The involvement of Western Balkan terrorist-fighters in armed conflicts in Syria and Iraq

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 151-173
Author(s):  
Filip Bryjka
Keyword(s):  
Religious Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Recruitment Process ◽  
Docu Ments ◽  
War Zone ◽  
Critical Content ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Essential Contribution ◽  
Foreign Fighters

The primary purpose of this article is to explain the meaning and consequences of foreign fighters’ participation from Western Balkan countries (WB6) in armed conflicts in Syria and Iraq. In the first part, the issue of foreign fighters is discussed in historical terms. The author focuses on the examples of the Soviet inva-sion of Afghanistan and the ethno-religious conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the second part of the text, the definition framework of foreign fighters’ concept and its evolution towards foreign terrorist-fighters is dis-cussed. Then, a detailed analysis of the main problem is conducted, and several research questions are an-swered: 1) What is the scale of the phenomenon of Balkan volunteers (e.g., their number, the structure of origin, and others) in comparison to fighters from other regions? 2) What are their motivations and goals, and what are their recruitment process and ways of moving into the war zone? 3) What is the threat posed by returning fight-ers to the security of the Western Balkans, and how do individual states counteract this phenomenon? The au-thor uses mainly the following research methods: critical content analysis (literature, scientific articles, docu-ments, reports, press materials), and historical and comparative analysis. The author’s visits to this country in 2018-2020 constituted an essential contribution to the part concerning the case of Kosovo.

scholarly journals Framing and Agenda Setting of the Day of Republika Srpska and its 2016 Referendum

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 675-695
Author(s):  
Nađa Beglerović ◽  
Matthew T. Becker
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Agenda Setting ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
Attribution Of Responsibility ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Frame Model ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Republika Srpska ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Conflict Frames

Abstract The purpose of this article is to explore broadsheet newspaper framing and agenda-setting of two events using the five-frame model developed by Semetko and Valkenburg (2000). This article provides insight into how the leading broadsheet newspaper within BiH’s Republika Srpska frames relationships between the three main ethnic groups and is the first such study to occur in BiH. By identifying and exploring the most common frames in Glas Srpske during the five-year period (from 31 December 2015 to 30 December 2020), the research is meant to answer the following research questions: How does Glas Srpske frame the conversation about it and portray the Day of Republika Srpska (RS) and Referendum of the RS Day? The results, which find Attribution of Responsibility and Conflict frames to be the more prevalent in Glas Srpske, illustrate contentious politics that reinforce differences between ethnic groups in BiH. These events and the controversial narrative surrounding them are relevant more than ever in the light of the recent non-paper ‘Western Balkans – A Way Forward’.

scholarly journals The representation of the Syrian conflict in the Syrian online news: A critical discourse analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 02003
Author(s):  
Kais Amir Kadhim
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Semantic Network ◽  
Online News ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
News Agency ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Syrian Conflict ◽  
Foreign Fighters

This study investigates the usage of Syrian media tools in manipulating people’s perception towards the uprising in Syria. The language of the Syrian media is analyzed using a critical discourse analysis. For this purpose, two frameworks are combined: the historical approach by Wodak (2002) and the socio-semantic network of social actors by Van Leeuwen (2008). The study particularly focuses on the way the Syrian government and the rebels are represented in the Syrian online news Cham press which is a pro-government news agency. The two research questions of this study are: (i) What are the referential and predication strategies used by Cham press in reporting the Syrian conflict? (ii) How do these strategies reflect the ideology that surrounds the representation of rebels in the Syrian news? Three hundred and ninety-seven articles were selected from Cham press based on the most relevant keywords. These articles were taken for a period of six months that is from June to October 2012 and May 2013. The study reveals that the Syrian uprising is negatively represented using terms with negative connotations like terrorism, foreign conspiracy, against the law, foreign fighters that are targeting people and responsible for the massacres that happened in the country.

scholarly journals Civil war recurrence and postwar violence: Toward an integrated research agenda

2021 ◽  
pp. 135406612110064
Author(s):  
Corinne Bara ◽  
Annekatrin Deglow ◽  
Sebastian van Baalen
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Citation Network ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Sustainable Peace ◽  
Integrated Research ◽  
Citation Network Analysis ◽  
Common Risk Factors ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Forms Of Violence

