The United States increasingly has resorted to the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for targeted killings of terrorists as a counterterrorism strategy. More states and terrorist organizations also are acquiring UAVs and this development can lead to indiscriminate and unregulated use of UAVs. Previous researchers have indicated the surveillance ability and precise weapon delivery capacity of UAVs make them a weapon of choice for U.S. counterterrorism efforts. Although the U.S. government estimated the collateral damage involved in the use of UAVs at 3-5%, nongovernmental sources put it at 25-40%. A gap exists in the current literature regarding public perception of the use of UAVs as a counterterrorism measure and how international humanitarian law (IHL) may interpret employment of UAVs. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional study is to determine if a relationship exists among public support of the use of UAVs for targeted killing, attitudes towards counterterrorism, and public perceptions of IHL. An online survey was used to collect data from 104 adult participants using the convenience sampling method. Logistic regression, ANOVA, and correlational analyses helped to determine the relationships. The outcomes contributed to the existing literature by providing important data related to public perception of the use of UAVs with the potential to enhance global peace and security. The results contributed to social change initiatives through the potential to facilitate the establishment of international and domestic legal frameworks to regulate the future employment of UAVs for targeted killing.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Homeland Security and Defense))--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2010. / Thesis Advisor(s): Simeral, Robert L. Second Reader: Van Nuys, Thomas J. "March 2010." Description based on title screen as viewed on April 26, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Terrorism, classified evidence, disruption, intelligence and evidence, preventative detention, interagency integration, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Special Operations Command (SOCOM), National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), Military Commissions, Classified Information Protection Act (CIPA), national security, homeland security. Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-126). Also available in print.

Much of the academic discussion on the topic of radicalization and terrorism in the Balkans has been centered on the conditions and the processes by which individuals become radicalized and indoctrinated, even to a point of engaging in violence. Comparatively speaking, this ethnographic research addressed the factors that prompt Kosovo's Muslim extremists, a small number of them engaged in the conflict, to disengage from terrorist groups fighting in the Syrian and the Iraq conflict. Data were collected from 12 government officials with direct knowledge on the issue of disengagement from terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria. Cognitive dissonance theory served as the theoretical framework for this ethnographic study, while the conceptual framework was built around social, psychological, and physical factors associated with disengagement from terrorism. Interviews served as primary methods of data collection. The content analysis technique was applied to identify emergent themes. The findings highlighted the crucial role of psychological and social factors in individuals' decision to abandon terrorist organizations engaged in the Iraq and the Syrian conflict. The findings also suggested that affecting ideological values of extremists or terrorist groups may not be sufficient. Recommendations include incorporating a combination of â??softâ?? and â??hardâ?? power measures in addressing the issue of disengagement from terrorist groups. The findings generated from this study may inform the development of more efficient counter-radicalization and counterterrorism policies in Kosovo and the Balkans in general. The findings may also add value to the global literature on disengagement from terrorism.

The trend towards the automation and robotization of warfare, enabling the exercise of violence from a distance, has been long-present, dating back to such inventions as the bow and arrow that allowed an archer to kill from afar. Today’s military drones now permit an extreme separation between rivals. James Der Derian’s concept of virtuous war encapsulates a certain normative view of current and future wars. A rationale of the actors waging virtuous war is that violence is used in a cleaner way, resulting in ever fewer battle deaths. In this thesis, I argue that the next step in the progression of military weaponry is the inclusion of artificial superintelligence (hereinafter ASI) in the American drone and counterterrorism program. While including this technology into the American war machine may represent a moral objective, I conclude that the use of ASI for military purposes is immoral because accountability becomes indeterminable.

This thesis is a qualitative case study of counterterrorism in Brazil. Special focus is put on law 13.260, commonly referred to as “the anti-terror law”, enacted in 2016. Theoretically my focus is on the applicability of the common notion of counterproductivity as used in the theoretical literature on counterterrorism. Based on data from the Global Terrorism Database I have classified all the confirmed cases of terrorism in Brazil between 1970-2018. Terror attacks from people/organisations with international ties have amounted to 10, and the number of lives claimed in such attacks are 2. In general,the threat of terrorism in Brazil is less acute than in many other countries. What stands out in law 13.260 is that it does not state that actions must be politically motivated in order to be classified as terrorist acts. This is because of the fear that the law could otherwise be targeted towards social movements. Furthermore, the documentation about the law and its background shows that it was the result of pressure from abroad rather than any need perceived among the Brazilian public, politicians, or military. I conclude that Brazil´s counterterrorism legislation is not per se counterproductive, however patterns of Military Police actions used in the past can return and cause it to be so. I also conclude that the notion of counterproductivity was useful for systematising the Brazilian experience in the case study.

