Violent Tactics Research Articles

On the criminological classification of persons inclined to glorify the enemy

Based on the study of sources of scientific, journalistic and statistical information, as well as on the results of the criminological analysis of the independently formed empirical base, the article reveals the issue of criminological classification of persons prone to glorification of the enemy. The article emphasizes that the specific criteria for dividing the entire mass of glorifiers into certain classes are the method of their involvement and the motivation for joining harmful ideas. It is noted that in the vast majority of cases, the process of involvement is dominated by its “soft” forms(mythologizing, © Батиргареєва В.С., Куковинець Д.О., 2024 mentioning authorities, persuasion, offers, bribery, promises, etc.), although there are others that are focused on using violent tactics. Attention is drawn to the fact that the main motivation for glorification of the aggressor is mostly ideological. At the same time, it is noted that, in addition to the above, the motivation for such a criminal act may be based on a selfish component, the desire to imitate the positions of relatives, friends, a certain part of the population of the region, etc., and may be supported by a sense of fear, the need for survival, and the expectation of intangible benefits. The study of these key aspects makes it possible, firstly, to identify four main types of glorifiers, including persistent ones; conformists or imitators; victims of an aggressive environment (adherents of the “lesser evil”), as well as prudent ones, secondly, to establish their characteristics and traits, which, in turn, allows us to form the basis for developing special measures to counter their illegal actions.

Race, the Ballot, and Hegemony: What the Struggle over Immigrant Voting Teaches Us About Rightwing Mobilization in the U.S.

While there has been an increase in rhetoric and efforts to block expanding voting rights to noncitizens around the United States, there is a relative lack of academic research examining the ideology, political actors, and strategy behind such efforts. In addressing this gap, we explore anti-immigrant voting rights campaigns as they relate to broader rightwing mobilization and voter suppression efforts. We draw upon the literature on Gramsci’s conception of hegemony to document and analyze efforts to use state power to change constitutions and election laws in ways that politically disenfranchise working class people of color in order to institutionalize white minority rule. We explore the nature of this political project and how more conventional rightwing actors dovetail with grassroots extremism by examining both historical and contemporary cases. We show how these networks have employed a mix of legal, administrative, and violent tactics during the turn of the twentieth century as well as in the contemporary period to politically realize a common, exclusionary ideology to shape the electorate and polity. We argue struggles over noncitizen voting rights reflect debate about distinct visions of who properly constitutes “the people,” and what is and should be the nature of the American polity: are we a white Anglo Christian republic or a multiracial egalitarian democracy? In so doing, we argue the rise and fall – and reemergence – of noncitizen immigrant voting rights in the U.S. represents a microcosm of the broader “voting wars” embroiling the nation.

Biodiversity conservation under green extractivism and armed neoliberalism in Colombia

In the context of the global climate and ecological crisis, increasing pressure on governments and the private sector to act, combined with inertia and resistance to transformative change, has led to a new form of extractivism. Green extractivism refers to actions or activities that are promoted as environmentally sustainable but that rely on or facilitate the unsustainable extraction of natural resources. Conservation tools such as environmental offsets are embraced by governments and the private sector as a solution to address the contradictions between economic development and environmental conservation. How do such conservation measures play out in places afflicted by a history of armed conflict? Examining the evolution of environmental compensation policy in Colombia and a case study of the Hidrosogamoso dam, this article explores multiple manifestations of green extractivism intertwined with armed neoliberalism. These include the creation of biodiversity and carbon sacrifice zones that facilitate the concentration of land and the capture of natural assets; the promotion of green narratives that distract from the extensive social and ecological impacts; and the use of violent tactics to quieten dissent from local communities and environmental defenders.

Revisiting the Formation and Radicalisation of Boko Haram and Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) through Social Movement Theory

This paper uses social movement theory to examine the rise and development of Boko Haram and AQIM into radical groups. Boko Haram and AQIM were initially established as moderate and conservative Islamist groups in Nigeria and Algeria respectively. AQIM was originally a political party – the FIS but changed names to the GIA, the GSPC, and AQIM each with a different modus operandi. Boko Haram was a local organization that has been espousing an anti-system frame alongside violent tactics since 2009. Relying on secondary data, this paper found that the emergence and eventual transformation of Boko Haram and AQIM into radical movements signify the existence of social movement factors of political opportunity structures, mobilizing structures, and framing processes in Nigeria and Algeria. Results from content analysis of the data show that while the two movements emerged in two distinct socio-economic and political environments, they were rational actors who continued to utilize the available political structures opportunity, mobilizing structures and framing processes to mobilize and sustain collective actions. It is evident that government repression only made the two groups change tactics and strategies when what they regarded as free spaces diminished at times they gathered material and non-material resources. That coincided with the radical views of some of the groups’ members, the presence of mobilizing structures, and a frame resonance that ensured recruitment into the two movements.