Violence after civil war is a challenge to sustainable peace. Many armed conflicts today are recurrences of previous wars and much of the literature on violence after war explains why armed groups return to the battlefield. But even if peace prevails, many other types of violence take place in postwar environments. This postwar violence is likewise subject to a growing multidisciplinary literature. Using citation network analysis, we show that research on war recurrence and postwar violence has developed in relative isolation from each other—although these phenomena are interrelated. This compartmentalization leads us to overlook important similarities and differences in the drivers of different forms of violence after war. We demonstrate this by reviewing the literature in both of these closely related fields. While war recurrence and postwar violence share a set of common risk factors, some factors can have opposite effects on the two outcomes. Because these insights only emerge when systematically comparing the two strands of literature, we propose a novel framework for the study of violence after wars that aims at overcoming the compartmentalization of research within these two fields. The framework serves both as a conceptual lens and an analytical tool to categorize and compare different forms of violence after war. We then outline how the framework aids scholars in pursuing an integrated research agenda, with concrete suggestions for research questions that should be studied to expand our understanding of violence after wars.

scholarly journals Exploring the language of death with dignity: a comparative and critical content analysis of Canadian news editorials

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rya Kobewka
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Central Research ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Major Research ◽  
Death With Dignity ◽  
The Past ◽  
Critical Content ◽  
Online Comments ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Pro Life

My major research paper (MRP) focuses on the language and arguments used in the debate surrounding medically assisted dying. This paper was interested specifically in how arguments are framed, and if arguments have changed regarding medically assisted dying in the past twenty years. My central research questions are: what are the arguments on both sides of the debate used in news editorials? And if the arguments changed – how did they change? To answer these questions I compared two case studies: (1) Sue Rodriguez and (2) Gloria Taylor. To compare the two cases I analyzed the editorial pages and online comments of major Canadian newspapers. I used key words in context (KWIC) to identify frames and arguments used. Six frames emerged: medically assisted dying legal (ML), medically assisted dying medical (MM), medically assisted dying moral (MMM), pro-life legal (PLL), pro-life medical (PLM), and pro-life moral (PLM). The frames in support of medically assisted dying were used more than double the amount that pro-life frames were used; they were also used more frequently in 2012 than they had been in 1994. Further, there fewer overall KWICs used in 2012, but they were used correctly more often than in 1994. These findings suggest that the act of medically assisted dying is better understood and defined, and that it seems to have more support now than it did twenty years ago.

scholarly journals Exploring the language of death with dignity: a comparative and critical content analysis of Canadian news editorials

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rya Kobewka
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Central Research ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Major Research ◽  
Death With Dignity ◽  
The Past ◽  
Critical Content ◽  
Online Comments ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Pro Life

My major research paper (MRP) focuses on the language and arguments used in the debate surrounding medically assisted dying. This paper was interested specifically in how arguments are framed, and if arguments have changed regarding medically assisted dying in the past twenty years. My central research questions are: what are the arguments on both sides of the debate used in news editorials? And if the arguments changed – how did they change? To answer these questions I compared two case studies: (1) Sue Rodriguez and (2) Gloria Taylor. To compare the two cases I analyzed the editorial pages and online comments of major Canadian newspapers. I used key words in context (KWIC) to identify frames and arguments used. Six frames emerged: medically assisted dying legal (ML), medically assisted dying medical (MM), medically assisted dying moral (MMM), pro-life legal (PLL), pro-life medical (PLM), and pro-life moral (PLM). The frames in support of medically assisted dying were used more than double the amount that pro-life frames were used; they were also used more frequently in 2012 than they had been in 1994. Further, there fewer overall KWICs used in 2012, but they were used correctly more often than in 1994. These findings suggest that the act of medically assisted dying is better understood and defined, and that it seems to have more support now than it did twenty years ago.

scholarly journals Preparedness Plan for the Water Supply Infrastructure during Water Terrorism—A Case Study from Irbid, Jordan

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 2887
Author(s):  
Muna Hindiyeh ◽  
Aiman Albatayneh ◽  
Rashed Tarawneh ◽  
Suzan Suleiman ◽  
Adel Juaidi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Water Tank ◽  
Preparedness Plan ◽  
Treatment Processes ◽  
War Zone ◽  
Medium Risk ◽  
Response Plan

