worshipers in the years following the Great Terror, and some even noted the liberalization of the course of the Soviet leadership in the field of religion and church on the eve of the German-Soviet war, which began in June 1941. The purpose of the study is to highlight political repressions against the clergy and believers of various Christian denominations in Dnipropetrovsk region in 1939–1942. Research methods: problem-chronological, historical-genetic, historical-comparative, analysis, synthesis. The main results of the work. The process of preparation and further implementation of repressions of the clergy and active believers of various religious groups of Dnipropetrovsk region in 1939–1942 is highlighted. Dozens of convicted worshipers and “sectarians” are identified by name. Nature of accusations and peculiarities of imposed sentences are determined. The course of collective cases fabricated by the NKVD bodies against the Orthodox clergy is shown. Repressive measures of the authorities in the initial period of the German-Soviet war are analyzed. The continuity of the state anti-religious course and the use of terror until 1942 is proved. The originality of the work is in the use and analysis of numerous previously unknown archival documents which helped to disclose the formulated scientific problem. Practical value: despite the regional limitations of the study, the materials of the article are useful not only to local historians, but also to church historians for further development of the problems in the outlined chronological framework. Type of article: analytical.

Proceso de paz: negociaciones multilaterales para un proceso sostenible de paz (vídeo-performance)

“Proceso de Paz” es una vídeo-performance, de la que soy autor, realizada en 2009, cuyo elemento fundamental es el propio cuerpo. Pero es un “body art” uniformado con un pasamontañas y las desnudas palomas del parque de María Luisa. Una pieza muy sencilla, pero a su vez efec­tiva, como metáfora (no exenta de sarcasmo), sobre la situación contemporánea de la política internacional. La paradoja de un símbolo militar o de poder (el uniforme militar y el anonimato del pasamontañas) que ejerce una sensación de miedo, ya sea por la utilización desde el terror o el ámbito de la autoridad militar o policial. Esta figura cuya imagen condensa una amenaza o violencia, alimentando y atrayendo paulatinamente a las palomas, símbolo tradicional e icono de la paz. Metáfora sobre la violencia ejercida por los estados con grandes eventos eufemísticos de paz, conceptos de guerra preventiva o una impostada libertad.

Modern terrorism: motives of individual terrorists or the strategies of terrorist groups?

ABSTRACT In most cases, terrorism must be considered as an outcome of both individual motives and strategic considerations on an organisational or group level. Whether the (strategic) intentions of a group or individual motives constitute the main driver varies with the different sources of motivation behind terrorism. The robustness and consistency of proclaimed political agendas of terror groups differ significantly and, therefore, also their ‘strategic’ use of terrorism. Overall, one can argue that today groups represent the main drivers behind global terrorism as they account for the vast majority of attacks and casualties. However, one can also identify a growing blurring of boundaries between the actions of terror organisations and independently acting terrorists facilitated through modern communication technology.

India’s Pakistan policy: from 2016 ‘surgical strike’ to 2019 Balakot ‘airstrike’

ABSTRACT Pakistan has always been an important factor in India’s domestic politics and foreign policy – a position that flows as much from historical disputes as from Pakistan’s continued support for terror activities against India. This importance has increased further under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. This article argues that the September 2016 ‘surgical strikes’ by Indian special forces inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the February 2019 ‘airstrikes’ by Indian Air Force against terrorist training camps at Balakot inside Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province were defining moments in India’s Pakistan policy. India’s actions stemmed from its desire to change the status-quo in India–Pakistan relations by punishing Pakistan for its continued use of terrorism. But this is ‘work in progress’ since there are certain limitations to India’s ability to compel Pakistan to alter its revisionist behaviour.