This thesis examines Hezbollah’s transition from their violent forms of political expression after their founding in 1984, to their involvement in the Lebanese electoral system in 1992. Drawing on the instrumental and organizational approaches for studying group behavior, this thesis examines the external instrumental factors and internal organizational factors that contributed to the political evolution of Hezbollah from an organization focused primarily on violent forms of political expression to an organization that primarily uses the parliamentary process. Examining Hezbollah’s transition and using it as a point of reference, the thesis exposes weaknesses of conventional International Relations analytical approaches to studying terrorist organizations and provides a more objective approach to studying political violence. It argues that the pejorative nature of the term terrorism, combined with problems developing a consensus on defining terrorism, limit the term’s usefulness for academics attempting to objectively examine political violence.

This study attempts to explore the perceptions of victims of terrorism, and staff of NGOs with relevant experience of terrorism, based on the premise that social problems have contributed to the growth of terrorism in Nigeria; which in turn has created more social problems. This study posits that International social work can be used to manage and proffer solutions to these social problems in Nigeria.  International social work refers to social work practice that applies international knowledge and practice and is not limited to one country. This study used qualitative methods - seven semi-structured interviews to collect data. The General systems theory served as the theoretical base for the analysis of the data. The findings indicated that social problems could be attributed to the rise in terrorism, and that there was an urgent need for International social workers and their competencies in combating the causes of terrorism and its disastrous effects.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. / With the events of September 11, 2001, terrorist organizations have moved to the forefront of threats to U.S. national security. These organizations utilize unconventional forms of warfare and new organizational structures to survive. However, they must still perform all the functions of traditional organizations: fundraising, internal and external communications, command and coordination, creation of a product, etc. Using an expert system to evaluate the structure of a terrorist organization could increase the amount of knowledge and understanding of it and provide critical insights into the organization's strengths and vulnerabilities. This research will focus on the utility of the expert system Organizational Consultant to evaluate the Hamas terrorist organization as a case study to determine its utility in discerning the organization's structure and suitability to its environment. In order to combat terrorism effectively, the U.S. must gather as much knowledge about various terrorist organizations as possible. Using fit criteria and certainty factors to analyze an organization by means of the expert system Organizational Consultant, the Department of Defense could potentially gain a powerful understanding of the organization's strengths and weaknesses and utilize that knowledge to bring about the terrorist organization's demise efficiently and effectively. / Lieutenant Junior Grade, United States Naval Reserve

CHDS State/Local / Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / State governments have been recognized as the fusion point for a significant portion of policy, operational, and implementation activities for homeland security. Additionally, the most critical decisions for allocating resources and prioritizing efforts have been delegated to states. The federal government has required this role of states and has asked them to organize task forces to deal with these challenges but has provided little guidance about how states might establish, administer, and ensure effectiveness of these structures. States have begun to establish decision-making bodies independently, inconsistently, and with few measurements to evaluate effectiveness. This thesis provides a roadmap to success for individual state organizational approaches for Homeland Security. The recommendations are based upon an analysis of directives, expectations, national strategies, existing approaches and a case study of one state's efforts. The call for organizing for the war on terror is acknowledged, accepted, and for the most part, vigorously answered. But how the nation's states organize and to what ends their resources are applied will determine national and even international victory in this war. This project provides a model charter, recommended outcomes and outputs for a state structure, and several policy considerations for the State of Washington's Homeland Security infrastructure. / Director, Washington State Emergency Management Division, Washington Military

This thesis argues that U.S. and Russian influence in the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, aids in regional stability. By embracing the assistance of both the United States and Russia, the Central Asian states will be better able to deal effectively with regional flashpoints such as border disputes and water management issues. The economic and counterterrorism assistance at its current level is aiding in the combating of Islamic fundamentalism in the region. The economic impact the United States and Russia have on Central Asia is significant in terms of trade and financial assistance. The United States and Russia have ongoing business enterprises and governmental interactions with the countries of Central Asia, indicative of a future interest in investment in the region. As a region, Central Asia needs not just to maintain but also to increase its cooperation with both the United States and Russia if it is to help its struggling economies and establish regional stability.