Terrorism is a crucial danger to the world, especially the Middle East. As Jordan is amidst countries with armed conflicts, its natural resources (in particularly, water resources) are vulnerable to terrorist attacks. In this paper, possible biological and chemical weapons that can be used as intimidation, along with their threats, vulnerabilities, and inactivation methods, concerning water treatment processes in the municipality of Irbid, are studied. Irbid is the second largest city in terms of population in Jordan, after the capital city of Amman, and it is the nearest governorate to Syria borders that is considered a war zone. After conducting risk assessment that takes into consideration criticality, threats, and vulnerability, it appears that only one of the eight units, which is the Makhraba pumping station, along with the Bushra water tank, were identified as medium risk. The other units have treatment processes and proper precautions that are able to inactivate or prevent any possible contamination. A response plan should be set by developing a telemetry system with specific sensors that can detect any sudden and unacceptable threats to the water quality and that has the ability to shut down the concerned units automatically.

Self-Organization Activities in LTE-Advanced Networks

2014 ◽  
pp. 67-98
Author(s):  
Ali Diab ◽  
Andreas Mitschele-Thiel
Keyword(s):  
Network Performance ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Use Cases ◽  
Lte Networks ◽  
Lte Advanced ◽  
Network Operation ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Effective Network ◽  
Essential Contribution ◽  
State Of Art

A major challenge in the context of LTE networks is a cost-effective network operation, which can be done by carefully controlling the network Operational Expenses (OPEX). Therefore, to minimize OPEX costs while optimizing network performance, Self-Organizing Network (SON) principles were proposed. These networks are the main focus of this chapter, which highlights the state of art and provides a comprehensive investigation of current research efforts in the field of SONs. A major contribution of the chapter is the handling of SON use cases, going through their challenges, solutions. and open research questions. The chapter also presents efforts to provide coordination frameworks between SON use cases and routines. An additional essential contribution of the chapter is the description of SON activities within 3GPP.

Foreign Fighters and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Austin C Doctor
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Stage I ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Organizational Challenges ◽  
Rebel Groups ◽  
Foreign Fighters

Abstract Do foreign fighters increase the prevalence of rebel-inflicted sexual violence? Evidence from recent armed conflicts indicates that this may be the case. However, little is known regarding the generalizability and nature of this relationship. This article argues that foreign fighters present local insurgencies with both strategic benefits—i.e., a reduced dependency on local civilians for material support—and organizational challenges—i.e., threats to intra-group cohesion. In combination, these factors increase local rebel commanders’ willingness to institute policies and oversee practices of sexual violence. I test this theory with a mixed methods research design. In the first stage, I estimate a series of ordinal logistic regression models with a sample of 143 rebel groups active from 1989 to 2011. In the second stage, I investigate further with a case study of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. Together, the results demonstrate that when foreign fighters are present in the rank and file, a rebel group is likely to perpetrate more prevalent levels of sexual violence. In addition to explaining group-level differences in rebel-inflicted sexual violence, this study demonstrates how local rebel commanders adjust their internal management strategies to the presence of foreign recruits.

Bringing Terrorists to Justice in the Context of Armed Conflict: Interaction between International Humanitarian Law and the UN Conventions Against Terrorism

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-99
Author(s):  
Alejandro Sánchez Frías
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Criminal Prosecution ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
Terrorist Groups ◽  
Foreign Nationality ◽  
Criminal Matters ◽  
Foreign Fighters

The participation of foreign fighters on the side of terrorist groups has raised many questions about the legal basis for the criminal prosecution of acts of terror during armed conflicts. In cases regarding the commission of terrorist crimes with transnational elements, such as the foreign nationality of the alleged perpetrator, cooperation with other states in matters such as extradition or mutual legal assistance can be crucial. This study will analyse two regimes that may constitute a legal basis for cooperation in criminal matters against acts of terror committed during armed conflicts: (i) the rules on criminal responsibility under international humanitarian law (IHL), and (ii) the United Nations framework of anti-terrorist conventions. IHL has been seen by many as the only framework applicable to acts committed during armed conflicts. In contrast, the position adopted in this article is that IHL does not necessarily exclude the application of other regimes to acts committed during armed conflicts, which can serve as a complementary tool in international efforts for the prevention and suppression of terrorism.

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