Political violence, terrorism and counter-terrorism

Criminology ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 541-567
Author(s):  
Eamonn Carrabine ◽  
Alexandra Cox ◽  
Pamela Cox ◽  
Isabel Crowhurst ◽  
Anna Di Ronco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Political Violence ◽  
Counter Terrorism

International Terrorism and Human Rights

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Sundaresh MENON
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
September 11 ◽  
International Terrorism ◽  
Positive Relation ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Relationship

Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, a line was crossed in the history of terrorism and political violence—many things we had until then taken for granted were lost. This paper analyzes the relationship between international terrorism and human rights and examines how these two concepts—which some suggest are antithetical—might appropriately be spoken of in the same breath even in the aftermath of those terrible attacks. The overarching thesis is that counter-terror efforts must be approached in a way that endeavours to achieve a positive relation to, and co-existence with, the system of human rights at both international and national levels. In this connection, Singapore's approach to counter-terrorism will be considered, providing food for thought on how far it achieves a balance between security and liberty.

scholarly journals The political use of victimhood: Spanish collective memory of ETA through the war on terror paradigm

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Charlotte Heath-Kelly ◽  
Laura Fernández de Mosteyrín
Keyword(s):  
Collective Memory ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
War On Terror ◽  
Local Politics ◽  
Moral Authority ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
International War ◽  
The Impact

AbstractVictims have become a topic of scholarly debate in conflict studies, especially regarding the impact of their activism on the evolution and termination of violence. Victims of terrorism are now enlisted within counter-terrorism, given their moral authority as spokespeople for counter-narratives and de-escalation. Our research explores how Spanish terrorism victims’ associations have evolved across eras of political violence and how they mediate the translation of international War on Terror discourses into Spanish counter-terrorism. We offer a topography of how the War on Terror has opened a ‘social front’ in Spanish counter-terrorism, with Spanish political elites prominently employing the victims’ associations to this end. Contemporary terrorism discourses are read back onto the memory of ETA, with victims’ associations assisting the equation of ETA with al-Qaeda and ISIS. Collective memory of the defeat of ETA has also contributed the veneer of ‘lessons learned’ to contemporary counter-terrorism measures. Our research explores the fluidity of terrorism-memory and the importation of global terrorism discourses into Spanish politics, relying upon interviews with key stakeholders in victims’ associations, local politics, and the research director of the new Victims of Terrorism Memorial Centre in Vitoria.

scholarly journals Jemaah Islamiyah: Of Kin and Kind

2010 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sulastri Osman
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Counter Terrorism

Convicted terrorists from Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) have attested to using the Internet in one way or another during their operations, from sending messages to one another to looking for extremist fatwas online to justify their actions. That said, however, one would be hard pressed to prove the primacy of the Internet in their transition to violence. More often than not, more traditional elements – blood relations and marriage ties – remain the key to individual religious radicalization and political violence in Southeast Asia. This paper revisits these kinship linkages as well as quasi-kinship ones that include teacher–disciple bonds and the wider fraternity of ikhwan-ship (brotherhood) with particular regard to JI. Keeping counter-terrorism efforts in context is important or else governments could run the risk of carelessly allocating vital resources to less immediate concerns.

‘Sympathy for the Devil?’ The West German Left and the Challenge of Terrorism

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 511-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
KARRIN HANSHEW
Keyword(s):  
Political Violence ◽  
The State ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
The West ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Ambivalent Relationship ◽  
The Devil

AbstractIn the 1970s, the West German extra-parliamentary Left struggled to respond effectively to left-wing terrorism and the state powers mobilised against it. This article argues that a shared conception of counter-violence as legitimate resistance helps explain the Left's ambivalent relationship to political violence and its solidarity with militants. The mounting strain on the projects and protest networks of student rebels, older leftists, anti-nuclear demonstrators and feminist activists, however, provoked debate and, eventually, change. Caught between terrorism and counter-terrorism, leftists revised assumptions upon which their commitment to resistance had rested – and reconceived resistance itself as part of everyday, mainstream politics.

scholarly journals New Zealand’s Counter-terrorism Strategy: A Critical Assessment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Battersby ◽  
Rhys Ball ◽  
Nick Nelson
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Graphic Design ◽  
Critical Assessment ◽  
National Strategy ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Violent Extremism ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Late Twentieth Century

