Jihad South of the Sahara: The Local Roots of Transnational Violence

Northern Mali, June 2015. Photo Credit: AFP Photo/Philippe Desmazes By: Tim Cook, Columnist One of the most important keys to understanding an insurgency movement is to recognize the local conditions that allow it to exist. This is particularly apparent in the Sahel region of Africa, where insurgency is fueled by historical ethnic tensions, political contentions, … Continue reading Jihad South of the Sahara: The Local Roots of Transnational Violence

Why We Should Measure the Economic Impact of Terrorism in the Middle East

By: Antonia Ward, Columnist Photo credit: Kobani, Syria. Getty Images RAND Europe and the European Parliament released a report in May on the cost of terrorism in the EU. Examining far more than direct costs, such as loss of life or damage to persons and infrastructure, the study also measured the indirect psychological impact on … Continue reading Why We Should Measure the Economic Impact of Terrorism in the Middle East

The PKK Comeback: How the Kurdistan Workers Party Triumphed in a Time of Turmoil

By: Kevin Truitte, Columnist Photo by: Safin Hamed/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has seen a resurgence across the Middle East in recent years. Buoyed by a renewed Kurdish national identity and capitalizing on regional instability, the U.S.-designated terrorist organization and its affiliates in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran have expanded … Continue reading The PKK Comeback: How the Kurdistan Workers Party Triumphed in a Time of Turmoil

Is The Threat Of Nuclear Terrorism Distracting Attention From More Realistic Threats?

By: Antonia Ward, Columnist Photo credit: BBC/sciencefocus.com At the final Nuclear Summit of his presidency in Washington D.C. in 2016, Barack Obama said the risk of ISIS or other extremist groups acquiring nuclear weapons remains “one of the greatest threats to global security.”[i] A number of terrorist groups, including ISIS and al-Qaeda, have expressed explicit intentions to … Continue reading Is The Threat Of Nuclear Terrorism Distracting Attention From More Realistic Threats?

Looking Back on Marawi: An Analysis of Islamic State Terrorism in the Philippines

By: Ben Schaefer, Columnist Photo credit: Jes Aznar for The New York Times On May 23, 2017 Philippine insurgents affiliated with the Islamic State captured the world’s attention when they seized the city of Marawi on the Philippines’ southern island of Mindanao.[[i]] Five months later, with little fanfare from mainstream media, Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte announced … Continue reading Looking Back on Marawi: An Analysis of Islamic State Terrorism in the Philippines

Maintaining Europol Security Ties After Brexit

By Antonia Ward, Columnist Photo: Getty Images Brexit has dominated European politics since the announcement of Britain’s 2016 referendum to leave the European Union (EU). Security remains a crucial and complex consideration in these discussions. If Britain relinquishes its membership in Europol – the EU’s law enforcement agency which handles criminal intelligence – it … Continue reading Maintaining Europol Security Ties After Brexit

Strategic Divergence: A Problem with Proxy Warfare

A U.S. soldier speaking with a fighter from the Kurdish YPG in 2017 in northeastern Syria. (Photo: Delil Souleiman, AFP/Getty Images) By Kevin Truitte, Columnist Photo by: Getty Images The prevalence of inter-state war has declined since the end of the Second World War.[i] The Cold War and introduction of nuclear weapons witnessed the employment of … Continue reading Strategic Divergence: A Problem with Proxy Warfare

The Logic of Pseudo-Operations: Lessons from the Rhodesian Bush War

By: Xander Causwell, Columnist Photo by: theselousscouts.com During the Rhodesian Bush War (1964-1979) the white minority-controlled Rhodesian government carried out a remarkably successful counterinsurgency campaign against insurgent groups representing the disenfranchised black majority by relying heavily on the use of pseudo-operations. Pseudo-operations constitute a set of tactics government-controlled paramilitary units use to infiltrate insurgent-controlled territory … Continue reading The Logic of Pseudo-Operations: Lessons from the Rhodesian Bush War

France and ISIS: Moving Forward

By: Alicia Chavy, Columnist Photo by: Reuters Between 2015 and 2017, France has experienced an array of devastating terrorist attacks carried out by Islamic State (IS) fighters or supporters. The November 2015 attack executed by eight IS militants in Paris that left 130 dead was a watershed event for France’s counterterrorism policies. The country realized … Continue reading France and ISIS: Moving Forward

Disillusioned, Traumatized, or Radicalized: The Journey of Foreign Fighters Returning Home

By Tina Huang, Columnist Photo illustration by: Idris Khan As of February 2018, over five thousand foreign fighters who traveled to fight alongside jihadist groups such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have returned to their home countries.[i] While most of these foreign fighters travelled from European countries, a handful made the … Continue reading Disillusioned, Traumatized, or Radicalized: The Journey of Foreign Fighters Returning Home