Popular interpretations and academic scholarship tends to emphasize the relationship between jihad, military action, and communal violence. These reinforce a sense that violence is inherent to Islam. Investigations into the contexts where jihad has been deployed highlight how its use is often a call for unity believed to be necessary for political goals. Therefore, in order to deconstruct this belief, this thesis tackles instead the relationship between textual interpretations and historical actions, and how these varied across specific moments in time. The case studies examined range from the initial evolution of a theory of jihad in the late antique world, to the Crusades in the 11th and 12th centuries, to early modern dynamics of the Ottomans and Safavids, and finally to modern state-making projects in the Arabian Peninsula These examples seek to create a comprehensive picture of the intricacies rooted in jihad and the narrative that can be associated with a religion that is most often misunderstood. The effort to shed some light on the multiple facets of jihad is hinged upon how these case studies differ from one another, thus forcing the reader to question how they previously understood the modern day phenomenon of jihad. While the conversation will reiterate various themes and concepts as discussed in previous scholarship, it should push the boundaries on how jihad has been framed as a modern day extremist ideology.

The central question of this thesis examines how Malaya/Malaysia and Singapore learned and adapted successful terrorist disengagement programs and policies; through their unique and non-military rehabilitation programs. The methodology is a comparative case study analysis of Malaysia and Singapore. In order to understand how the countries of Malaya/Malaysia and Singapore adapted a colonial-era counter-insurgency program to disengage Communist Terrorists into a program that now rehabilitates radicalized Islamist Terrorists, an analysis of the periods of the Malayan Emergency and the post-Cold War era of Malaya/Malaysia and Singapore is necessary. The argument presented in this thesis contends the colonial framework and policies of the Malayan Emergency had a positive impact on Malaysia and Singapore; which both countries have further developed and learned as a foundation for their successful terrorist disengagement programs and policies to counter radical Islamist groups and individuals. The hypothesis is that successful counter-insurgency operations must include disengagement programs, rather than purely military solutions or strategies to ensure countries success in counter-insurgency operations and strategies. The Malaysian counter-insurgency disengagement program and the Singapore counter-insurgency disengagement program can provide lessons for modern day counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism programs and policies.

This study examines the conflict between indigenous rights and the exploitation of land in Chile. The conflict is displayed through a public discourse about the recognition of the indigenous people on the one hand, and the application of the anti-terrorist law against the indigenous people on the other. The anti-terrorist law is currently applied to the indigenous group, the Mapuches, in southern Chile, which makes this issue particularly acute. The role of the international community and the international laws surrounding this issue thus play a part in the conclusions made by the author, together with minority rights and the concepts of sovereignty and terrorism. The case is further placed within the world-economy through the concepts of World System Theory by Immanuel Wallerstein.

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CHDS State/Local / The tragedy of 11 September 2001 revealed two major shortcomings: the US military and the Department of Defense's inability to respond quickly to and defend against the threat posed by foreign terrorists to the United States, and the inability of the Intelligence and Law Enforcement Communities to fuse and analyze foreign threat intelligence with domestic law enforcement information in a timely fashion to provide adequate indications and warning of such an attack. The United States Northern Command Intelligence Directorate (J2) has the primary mission in providing accurate, timely, and relevant indications and warnings of potential threats to the Commander, USNORTHCOM. The USNORTHCOM J2 must be able to use all intelligence sources, including law enforcement information, to better understand the potential threats and capabilities arrayed against it. This enables the USNORTHCOM J2 to provide the Commander, USNORTHCOM an all-source, fused analytic assessment of potential threats as the command carries out its mission to "deter, prevent, and defeat threats and aggression aimed at the United States," and thus fulfilling the command's role as the Department of Defense's primary lead command in homeland defense and homeland security. / Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) - Navy - Terrorism Analysis Branch Chief, US Northern Command (Northcom) NORAD - Intelligence Directorate

This study explores the impact of sincerity of terrorists on committing terrorist activities in Turkey. The researcher is a Chief of Police in Turkey and has worked in the Anti-terror Department for a considerable part of his professional career. His professional experience has shown that the more sincere a terrorist is the more violent or heedless the terrorist activity is. Thus this research academically and statistically examines this observation and finds that sincerity affects level of violence. Attachment and adherence to the terrorist organization turn even the characteristically non-violent people into blood seeking terrorists.

,, What is despicable on terrorists is not so much their extremism as intolerance and disregard for others. " Robert Francis Kennedy In my opinion this quote best reflects the core of terrorism, which is based on extremism and its supporters that are trying to achieve their goals by using all possible and for us often impossible instruments. The purpose of this work is to explain terrorism and terrorists in the terms of their behavior and actions and try to reveal the true motives and mindset of advocates the terrorist acts and attempt to find the exemplary and decisive punishment which could potentially have an impact on their future actions. I decided to investigate this issue after seeing several events connected with the terrorist organization, Islamic State, whose horrific crimes shocked the world such as the murder of US journalist James Foley, attacks in several locations in Paris and the proclamation of Caliphate on the territory of Syria and Iraq. In the following chapters I will endeavor to outline the terrorism in terms of its definition, typology and specific types of groups. Furthermore, I will explain ways of terrorists' thinking and contemplation and their motives for terrorist acts. Finally, I will attempt to describe the entrance to a terrorist organization and the process of...

CHDS State/Local / Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / A potentially serious gap exists in the preparedness of the public health system to respond to terrorism: risk communication. Unless this system is better structured to provide American citizens with a clear understanding of the potential risks and hazards associated with a terrorist event -- particularly a bio-terrorism event -- citizens not only run the risk of taking inappropriate protective actions, but also of experiencing increased (and potentially debilitating) levels of fear. In a survey I conducted of public health officials in an eleven state region (which includes my own state, Colorado) I found that significant opportunities for improvement exist in their emergency preparedness planning. Of particular concern, there was limited risk communication planning. Nonetheless, there was a high level of confidence in the states' perceived level of preparedness to respond and communicate risks during a potential bio-terrorism event. / Civilian, Manager - Emergency Management Program, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Do terrorist organisations have an effect on the sustainability of peace agreements? In this paper, I investigate the potential consequences of including armed non-state actors in peace agreements. Specifically, I focus on the most controversial type of actor: terrorist organisations and how they affect the sustainability of peace agreements. I utilise a unique dataset covering all intrastate peace agreements and designated terrorist organisations between 1998 – 2011, and employ a survival analysis through a cox proportional hazard model. I find strong evidence suggesting that the presence of terrorist organisations – both in conflicts and in peace agreements – have a significantly destabilising effect on the sustainability of peace agreements. I also find evidence which suggest that more complex power sharing arrangements could be a viable option to combat the destabilising effect of terrorist actors, although this effect might not be as strong in peace process agreements.

Magister Legum - LLM / This paper aimed at analysing what was South Africa's response to its international obligations regarding the 9/11 events and how does such response comply with the country's constitutional framework. This study gave a brief outline of the most significant legislative changes in a number of countries and then concentrate on the South African anti-terrorism legislation. It identified the provisions of the Act that have been discussed most controversial throughout the drafting process and analysed whether they comply with constitutional standards. Particular emphasis was laid on the possible differences between the South African Act and comparative legislation that derive directly from the apartheid history of the country. / South Africa