In mid-February 2020 New Zealand released its long overdue ‘Countering terrorism and violent extremism national strategy.’ This article draws on the experience of three academic commentators who cast a critical eye over the document and whose respective thoughts are brought together here. The approach taken is to discuss the purpose and fundamentals of what strategy is to provide a framework with which to review New Zealand’s first publicly released counter-terrorism strategy. Unfortunately, this important and long overdue strategy, in the view of the authors, comes up well short of what it should be. The authors offer a challenge to New Zealand’s policy makers concerned with national security to seek more depth in the consideration of their approach, to present a strategy with less graphic design, more substantial discussion of the fundamental questions relating to the management of modern terrorism and violent extremism, and an appreciation of the nuanced New Zealand experience with political violence from late twentieth century to the present day.

Nigeria: A vicious cycle: The growth of terrorism and counterterrorism in Nigeria, 1999–2016

2019 ◽  
pp. 409-432
Author(s):  
Jennifer Giroux ◽  
Michael Nwankpa
Keyword(s):  
Political Violence ◽  
Niger Delta ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Organized Violence ◽  
Niger Delta Region ◽  
Time Period ◽  
The Government ◽  
The One ◽  
Forms Of Violence ◽  
The Impact

Violence in Nigeria has a tendency to shape-shift - from violent crimes, such as kidnapping and robbery, to various expressions of political violence, such as terrorism and insurgency, as well as police and military brutality.  Indeed, because of this, it’s difficult to talk about one type of violence without appreciating not only how it relates to specific contextual conditions but also to other forms of violence, which often overlap each other. Since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999 the term ‘terrorism’ has increasingly been a part of the national discourse on security. On the one hand, the government refers to countering terrorism within the framework of its national security agenda while on the other hand, insurgent movements, namely those that have emerged in the southern Niger Delta region as well as the northeast, have increasingly used terrorism as one of many tactics within their violent campaigns. Though one can certainly make the argument that terrorism in Nigeria has been a growing concern, particularly in the last decade, analysis tends to look at the phenomenon in isolation rather than considering how it is connected to other forms of violence, and more importantly, how state responses to organized violence drive non-state groups to adopt new tactics and escalate conflict. To fill this gap this article will look at how terrorism is understood and experienced in Nigeria and how its conceptualization shapes the practice of counter-terrorism. Our analysis will capture both international and domestic factors - including the impact of 9/11 and subsequent EU and US efforts to counter terrorism in Nigeria - as well domestic realities, namely the societal impact of Nigeria's 1999 transformation from long military to democratic rule as well as the more recent insurgencies in the Niger Delta (2005-2009) and in the northeast (2009-present). Combined, analyzing the domestic and international considerations over a 15-year time period will allow us to trace how the conceptualization of terrorism and practice of counter-terrorism has changed over time.

Afghan Peace Deal 2020: Possible Scenarios and Outcomes

2020 ◽  
pp. 86-92
Author(s):  
Farhan Zahid
Keyword(s):  
Political Violence ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Us History ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Peace Negotiations ◽  
The Us ◽  
Terrorist Groups ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Eventual Outcome

After much deliberations and delays, the US-Taliban peace deal was finally inked on February 29th, 2020 (Asia, 2020). The long-awaited peace deal though officially considered as the end of the longest war in US history but does not seem likely to last long. The peace deal focuses on much-debated vital areas such as withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in phases (in 14 months); Taliban not to allow any Al-Qaeda presence or not to provide safe havens to Islamist terrorist groups in Afghanistan; talks between Taliban and Afghan government to begin soon; and, lifting of economic sanctions on the Taliban (US State Department, 2020). Scholars and researchers on the subject matter issues such as counter- terrorism, Afghanistan conflict, and peace negotiations are divided on the eventual outcome of this deal. Nonetheless, there are high hopes considering the success of this deal. The country has been facing the menace of terrorism and consecutive political violence since 1979, making it one of the oldest ongoing conflicts. Probably, the Afghans have suffered more than any other nation during civil wars, coups/revolutions, foreign invasions, Islamist extremist movements and insurgencies.

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