This study is designed both as a case study and a literature-based policy analysis to assist interested parties in gaining a better understanding of controversial “narco-terrorism” phenomenon. The objectives of this study are to show the existing connection between some terrorist organizations and drug trafficking to provide academic information about and explanations for terrorism and drug trafficking, to critically analyze the biases of many current narco-terrorism doctrines and to offer a comprehensive and neutral typology that elucidates all types of narco-terrorism. This thesis is presented in four parts. The first part includes an introduction to narco-terrorism and provides a historical background of drug dilemma and terrorism. A number of definitional and conceptual arguments constituting the backbone of the study are laid out in the second part of the study. Third part consists of case studies of three different insurgent groups. An analysis of the information uncovered and presented in previous chapters and a typology of narco-terrorism are provided in the last part. Thesis is concluded with recommendations in an attempt to inspire useful policies for individuals or institutions operating on the field.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / The unwillingness to correct deficiencies in current COIN Doctrine or to follow the correct methods within current doctrine will lead to continued instability and possible failure of counterinsurgency operations and governments in states with large Islamic populations. The conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq is insurgent in nature, therefore requires a Counterinsurgent strategy. Current US Army Doctrine focuses entirely on the Counterguerilla aspect of an insurgency, rather than viewing the insurgency in its entirety. Therefore, not only is the COIN doctrine is inadequate, it also requires an overall governing strategy which must include the engagements of both the populace, and the infrastructure of the insurgency, as well as counterforce operations against the guerillas. The entire hierarchy of COIN Doctrine is skewed in favor of the conventional units who write it. Currently all COIN operations fall under Support and Stability Operations, as do Counterguerrilla Operations in doctrinal hierarchy that is written by the US Army Infantry Branch. However, US Army Special Forces Branch writes Insurgency and Foreign Internal Defense Doctrine (COIN falls under FID for all Internal Defense and Development [IDAD] Programs). The unique qualifications of Special Forces units make them ideal for creating, developing, instituting, and commanding these operations. Special Forces soldiers are language and culturally trained to operate within these nations, and normally have habitual associations previously developed with the people and militaries of these nations. / Major, United States Army

Notre projet de recherche vise à récupérer, à travers l’utilisation du double instrument de l’herméneutique philosophiqueet de l’analyse littéraire des romans, une subjectivité informelle à l’intérieur de la pensée de Bataille.Tout d’abord, avant d’accomplir notre démonstration des aspects de l'informalité dans les romans obscènes deBataille, nous souhaitons ouvrir une brève parenthèse autour des principaux interprètes de l'Informe, pour articulernotre lecture à partir de leurs théories. Afin d'aborder ce discours, nous débuterons par l’oeuvre Documents(1929/30), publiée en 1995, par la volonté de D. Hollier, et nous essaierons de comprendre comment les deuxrévisions1 du concept d'Informe - bien qu'en contraste entre elles - ont limité les débats qui gravitent autour de cemot, incluant avec la pensée esthético-figurative toutes les pistes parcourables. Dans cette perspective, l’Informea perdu sa vocation intimement subversive pour obtenir le status de « joujou muséal » impliqué dans le milieuartistique. Après avoir esquissé l’informalité, et donné une perspective contemporaine, nous pourrons aboutir àune confrontation philosophique avec ses maîtres à penser : Nietzsche et Hegel. Ce n’est que grâce à un parallélismeet à la démonstration du dépassement des théories de ces deux auteurs par Bataille que nous pourronscomprendre comment l'auteur parvient à l’informalité qui se reflète jusque dans ses romans obscènes. Toujoursau cours de ce passage on comprendra la véritable signification de la parodie chez Bataille, ainsi que le renversementdes valeurs que l’auteur a appliqué comme lecture souveraine et déformatrice, en contraste avec les véritésdespotiques, dans tous les domaines, à partir de la philosophie jusqu’à la littérature. Ainsi les polarités quiparviennent au manichéisme, à la division du monde entre positif et négatif, seront un aspect basilaire visant à lacompréhension de l’oeuvre entière, et surtout de leur bouleversement. Ce désordre sera procuré par l’inversiondes valeurs morales divisées encore une fois par le haut et par le bas, auxquelles correspondra une valeur positiveà la polarité du haut et une valeur négative à celle du bas; leur bouleversement produira un mouvement de déformationdans la structure des romans mêmes, tout comme dans les personnages. Au cours de la dernière partiede notre étude, avant d’appliquer la théorie informelle, nous nous interrogerons brièvement sur les inversionsmajeures qui ont conduit notre auteur à prendre les distances du roman formatif (Bildungsroman) et à lui opposerun roman déformant (Verbildungsroman). Ce n’est qu’après avoir conçu l’inversion globale des valeurs que nousparviendrons au « jeu des polarités », qui nous mènera à la constitution d’un personnage informel. À partir de là,en effet, nous verrons que le personnage sera devenu une informité qui se manifeste à travers la narration, lamême subjectivité invisible et épouvantable qu’on aura rencontrée au cours du premier chapitre. Se consacrer àl'oeuvre de Bataille, signifie pour nous, non seulement comprendre comment le personnage naît à partir del’Informe, mais également comment cette informité pourrait être acquise au-delà des mores appliqués àl’intérieur de l’académie. Notre démonstration s’effectuera à travers un nouveau regard; l’Informe sera contemplécomme ce « devenir » qui ne devient pas, qui est aphone et imprononçable, mais qui a été malgré toutl’avant-garde des « devenirs deleuziens », des zones d’indistinctions, des sujets qui tentent une reconfigurationspatiale autonome, des subjectivités fluides des gender studies. C’est pour cela, à notre avis, que l’Informe mériteune plus grande réflexion au-delà de l’esthétique, afin d'orienter le terme vers un nouvel horizon dialogique,qui puisse ouvrir le concept au sens extrême de son immanence destructrice. / We can utterly assert that the aim of our analysis has lead, throughout the balancing/ a balancement of aphilosophical hermeneutic and a literature analysis, to the delineation of an informal subjectivity in GeorgesBataille’s thought. Afore the achievement of our theoretical demonstration, we will be glad to onset a briefparenthesis over the first commenters who had set a debate over the Formless, to enhance, thanks to them, ourassumption. Commencing from the work Documents (1929/30), reprinted by the will of Dennis Hollier in 1995.we will understand why its main analysis2 have secluded the debate into the esthetical- figurative corner,effectively closing the debate to other possible postulations. In this perspective, the formless has lost itssubversive tendencies to gain/obtain the pityfull status of «museal knick knack» implied into the artisticaldomain. Afterward having drafted the meaning of formeless by new, and given to it a contemporary perspective,we could start to settle a confrontantion with his philosophical roots: Nietzsche and Hegel. It is only due to theparallel with them both and to the overhaul of their theories, which we could assert that Bataille has in a wayreached the true meaning of formeless. The same formeless that is deeply rooted in his erotical novels. It is alsothrough these passages that we could understand the real meaning of parody in the bataillean sense, that is is aninversion of the moral values that the author has applied as a souverain and deforming lecture of his works. Themanicheism that the autor recour to use to divise the whole reality into two exact parts of positive andnegative,will be a peculiar aspect that leads to the comprehension of his entire work. This disorder wil beprocured, by the inversion of the moral values which are divided into an “high” and a “low”, and as consequent,the higher polarity will be related to the a positive value, and the low, to its tcontrary. Their upheaval willproduse an ethical swap of their positions, in a second stance this will lead to a real deformation of every kind ofpreassumption in his novels and of course in the characters, a rupture taken against every kind of normalizationor reduction to the norms. In the last part of our research, before going through the application the formlesstheory, we will briefly argumentate about the major inversion that had prevailed upon our author, obliging him totake the distance from the Bildungsroman and to oppose to it a Verbildungsroman. Only after conceived theglobal valorial inversion, we will arrive to this “Game of polarities”m which will lead to the constitution of ainformal character. Starting from there, effectively, we eill see that the character will become a formless thatmanifest itself thanks to the narration, the same invisible and terrifing subjectivity that we have already met inthe first part of our work. Consacrating ourselves to the Bataille’s works, will signify, not only trying tounderstand the character born under a formless will, but even also- how this formless could be gained far distantfrom the mores applayed into the university. Our demonstration, will be constructed to have a new eye: theformless will be conceived to be à “becoming” that can’t be, that is aphone and unpronounceable, but so forth, itis a right alternative to the “Deleuzian’s becoming”, to the Z.O.O and of the subjects that are trying to force areconfiguration of an autonomous space, of the fluid sexualities: and is for these reasons that we evinct that theformless needs a new recalibration, far from the aesthetical intuitions, in need to re-orienting itself to a newdialogical horizon, and to put itself to the extreme sens of a destructive immanence.