1 Criminal law regulation of protection against terrorism in the Czech Republic Abstract This diploma thesis deals with the criminal law regulation of protection against terrorism in the Czech Republic. Its aim is to characterize this criminal law regulation, including selected related topics. The thesis is divided into four chapters. The author first introduces the reader to the issue of terrorism through a short historical excursion, then focuses on various definitions of the term terrorism and describes its characteristic features, principles, types, forms and presents it in the context of organized crime and extremism. The second chapter deals with instruments of protection against terrorism. An essential term in this context is anti-terrorism or counter-terrorism, which is a set of measures and activities aimed at preventing, suppressing and eliminating the consequences of terrorist acts and implemented through so-called "anti-terrorism policy". First of all, in this chapter, the analysis of individual terrorist threats and their relevance for the Czech Republic positively answers the question of the need for instruments of protection against terrorism, accented also by a sub-chapter dealing with phenomenon of lone wolfs and foreign terrorist fighters. Finally, two basic concepts of anti-terrorism...

The dissertation aims to examine the intelligence coordination mechanisms in the US and UK with a view to comparing them and identifying similarities and differences between them. To achieve this aim, the study provides a conceptual framework of intelligence as a system and explains the rationale for coordination between the respective intelligence services. The study analyses the coordination mechanisms which existed in the US and UK prior to the 11 September 2001 attacks and the Second Gulf War. The study examines the findings and recommendations of inquiries in both the UK and US that followed these events. This is followed by an analysis of the measures that were introduced after these events in order to strengthen and improve intelligence coordinating mechanisms in the US and UK. The study highlights the need for centralised intelligence coordination systems, and illustrates that coordination is required to ensure that intelligence services function as a unified intelligence community. The study concludes that the nature of twenty-first century threats demands that intelligence communities improve coordination, which entails a shift from decentralised services toward a centralised, unified intelligence community. Copyright / Dissertation (MSS)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Political Sciences / unrestricted

Diploma thesis "U.S. Homeland Security: Reality or Myth? Domestic Counterterrorism post-9/11" examines the change in U.S. domestic counterterrorism policy after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. More specifically, it focuses on the U.S. government's reorganization, which led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. As outlined in this thesis, the homeland security agenda was aimed at unifying the U.S. efforts to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reducing America's vulnerability to terrorism, and minimizing the damage and recovering from attacks that do occur. This thesis sets out to answer two interconnected questions: (1) whether the proposed homeland security agenda led to an efficient and unified system of U.S. domestic counterterrorism measures based on enhanced information sharing; and (2) why, in spite of the unique opportunity created by the 9/11 attacks, a comprehensive reorganization of the U.S. government to create a coherent homeland security agenda did not materialize. Throughout this thesis, it is argued that an efficient U.S. government reorganization was obstructed by three main factors. First, the change was obstructed by the organizational nature of the government agencies. Second, the reorganization was hindered by the "rational choices" of the U.S....

