Terrorist threat in Poland – the assessment of the phenomenon and the measures of counteracting attacks in 2010–2016

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (34) ◽  
pp. 9-46
Author(s):  
Jerzy Gąsiorowski
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Terrorist Threat ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Special Services ◽  
Substantive Law

Modern terrorism is often associated with Middle East Islamic fundamentalists. This association is a result of violent terrorist attacks that have been carried out in the past few years, in various forms and according to diverse methods. As a consequence, terrorism started to be perceived as a serious problem by the public. It is also the case in Poland, where real terrorist threats occur. The paper presents a multi-faceted assessment, with respect to substantive law and statistics, of the level of terrorist threats in Poland in the years 2010–2016, regarding specific threats as well as the response of special services. The results show that the level of terrorist threat in Poland is not high, even though terrorism encompasses a whole range of crimes penalised in many legal statutes. The high efficiency of Polish special services and the Polish police in this field results from them using in an effective way legally allowed measures of counteracting terrorism.

Counter-terrorism system in Poland: selected issues

2017 ◽  
Vol 105 (4) ◽  
pp. 153-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justyna Trubalska
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Risk Analysis ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Religious Fundamentalism ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Terrorist Threat ◽  
Internal Security ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
The World ◽  
Systematic Development

Abstract Today we are seeing a systematic development of terrorist organisations in the world. Social, economic and political problems in Africa and the Middle East, as well as religious fundamentalism generate threats of terrorism. If we consider in this context both Poland’s geopolitical situation, and involvement in stabilisation operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, those factors make our country a potential target for terrorist attacks. Although for years the level of terrorist threat in Poland is assessed as low, the risk analysis of this kind cannot be underestimated in the context of the analysis of internal security of the state. The main aim of this article is to answer the question whether there is an effective counter-terrorism system in Poland. This is done by attempting to capture the essence and demonstrating its unique features by analysing its individual components, i.e. regulations, entities forming the analysed system and relationships between the indicated elements.

scholarly journals Counterterrorism legislation and far-right terrorism in Australia and the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
pp. 147377952198933
Author(s):  
Jessie Blackbourn
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
The United States ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Terrorist Threat ◽  
The Past ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Control Orders ◽  
Western Democracies

Over the past two decades, since the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, a number of countries have enacted new laws tailored specifically to the threat posed by Islamic extremist terrorism. This includes recent legislation that has criminalised behaviour associated with ‘foreign terrorist fighters’, such as the act of travel to, or fighting in, foreign conflicts. This legislative response reflects the enactment of earlier laws, with measures designed for prior iterations of the contemporary Islamic extremist terrorist threat, such as control orders and preventative detention orders, prohibitions on extremist speech and disseminating terrorist propganda and the criminalisation of terrorist training. Yet despite the focus on Islamic extremist terrorism, this is not the only terrorist threat that Western democracies face. The rise of far-right terrorism in recent years has, however, not seen the same recourse to new legislation as has been the case for Islamic extremist terrorism. Using Australia and the United Kingdom as case studies, this article assesses the extent to which counterterrorism legislation has been used to deal with the particular threat posed by far-right terrorism. In doing so, it evaluates the lessons that might be learned from applying counterterrorism legislation designed for one particular terrorist threat to other types of terrorism.

scholarly journals Attitudes towards refugees and Muslim immigrants in Iceland: The perceived link to terrorism

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-242
Author(s):  
Margrét Valdimarsdóttir ◽  
Guðbjörg Andrea Jónsdóttir
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Random Sample ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Security Threat ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Muslim Immigrants ◽  
Muslim Majority

In the past few years, millions have been forced to leave their homes seeking refuge in other countries, most displaced from Muslim majority countries. The inflow of refugees and recent terrorist attacks in Europe may have reinforced prejudice against Muslim immigrants in Europe. Research on these issues is almost non-existent in Iceland. Using a random sample of 3.360 individuals in late 2019 and a survey-based experimental design, we address several questions related to attitudes towards Muslim immigrants and refugees in Iceland. Our results indicate that just over half of the population is willing to accept more refugees than is currently done and does not want to limit the proportion of Muslims among them. Notwithstanding, about 44% of the public believe that the risk of terrorism will increase if Iceland accepts more immigrants from Muslim majority countries. Political orientation and education are associated with attitudes toward refugees, an association that is partly mediated through stereotypes of Muslims as a security threat. The findings also show that people who are informed that research finds no link between the number of Muslim immigrants and the risk of terrorism are less likely to stereotype Muslim immigrants as a security threat than people who get no such information. This type of information has similar effects on people irrespective of their political orientation. Consequently, the current study does not support the proposition that right-leaning individuals in Iceland are more distrustful of scientific information than those on the left. The effects are, however, significantly contingent on education.

