The master's theses, which examines the phenomenon of state-sponsored terrorism giving the example of Islamic Republic of Iran, consists of two sections, general and specific. In the first part main theoretical concepts and definitions are be introduced. The author gives priority to differentiation between the terms of terrorism, state-sponsored terrorism and marginally also to the problematic definition of state terrorism. Detailed description of the concept of state-sponsored terrorism follow. Last but not least the author provides an insight into the history of the occurrence of this form of terrorism. The merit of the work, however, remains in particular case study of the state- sponsored terrorism, the Islamic Republic of Iran. To understand the context and causes of supporting terrorism, it is necessary to become familiar with the history of Iran (especially since 1979), its political system and the current situation in the country. This thesis will examine the reasons that led Iran to support terrorism on domestic and foreign soil, and specifically focusing on the terrorist organization Hezbollah, which Iran founded and have significantly sponsored for a long time. The intention of the thesis is to identify the main causes of Iranian support for terrorism, to determine how the relationship...

Since the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) declared its caliphate in June 2014, there has been an unprecedented amount of terrorist attacks conducted in the West by individuals either inspired by jihadist ideology or linked to ISIS. As evidenced by the number of ISIS-related attacks throughout Europe and North America, the West faces an ongoing and persistent transnational threat from Islamic terrorism. There is an extensive amount of literature on terrorism and ISIS. However, there is a gap in literature on the potential impact of ISIS on the future of Islamic terrorism. This qualitative case study explored how ISIS potentially shaped the future of Islamic transnational terrorism. Stepanova'€™s asymmetric conflict theory served as the framework for this study. Interviews and one open-ended questionnaire on Islamic transnational terrorism were collected from 15 individuals within the defense enterprise, academia, and individuals working in private defense organizations, using purposive sampling. Analysis occurred by using Braum and Clarke'€™s six phases of coding. The results of this study indicated ISIS has shaped the future of transnational terrorism by demonstrating likeminded extremists no longer have to travel to conflict zones in order to plan or receive guidance on attack targets while using simple attack methods and weapons. Additionally, ISIS empowered and encouraged its members to interact with potential recruits or supporters through social media and open forums, which may possibly be emulated in the future by likeminded groups. The results contribute to positive social change by providing decision makers information on the future of Islamic transnational terrorism, thus allowing for appropriate countermeasures that mitigate terror activities.

On September 11, 2001 United States faced the most massive terrorist attack in the history, one that killed nearly 3000 people. A tragedy followed by enormous consequences considering the collapse of the World Trade Center, as two hijacked planes crashed into the twin towers in New York City, one plane crashed into Pentagon and another domestic scheduled passenger flight, that crashed into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. This qualitative case study will examine whether the attacks on 9/11 was a backlash to U.S. political dominance globally. This study will also examine to what extent the policy making executed by the Bush administration post 9/11, was a demonstration of hegemony and political dominance based on offensive realism. The conclusion of this study was that to a large extent, the attacks on 9/11 was a backlash to U.S. political dominance and to a large extent the Bush administration's response to 9/11 can be defined as hegemony based on offensive realism.

Den internationella brottmålsdomstolen (ICC) etablerades via Romstadgan för Internationella brottmålsdomstolen 2002. Domstolens uppgift är att döma individer som brutit mot de brott som finns i Romstadgan. Efter attackerna i USA 2001 förändrades synen på den transnationella terrorismen markant. Allt sedan dess har samarbetet ökat mellan staterna för att förebygga, förhindra och bekämpa terrorism, men trots det saknas en internationell domstol som har rätt att döma terroristbrott. Syftet med uppsatsen har varit att uppmärksamma problemen att definiera begreppet terrorism samt att utreda möjligheten för ICC att få jurisdiktion vid terroristbrott. Genom den rättsdogmatiska metoden har material studerats av internationell och nationell karaktär. Uppsatsen har visat att det finns två möjligheter för ICC att få jurisdiktion. Det ena är genom ett artikeltillägg i Romstadgan och det andra är att utvidga domstolens tolkning av vissa befintliga artiklar. Det finns problem med båda tillvägagångssätten, inte bara juridiska utan även politiska.

The 2015 European Immigration Crisis brought an unprecedented number of immigrants to parts of Western Europe as millions of people fled war-torn and politically unstable countries. Similar to the increase in immigrants, Western European countries have also been combatting the rise of terror attacks throughout Europe. The increase in immigration coupled with an increase in terror attacks has caused anti-refugee sentiments among some Europeans and demands for stricter immigration policies. This paper examines how terrorism has impacted refugee and immigrant populations throughout Western Europe with a focus on Germany, France, and Belgium following the 2015 European Immigration Crisis. In order to determine the effects, the analysis focuses on recent terror attacks in the three nations. The claim that refugees are responsible for the increase in terror attacks is examined along with the impact of foreign terrorist fighters in each nation. Following this, the responses from right-wing groups are discussed. This includes the rise of right-wing political leaders, the organization of right-wing movements, and right-wing terror attacks. The resulting policy implications regarding both terrorism policies and immigration policies are also discussed. From these three areas of impact, the overall effects of the European Immigration Crisis are better understood.

The purpose of this thesis is to determine how different variables can affect a terrorist group's reaction to a targeted leadership strike, known as a decapitation strike. Decapitation strikes often produce unwanted results, such as a splintering of the terrorist group, or a failure to destroy the group. It is important that we understand which variables can lead to a group's destruction after a decapitation strike, to maximize the decapitation's effectiveness. In my research I have determined that group size, group ideological extremism, and the role of the leader targeted all have a substantial impact on the success of the decapitation strike. Using these three variables, I will examine three groups which have varying size, extremism, and leadership, and determine whether the decapitation strikes were successful and how these variables affected the results.

This research analyzes political leaders' response to the ideological challenge presented by ISIS and Al Qaeda. It focuses on the counterterrorism speeches given by political leaders in a number of Middle Eastern countries and the United States. The analysis of the speeches is along two dimensions: the nature of their domestic and international audiences, and the motivations behind the speeches. A sample of several dozens of speeches is analyzed. The empirical study had proved that leaders mostly exhibit differences depending on their audiences to reach a certain political goal. While leaders tend to call for unification among countries in their international speeches, they promote and advocate for their political interests domestically.

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