terrorist ideologies is not limited to bin Laden and al Qaeda. Indeed, leaders of terrorist groups capitalize on psychological techniques to recruit and influence their followers (Victoroff, 2005). This paper explains the various tools and techniques used by terrorist group leaders (irrespective of ideology, agenda, and motivation) to influence the psychological and behavioral factors of their followers.
Though terrorist leaders and groups are inspired by different ideologies, agendas, goals, and objectives, there tend to be significant similarities in their psychological and behavioral factors. First, terrorist leaders espouse the belief that social and political change can only be achieved through terrorism (Corte, 2007). Using the… Continue Reading...
Modern terrorism has chosen social media as a useful resource. The online social platforms make communication within terrorist groups possible. Terrorists use social media for recruitment, propaganda sharing, psychological warfare, mobilization, information gathering, data mining etc. (InfoSec, 2018). Most terrorist attacks are choreographed meticulously for the purpose of attracting electronic media and international press. The objective of terrorism is to target the population watching and using media resources and not just the killing of victims. The strategists of ISIS employ social media as an important resource for mobilization. ISIS has managed to mobilize approx. 40,000 foreigners from around the world with enticing messages encouraging them to join… Continue Reading...
terrorist groups like Isis. To most Muslims, Jihad is not a violent or radicalized concept. In fact, violent Jihad is specifically prohibited by the Koran except for under very specific circumstances. Jihad is a concept that refers to any type of struggle against the enemies of Islam and is, for most Muslims, conveyed as more of a spiritual type of struggle. Jihad is often used to refer to an individual’s efforts to become a better Muslim. Even in those rare instances when a violent action is considered part of Jihad,… Continue Reading...
split has on the modern geopolitical environment. The foundation of modern terrorist groups that can be traced to the radicalization of Sunni students is traced through Al Qaeda and back to the Taliban.
Introduction
For people in the United States, radical Islamic terrorism became a real threat on 9-11, when terrorists from a group known as Al-Qaeda used box knives to take over airplanes and then used those airplanes as missiles to destroy the World Trade Center in New York City, and to target the Pentagon in Washington, DC. A fourth plane was intended to be an additional weapon, but passengers… Continue Reading...
how certain factors influence a terrorist group's selection of tactics or strategies. Gilli & Gilli (2014) show how terrorist groups change their tactics depending on whether targets are hard or soft, and are more likely to resort to suicide bombings when targets are hard.
Diffusion of innovation theory can be applied to Boko Haram both by reviewing causal factors in the choice to disrupt public infrastructure and also applied to the Nigerian government's counterterrorism responses. However, the Nigerian government has yet to develop a cohesive enough counterterrorism policy to render empirical research worthwhile and it could be more sensible to concentrate on applying diffusion of innovation to Boko… Continue Reading...
terrorist groups in the world," not only by the Obama Administration but also by the United Nations.
Hansen, W.W. & Musa, U.A. (2013). Fanon, the Wretched and Boko Haram. Journal of Asian and African Studies January 15, 2013 0021909612467277.
This article helps with theory development, showing how critical Marxist theory and post-colonial discourse can be used to frame and influence policy related to Boko Haram. The authors use Frantz Fanon's theories as a springboard for analysis, showing how Boko Haram can be viewed as an extension of colonial and post-colonial… Continue Reading...
active region in the Middle East, with a number of countries, mercenaries, terrorist groups, weapons, and vested interests converging on the scene for a host of reasons ranging from destabilizing the current regime to supporting it. Turkey, Russia, Kurds, Iran, Saudi Arabia, ISIS, Israel, the U.S.—all have been on the scene for a number of years, and the stories told about what is happening there are as wide ranging and conflicting as the players and parties involved themselves. For many, understanding what is going on on the ground depends on seeing images of attacks, atrocities, war torn regions, and heroics, captured on… Continue Reading...
here, it is important that these entities reaffirm their commitment in joining the war against crime and the fight against terrorist groups; which are an obstacle to the success of Africa's economies (Fulgence, 2015). There is a lot of work cut out for sub-Saharan African countries which are grappling with abject poverty. They have plenty of work to do to attain middle income status in their economies.
The terms of economic cooperation vision would have been trained on food production to fight hunger among populations that are growing fast, reducing poverty levels through a host of economic interventions aimed at reducing unemployment and boosting production. With respect to political cooperation,… Continue Reading...