scholarly journals The Wave of Migration in Europe as a Cause of Terrorist Threat

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Tomasz Bąk
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Terrorist Threat

Abstract The article presents the migration wave in Europe as the cause of terrorist threats. The conflicts in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and in Syria, increase the numbers of refugees from those areas and their migration to European countries, mainly EU members. That wave is used by terrorist organisations to smuggle members of those organisations to Europe in order to prepare terrorist attacks. The author also indicated the difficulty in controlling such a huge wave of refugees in the aspect of ensuring security in European countries.

scholarly journals Regenerating Muslim Inventors

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Anis Nurashikin Nordin ◽  
Nabilah Ramli
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Control Theory ◽  
Nobel Prize ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Critical Discussion ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
The Past

Much discussion has been done about the golden era of Muslim civilization and its decline over the past centuries. Recent downturn of events in the Middle East has given birth to the Muslim refugee crisis, coupled with terrorist attacks have fueled the growth. Now more than ever, Muslim need inspirational role models, to survive this crisis and backlash. This paper intends to highlight the achievements of Muslim scientists, engineers and innovators, dating from the early 9th century to the more recent 21st century. Some of the works discussed in this paper are not so commonly discussed, such as the work of Banu Musa on control theory and mechanical pumps by Al-Jazari. Next special highlight is done on the works of Muslim Nobel Prize winners as well as their attempts to encourage other Muslims to be involved in science and technology. Finally, we discuss the successful Muslim inventors of the 21st century, both who created modern devices for communications and lasers. The paper concludes with a critical discussion on what are the qualities that these Muslim technologists had to succeed and how the modern generation can emulate them.

The Hassan Nasrallah Phenomenon

Hezbollah ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 151-172
Author(s):  
Aurélie Daher
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Major Element ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Secretary General ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Che Guevara

The personality of Hezbollah's third secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, and his militant path combine into a major element in the attraction the party holds for militants as well as supporters. Without question, Nasrallah has over the past years earned a place among the top leaders of the Arab world. Several Western commentators have described him for some time as a "second Che Guevara". Whether he arouses admiration and enthusiasm or insult and rejection, there is no denying that his career is now an integral part of the history of the Middle East. This chapter reconstructs the rise of Nasrallah's mature yet still evolving charisma. Setting the stage for this effort is as rigorous and detailed a biography of the man as possible, from his childhood until his accession to the post of secretary-general. From this indeed emerge sources of perception which then will lend themselves to an analysis of his charisma per se, starting from his appointment as secretary-general. From that point on, instead of charting a factual biographical course, the focus shifts to a change of perception that occurred among some of the public between 1992 and 2000.

scholarly journals Islamic Terrorism in the Middle East and its Impact on Global Security

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 713-730
Author(s):  
Leonid M. Issaev ◽  
Marat B. Aisin ◽  
Ilya A. Medvedev ◽  
Andrey V. Korotayev
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
The United States ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Time Lags ◽  
Terrorist Threat ◽  
Terrorist Activity ◽  
The World ◽  
Islamist Terrorism

This paper examines the impact of the increase in terrorist activity in the Middle East after the Arab Spring on the terrorist threat in other parts of the world. The aim of the work is to clarify, using quantitative methods, the factors, mechanisms and scale of the spread of Islamist terrorism from the Middle East. A qualitative study of time series with partial formalization is used to identify time lags between the rise of Islamist terrorism in the Middle East and its intensification in other parts of the world. It has been demonstrated that the rapid growth in the number of terrorist attacks recorded in the world after 2010 was primarily due to the explosive growth of Islamist terrorist activity in the Afrasian zone of instability in general and in the Middle East in particular. There is considerable evidence to suggest that this spurred terrorist activity after 2013 in the U.S., Western Europe, Turkey and Russia. The analysis shows that the Islamic State (ISIS) and its affiliates (prohibited in Russian Federation) have acted as the main export agent of terrorism to these countries and regions in an attempt to retaliate military strikes carried out by foreign powers in the Middle East. Among these foreign countries, Turkey was particularly hard hit by the increase in terrorist activities - the level of terrorist activity in Turkey between 2013 and 2014 grew 14 times. In the United States and Western Europe, the onslaught of Islamist terrorism has been accompanied by a threefold increase in the number of terrorist attacks recorded. A similar scale of the Middle East terrorist echo was observed in the Russian Federation. The ISIS efforts to expand and develop terrorist networks in Russia also resulted in the tripling of a number of terrorist attacks in this country. However, it would be wrong to exaggerate the scale of the Middle East terrorist echo in Russia. The previous waves of the terrorist threat between 2002 and 2004, as well as the second half of the 2000s (an echo effect of the Chechen wars) were much larger.