The election of former rebel women

After conflict, many ex-combatant men experience the spoils of war as their rebel groups transition into political parties and elect former members to party seats. However, it is unclear whether these opportunities are reserved only for male ex-combatants. This article considers when and why voters might support former rebel women running for political office. It argues that the election of these women will depend on their roles within rebel groups, as well as their use of violence during conflict. The article presents a novel dataset on the election of former rebel women to rebel parties from 1970 to 2020. The results indicate that women’s roles as combatants and leaders in rebel groups are associated with higher levels of election for rebel women. In contrast, rebel women’s ties to violent tactics such as terrorism and sexual violence during war are associated with a lower level of election for rebel women after conflict. The interactions between rebel women’s roles and ties to violence are tested; the results suggested that, regardless of elite roles, rebel women’s electoral chances are hurt by extreme forms of violence, demonstrating the salience of the negative stigmas attached to violent women. The findings also demonstrate that while many former rebel women are marginalized after war, a select few experience political gains.

Student protest, violent interactions, and state repression

Why do states use violence to repress dissent? When do opposition groups escalate conflict by employing violent tactics? We argue that not all opposition groups are created alike, and that understanding who is involved in protest is important for event outcomes. Because of their age and social status, student protesters are more likely to adopt confrontational behaviors, even when engaged in nominally peaceful protest. As such, students are more likely to be seen as threats by security forces tasked with responding to social unrest. Although frequently unplanned, spontaneous interactions between dissidents and regime forces can lead to an escalatory spiral. As such, we expect that student protests are more likely to escalate to violence than protests by other actors, and that security forces are more likely to use repression against students. This relationship will be especially pronounced when youth unemployment is high, leading to heightened grievances and fewer social constraints. Using event data combined with actor information on protest dynamics across seven countries in Africa and Latin America from 1990 to 2016, we find that although student groups are not more likely to engage in riots at the outset, when they do protest, violent interactions with police are more likely. Moreover, youth unemployment significantly increases the potential for violence.

ISIS: A Major Threat to Peace and Security of Middle Eastern Countries

This study looks into the rise and effects of Mostly in Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the Middle East. ISIS is a terrorist group that uses illegal and violent tactics to create an Islamic state under a caliphate, posing a danger to regional peace and security. The study investigates the causes of ISIS-related conflicts, their effects on regional security and peace, and how regional rivalries contribute to the rise of terrorist organizations. This paper applies constructivism, using a theoretical and descriptive research technique, to examine the ideological underpinnings of ISIS, recruitment strategies, and the impact of societal norms. The organization's extremist view of Islam is highlighted as the historical background chronicles its origins from its founding in 1999 to its international recognition in 2014.

Research Note Civil Resistance in the Streetlight: Replicating and Assessing Evidence on Nonviolent Effectiveness

Does civil resistance work? Research emphasizes the effectiveness of nonviolent resistance over violent resistance in achieving campaign goals, with the seminal study Why Civil Resistance Works (WCRW) by Chenoweth and Stephan being the main point of reference to date. I revisit this pivotal finding in three steps. First, I reproduce WCRW's results on nonviolent effectiveness. Second, I discuss how cases may have been over-looked due to a streetlight effect. Third, I quantify the results' sensitivity using simulations. I find that WCRW's main findings on nonviolent effectiveness are highly sensitive to variable selection, under-coverage bias, bootstrapping, and omitted variable bias. As a routine reference in scholarship and the public discourse, assessing the robustness of WCRW's findings is relevant to practitioners and researchers

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.

Understanding Female Jihadism in Bangladesh: New Trends in “New Normal”?

This study aims to understand Bangladeshi female jihadists’ evolving socio-demographic backgrounds, organizational roles, and the driving factors that radicalize them. It is found that besides homemakers and students, female jihadists, who are mainly young, come from various professions, including education, health, business, law, and private jobs. The results indicate that women in higher socioeconomic status, who endorse violent tactics and militant objectives, may be more inclined to participate in jihadism actively. During the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of carrying out violent attacks, they use social media to spread their extremist ideologies, recruit new members, and raise funds. The results show that the Internet played a significant role in the radicalization of women during the pandemic, while family and friends played the leading role in the past.