Данная работа посвящена теме: «Изучение терроризма как социально-сконструированного явления», ее актуальность заключается в применении теории социального конструктивизма как основного методологического подхода к проблеме изучения взаимосвязи между образным восприятием терроризма, идентичностью респондентов и стратегиями антитеррористической борьбы. В теоретической части представлен обзор основ теории социального конструктивизма и особенности современного терроризма как социального конструкта. В эмпирической части использован следующий психодиагностический инструментарий: опросник актуальности и опасности основных глобальных угроз, основанный на исследовании «Глобальные угрозы: Чего боится мир?» Гардиан, тест Куна-Макпартленда «20 определений» и тест на стратегии конфликтного поведения Томаса- Килмана. Методы математической обработки применены корректно. Получены следующие выводы: 1) Образное восприятие террориста можно разделить на два кластера — негативный контекст-зависимый, куда входит образ маньяка- убийцы и солдата поневоле; и позитивный контекст-независимый, включающий образ прагматика-специалиста и романтика-идеолога. 2) Преобладание негативного контекст-зависимого кластера связано с дезинтегрированной картиной самоопределения, где социальное и универсальное Я (как часть общества и человечества) противопоставляется Террористу-нечеловеку. 3) Склонность к более позитивному восприятию терроризма связано с возможностью компромисса как антитеррорисической стратегии борьбы, в то время как контекст-зависимость восприятия коррелирует со стратегией соперничества. 4) Установлены существенные различия между восприятием терроризма студентами, получающими теоретическую подготовку в области международной безопасности и студентами практико-ориентированных направлений подготовки. Студенты-международники склонны к более позитивному и гибкому кластеру образов и компромиссу, в то время как у студентов Военного центра преобладает иррациональный негативный контекст- зависимый образ терроризма и соперничество как основная антитеррористическая стратегия. / The work theme is «Evaluation of Terrorism as Socially Constructed Phenomenon», its scientific value is underlined by applying the theory on Social Constructivism as the main methodological framework in order to reveal the correlation between perception of terrorist patterns, respondent personal identity and counterterrorism conflict strategies. The methodological part represents an overview of the Social Constructivism theoretical background and focuses on particular details of modern terrorism as a social construct. In the empirical part there were used following psychodiagnostic tools: questionary on importance and personal risk of the international threats based on the Guardian survey «Global Threat: What's the World scared of?»; Kuhn and MacPartland's Twenty Statements Test; and Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument. The mathematical analysis procedure was used adequately. The following results were obtained: 1)The perception of the terrorist patterns can be divided into two clusters, first – a negative contextdependent images encompassing maniac-killer and necessarily solder, and second – a positive context-independent images consisting of pragmatic-specialist and romantic-ideologist figures. 2)The domination of the negative context-dependent cluster is connected with disintegration of the self-determination patterns where social and universal identities (I as a part of community and I as a part of mankind) are build in opposition to a nonhuman-terrorist image. 3)The inclination for more positive interpretation of the terrorism patterns is related to a compromise as a possible counterterrorism strategy, meanwhile the context-dependent perception is attributed to a competition conflict behavior. 4)The significant discrepancy was identified between the terrorist patterns perceived by students with theoretical international security background and by practice-oriented students. Students of International Relations tend to evaluate the terrorist image in more flexible and positive way favoring the compromise rather than students of the Military Center who is pron to the irrational negative context-dependent images and prefer the competition as the main conflict strategy for counterterrorism struggle.

The diffusion of episodes of terrorism and political violence around the world has heightened the need for states to design effective counterterrorist measures. Orthodox studies on terrorism hold that the frequency and intensity of terrorist attacks determine the levels of assertiveness maintained by counterterrorist measures. This research builds on this assumption by developing the link between terrorism and counterterrorism policy through two unit-level variables. Besides the frequency and intensity of terrorist attacks, this study examines the political orientation of states’ elites, and states’ integration in multilateral security frameworks. The research tests for these factors by studying counterterrorist authoritarian regimes, and questions the notion that their political orientation makes state terrorism a measure of choice. In empirical terms, this study investigates the making of China’s counterterrorism policy in Xinjiang from 1996 to 2017. The period is analysed by comparing three within-cases, bookended by pre identified critical junctures. China’s counterterrorist measures in Xinjiang have experienced a revival since President Xi came into power in 2013, and the country has been quick to adopt a counterterrorism policy that has come to resemble state terrorism. Yet, no substantial variation in the opposition to the country’s elite nor exceptionally violent terrorist attacks have been recorded in the region. This study relies upon qualitative data, such as political discourse and documents, news media and scholarly writings, and aggregated data is examined to complement the qualitative sources. Methodologically, this thesis supplements process tracing with qualitative content analysis. The evidence provides support for a theory of ‘multi-causal counterterrorism’, according to which counterterrorism policy depends on the combination of systemic and domestic factors. Other than the incidence of terrorist attacks, states choose their counterterrorism policy in the context of ever-changing power relationships at the international and domestic levels. It is concluded that these power relationships impose constraints on states’ decision-making abilities.