Reconstructions of the past distribution of Testudo graeca mitochondrial lineages in the Middle East and Transcaucasia support multiple refugia since the Last Glacial Maximum

2021 ◽  
pp. 10-17
Author(s):  
Oguz Turkozan
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
Testudo Graeca ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The Past ◽  
Precipitation Seasonality ◽  
Multiple Refugia ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

A cycle of glacial and interglacial periods in the Quaternary caused species’ ranges to expand and contract in response to climatic and environmental changes. During interglacial periods, many species expanded their distribution ranges from refugia into higher elevations and latitudes. In the present work, we projected the responses of the five lineages of Testudo graeca in the Middle East and Transcaucasia as the climate shifted from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, Mid – Holocene), to the present. Under the past LGM and Mid-Holocene bioclimatic conditions, models predicted relatively more suitable habitats for some of the lineages. The most significant bioclimatic variables in predicting the present and past potential distribution of clades are the precipitation of the warmest quarter for T. g. armeniaca (95.8 %), precipitation seasonality for T. g. buxtoni (85.0 %), minimum temperature of the coldest month for T. g. ibera (75.4 %), precipitation of the coldest quarter for T. g. terrestris (34.1 %), and the mean temperature of the driest quarter for T. g. zarudyni (88.8 %). Since the LGM, we hypothesise that the ranges of lineages have either expanded (T. g. ibera), contracted (T. g. zarudnyi) or remained stable (T. g. terrestris), and for other two taxa (T. g. armeniaca and T. g. buxtoni) the pattern remains unclear. Our analysis predicts multiple refugia for Testudo during the LGM and supports previous hypotheses about high lineage richness in Anatolia resulting from secondary contact.

The Suffering of the Perpetrators: The Ethics of Traumatic German Historicity in Karen Bass's Young Adult World War II Novels

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-77
Author(s):  
Doris Wolf
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Young Adult ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Childhood Studies ◽  
Historical Narratives ◽  
World War ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Adult World ◽  
The Public Sphere

This paper examines two young adult novels, Run Like Jäger (2008) and Summer of Fire (2009), by Canadian writer Karen Bass, which centre on the experiences of so-called ordinary German teenagers in World War II. Although guilt and perpetration are themes addressed in these books, their focus is primarily on the ways in which Germans suffered at the hands of the Allied forces. These books thus participate in the increasingly widespread but still controversial subject of the suffering of the perpetrators. Bringing work in childhood studies to bear on contemporary representations of German wartime suffering in the public sphere, I explore how Bass's novels, through the liminal figure of the adolescent, participate in a culture of self-victimisation that downplays guilt rather than more ethically contextualises suffering within guilt. These historical narratives are framed by contemporary narratives which centre on troubled teen protagonists who need the stories of the past for their own individualisation in the present. In their evacuation of crucial historical contexts, both Run Like Jäger and Summer of Fire support optimistic and gendered narratives of individualism that ultimately refuse complicated understandings of adolescent agency in the past or present.

The End of History Museums: What's Plan B??

2008 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 9-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cary Carson
Keyword(s):  
Historic Sites ◽  
The Public ◽  
End Of History ◽  
House Museums ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Museums ◽  
Plan B ◽  
The End Of History ◽  
The Way

Abstract Are historic sites and house museums destined to go the way of Oldsmobiles and floppy disks?? Visitation has trended downwards for thirty years. Theories abound, but no one really knows why. To launch a discussion of the problem in the pages of The Public Historian, Cary Carson cautions against the pessimistic view that the past is simply passéé. Instead he offers a ““Plan B”” that takes account of the new way that learners today organize information to make history meaningful.

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