The political economy of destructing essential Services in the Quest for basic services: the case of violent protest in Cato Manor

Abstract Protesting in post-apartheid South Africa is perceived as one of the significant democratic methods of participation and engagement with the government and its executive. As a result, since the early 2000s, community-led participation has been preferred over government-led forms of participatory methods, including mayoral forums and izimbizo (interactive dialogues between government officials and the people). However, the community-invented spaces of participation in the form of protests have been accompanied by violent tactics that have severely impacted infrastructure. The violent tactics used during protests related to service delivery have been more conspicuous in the local sphere of government, especially in places composed of informal settlements. Hence, Cato Manor has not been immune to this but continues to experience violence during service delivery protests, which causes damage to assets. This article explores the destruction of infrastructure in the quest for basic services in Cato Manor. A qualitative research design was adopted to guide the study, together with the displaced-aggression theory, as a theoretical lens to interpret the findings. The study used a purposive and snowball sampling method to recruit thirty-three participants. Thematic analysis facilitated by NVivo was adopted for data analysis purposes. Thus, the study’s findings illustrate that the damage to essential services in the quest for basic services emanates from the frustration of the local people due to the government’s inability to address the prevailing socioeconomic issues. The destruction of key infrastructure occurs when the primary cause of the frustration is not within the reach of the people.

Authors Take a Stand on the Irish War: Virginia Woolf, Ford Madox Ford, and the Rediscovery of a Significant Document for the Politics of Modernism

A virtually unknown petition signed by fifty prominent intellectuals protesting against the violent tactics of the Black and Tans in Ireland appeared in several newspapers in January 1921. Signatories included leading writers, scientists and academics of the day, such as Arnold Bennett, G. K. Chesterton, Walter de la Mare, Ford Madox Ford, E. M. Forster, Roger Fry, Jane Harrison, J. M. Keynes, Gilbert Murray, Arthur Quiller-Couch, Dorothy Richardson, Siegfried Sassoon, May Sinclair, R. H. Tawney and Virginia Woolf. The article discusses the origins of the petition, its political context and orientation, and its significance for the literary and political history of Modernism.

When Do Radical Flanks Use Violence? Conditions for Violent Protest in Radical Left-Libertarian Activism in Sweden, 1997–2016

ABSTRACT Descriptions of social movement factionalism are often based on the dichotomous conception of lawful moderates and violent radicals. In this article, we nuance this distinction by illustrating the complexity of radical flanks through an empirically grounded analysis of protest tactics, in which we ask under what conditions radical flanks are likely to use violent protest tactics. Exploring dominant explanations of political violence, the article shows the necessity of understanding the use of violent protest tactics as part of cognitive and relational processes. The use of violent tactics varies greatly across frames and protest issues, pointing to how different logics of protest are tied to different frames. Also, the use of violence is affected by the presence or absence of moderate allies; the likelihood of violence clearly decreases when radicals and moderates form coalitions when organising protests. The analysis is based on a protest event data set covering over 3,900 nonviolent and violent events by the Radical Left-Libertarian Movement in Sweden, 1997–2016. Notably, the results hold over this entire twenty-year period, suggesting that they are robust and provide a better explanation than historically contingent causes.

Empathy as an Answer to Challenges of the Anthropocene in Asian American Young Adult Science Fiction

This article suggests that Malinda Lo’s Adaptation duology (2012-2013) and Cindy Pon’s Want duology (2017-2019) represent empathy as a desirable answer to challenges of the Anthropocene. Set in near-future Taipei, Want follows a group of teenagers who eventually become militant environmental activists. The teenage protagonists’ capacity for empathy distinguishes them from the villainous antagonist and makes them likeable for the readers despite their violent tactics. Lo’s duology features two teenagers who are turned into human/alien hybrids by extra-terrestrial scientists after a nearly fatal car accident. The procedure equips the protagonists not only with an accelerated healing ability, but also gives them access to other people’s emotions through touch. Although the teenagers at first experience their newfound superpowers as a burden, they slowly realise their significant potential for changing humanity for the better. My article will combine close readings from the novels with research from ecopedagogy to explore in how far novels like Lo’s Adaptation and Pon’s Want can encourage readers to treat their fellow human beings as well as more-than-human life forms with more empathy.

Militant Animal Rights Activity: Terrorism, Extremism or Something Else?

Since the early 1970s, the United Kingdom (U.K.) has experienced political violence undertaken by militant animal rights actors. This violence has included the use of car bombs and incendiary devices, which are more akin to the tactics of a terrorist campaign. Similar acts in the United States have been described as “eco-terrorism” yet this label has not gained traction in the U.K. This article is concerned with the labeling of militant animal rights actions in the U.K. and explores the labels that have been applied by the print media, notably The Guardian to the actions of those animal rights actors who have utilized or espoused illegal and violent tactics in the pursuit of their cause. Moreover, the article takes a more in-depth look at the labeling of the group Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) in its campaign against Huntingdon Life Sciences and its business partners. How actions are labeled can have repercussions in shaping the public debate and policy implications.