This thesis examines a largely unexplored area of deterrence theory: unconventional deterrence. Unconventional deterrence is defined herein as "persuading the opponent not to attack, via threats of unconventional warfare, such as guerrilla resistance and terrorism." It treats terrorism as a punishment strategy, through which the one deterring threatens to punish the aggressor's population. Guerrilla warfare is a denial strategy, through which the one deterring threatens to protract a war and deny the aggressor his political objectives. This study questions the underlying hypothesis of deterrence theory which says that the balance of the opponents' military capabilities is the basic determinant of successful deterrence. Rather, the hypothesis here is that the deterrer may deter the aggressor from attacking by adopting a strategy that makes the aggressor's military superiority irrelevant. The present thesis focuses primarily on relatively weak states. Unconventional deterrence is explored as a means for a weaker state to deter a considerably stronger opponent. This thesis discusses the requirements for successful deterrence, and the peculiarities of unconventional deterrence. As well, the dynamics of small wars are explored in order to unfold a paradoxical phenomenon: the possibility of an underdog's victory in war. Two case studies: (1) the Vietnam War of 1964-73 and (2) the Afghanistan War of 1979-89 are explored as examples of the weak denying the strong their objectives.

The asymmetrical threats that challenge U.S. national policies are not large standing armies, but rather individuals who seek to usurp and coerce U.S. national interests. The nature of today's threats call for the U.S. military to change from finding, fixing, and destroying the enemy's forces to identifying, locating and capturing rogue individuals in order to destroy networks. To counter such threats, the USG will have to quickly and efficiently identify and find these targets globally. Unfortunately, no military doctrine, framework or process currently exists for finding and apprehending these Persons of National Interest (PONIs). Since military planners and intelligence analysts are neither educated nor trained in the methods or procedures necessary to find and capture PONIs, this thesis will propose a methodology to do so. This involves the development of an analytical process, and an organizational structure and procedure to identify and locate PONIs. Consequently, the United States government's ability to prosecute the war on terrorism today, and to find and apprehend PONIs in the future, depends on its ability to develop and institutionalize a comprehensive manhunting strategy now. / US Air Force (USAF) author.

From the early 1990s, and especially since September 11, 2001, numerous scholars, politicians and political analysts alike have characterized terrorism as global, religious, irrational and rising. The theory of the emergence of this "new terrorism" is well established and can be considered as conventional wisdom. The main characteristics of the "old terrorism", its political, local and rational character, are obsolete in accordance with this line of thinking. In particular, Al Qaeda is thought to be an enemy worth changing the National Security Strategy of the United States and even suspending some civil not to mention human rights. However, the decline or disappearance of many prominent terrorist figures or entire groups have been ironically overlooked, or selectively ignored as irrelevant to the "new" terrorism. This thesis challenges the aforementioned common knowledge and suggests that the "new terrorism" has very few if any differences from the "old" one. It remains a purely political, mainly local and definitely rational activity in a steady or declining stage.

What we once thought of as purely civilian considerations are today increasingly significant matters to international peace and security. Conflicts within states and urban encounters make civilian considerations particularly troublesome for military forces sent to stabilize that country. Along with these changes in the patterns of war, the techniques that are used in operations have also changed. Stability operations are an application of military power to influence the political and civilian environment. Often these take the specific form of peacekeeping or peace support operations. Peace Support Operations (PSO) are military operations to support, provide and sustain a long-term political settlement. PSO and conventional war have different characteristics. It is possible to generalize the main purpose of conventional war as "defeat the enemy," whereas peacekeeping attempts to "win the peace." At tactical level, some of the goals of peacekeeping missions are to help and protect civilians, to avoid violence and escalation, and to ensure the safety of the public with civilians in a stability operation than in combat. Secondly, stability operations are executed in a more diverse range of environments than those of conventional war. Furthermore, depending upon the mandate, soldiers must use different sets of engagement rules when interacting with civilians.

CHDS State/Local / A threat assessment model to identify domestic radical groups on a trajectory towards terrorist violence remains an elusive goal. The lack of a model constrains proactive counter-terrorism efforts resulting in largely reactive strategies that often are ineffectual in discovering and disrupting terrorist plots while in an inchoate stage. The Path to Terrorist Violence Model, based on a threat assessment model used in the emerging field of threat management for the judiciary and elected officials, is a valid and reliable assessment methodology to identify radical groups at risk of escalation to acts of terrorism. By focusing on attack-related behaviors that a group must take to mount a planned attack, the Path to Terrorist Violence avoids contentious issues related to psychosocial, religious, race or ethnicity-based profiling assumptions. / Captain, Douglas County Sheriff's Department