The Road to Electoral Authoritarianism: Tracing Three Phases of State-Society Contention in Post-Colonial Hong Kong, 2003–2020

Previous studies have examined Hong Kong’s hybrid regime by investigating the interactions among activists, the local government, and the Chinese national government. This article adopts the lens of contentious politics and a multi-level approach to understand regime evolution within the local-national-regional-global nexus. It presents an original dataset that records movement tactics and state responses in four major protests and delineates three phases of state-society contention between 2003 and 2020. It explains regime evolution by highlighting five intertwining factors: activists’ tactical learning; organisational ecology in civil society; state repression strategies; regional politics in Greater China; and international political economy. It finds that the first phase (2003–2012) was characterised by an increasing use of disruptive tactics, an emergent call for de-centred mobilisation, and a limited deployment of state security forces. The second phase (2013–2015) exhibited nascent applications of violent tactics, while the state employed more forceful police repression, re-engineered the electoral field, and sponsored counter-mobilisation. The most recent phase (2016–2020) showed activists’ intensified use of violent tactics and a strong intention to seek international support. The state responded to local threats and international pressure with violent crackdowns and stricter institutional arrangements, which has resulted in an electoral authoritarian regime that is less-than-competitive.

Shaping Electoral Outcomes: Intra- and Anti-systemic Violence in Indian Assembly Elections

AbstractElectoral violence is perpetrated by anti-systemic actors opposed to the democratic system, as well as by those vying for power through the electoral process. Even though the motivations for violent tactics are distinct, we do not know whether intra- and anti-systemic violence differ in their effects. Focusing on state-level elections in India – a country that combines nationwide elections with persistent political violence – we demonstrate that the distinction is crucial for understanding spatial patterns of electoral violence and effects on election outcomes. Based on an original dataset of violence in legislative assembly elections between 1985 and 2008, we show that both tactics depress turnout overall but that the effect is larger for anti-systemic violence. Intra-systemic violence not only appears to be more selectively targeted, as it is more likely to occur in constituencies where the incumbent belongs to the state-level opposition, but also generates electoral benefits for the party in control of state government.

Mobs, Crowds, and Trolls: Theorizing the Harassment of Journalists in the Philippines

Using the Philippines as a case study, we draw on crowd theory to understand how and why online mobs gather to harass reporters. Under Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency, his administration and supporters targeted independent journalism using violent tactics online and offline, including threats of rape, death, and doxing. Yet, when online mobs harass reporters it is not simply an extension of state censorship. Rather, understanding the dynamics that spur regular social media users to take part in anti-press mobs requires a less hierarchical approach. Nor can we simply blame technology for facilitating mob censorship. We argue that crowds are formed from the bottom up, are loosely organized, and intensely felt. These crowds do not necessarily share goals or identities despite their collective affect and aesthetics. Instead, more sustained types of subjectivity emerge from involvement in the crowd. Ultimately, journalism studies can benefit from the insights of crowd theory that emphasize the plasticity of the subject and the ways in which ideas and feelings spread in rapid and unpredictable ways online.

Violence and Nonviolence in the Rhetoric of Social Protest

Abstract The nonviolence so heralded in studies of protest has lost its strategic effectiveness; nonviolence has become, not a strategy in the pursuit of justice, but an end in itself, a telos. In order to better conceptualize violence and nonviolence in the contemporary rhetoric of social protest, this essay provides a review and critique of prominent rhetorical studies of protest violence that have placed violent tactics solely in the service of nonviolence. Rhetorical scholars are in a unique position to reconsider and reframe understandings of violence and nonviolence in social protest that persist both in rhetorical studies and in the popular imagination about how social change can and should happen. Violence and nonviolence have too often been divorced from the white supremacist history and context in which they operate, particularly in the United States—creating meaning structures that make the violent protest tactics deployed by non-dominant groups culturally illegible. This essay works to reframe the violent tactics most commonly deployed in the current moment by arguing that the looting, property destruction, and even the direct physical violence that is most often associated with various Leftist and anti-racist activists can work strategically to challenge the police-State's monopoly on violence. Drawing out the implications of these interconnected points, the essay provides a more nuanced understanding of violent tactics that can both help restore the disruptive function of protest rhetoric and better challenge white supremacy in the service of justice.

Why do people engage in violent tactics during a protest campaign? Understanding radical activist through regionalist mobilizations in Chile

AbstractObjectiveThis article seeks to better understand the differences between radical and moderate activists who come from the same mobilization process.MethodsUsing an original survey data of participants in a regionalist movement in Chile, we employed latent class analysis on 15 different tactics. We found support for a radical, a moderate, and a non‐activist profile. Next, we applied multinomial logistic regression models to explain differences both for recruitment (moderate and radical in reference to inactive class) and for participation (radical in reference to moderate class).ResultsThe participants who engaged in radical action were the youngest, the most embedded in activist networks, and those with the strongest perception of self‐efficacy.ConclusionsThese results contrast with previous evidence that associates participation in violent actions with a low perception of efficacy, isolated groups, and behavioral specialization. We argue that these differences derive from the context of our study, which can be equated to the initial phases of a protest cycle.