This thesis in Peace and Conflict addresses the development and impacts of the Islamic organisation Boko Haram in the context of frustration-aggression and complexity theories. It investigates the overall phenomenon of terrorism, reviews Boko Haram’s context within other terrorist organisations, and the impact that Boko Haram has had in the development of the humanitarian crisis in Nigeria. Local and regional response to threats by Boko Haram is considered, as well as Boko Haram’s recent pledge to the ISIL terrorist organisation. The Boko Haram (BH) Islamic fundamentalist emerged in Nigeria in 2002 with the idea of turning Nigeria into an Islamic country to be ruled by the Sharia law. Other reasons were hatred for the West and adverse domestic factors in the north-east where the group has been more prevalent. The domestic-based insurgent group established links with some international terrorist organizations (ITOs) such as Al-Qaeda, AQIM and Al-Shabaab and became more sophisticated in its attacks and tactics which made it to threaten the national security of Nigeria in the destruction of lives and properties. This paper seeks to argue the evolution Boko Haram arising from some domestic factors prevalent in the north-east of Nigeria; and then conclude with some measures to be in place to put an end to the criminality perpetuated by the group in the country with the ability to seriously threaten the security of the state and the society. Finally, suggestions for policy recommendations to the Nigerian government are made.

published_or_final_version / SPACE / Master / Master of Arts

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / This thesis examines U.S. riverine warfare from an unconventional perspective in three Latin American countries to include: Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru. U.S. forces in particular NSW was (and remains) instrumental in helping these countries establish riverine units and an active presence on their rivers. These three different programs all have the same mission to deny the uncontested use of the rivers and inland waterways by narco traffickers and insurgent forces for the use of illegal activities. This thesis compares and contrast the three cases and garnishes lessons learned for future endeavors of the same. / Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy

There has been a resurgence of indigenous Maoist insurgencies in the South/South East Asia region in the recent past. Left unchecked, these developments can have significant implications for the Global War on Terror. Third World countries have inherited many attributes from their colonial past which make them susceptible to insurgency. These factors, which are typical of the Third World, limit even the capacity of democratic states to mitigate divisive tendencies. This paper analyzes the susceptibility of Third World countries to insurgency and develops a theoretical perspective to illuminate some of the factors contributing to insurgency in these countries. A simple linear model for India is developed, based on the hypothesis that the degree of inaccessibility of an area, the strength of separate social identity of its population, and the amount of external unifying influence on the area determine the propensity of that area for insurgency. The model is empirically verified for the entire country by comparing data from India's 528 parliamentary constituencies. The implications of the Indian model for some competing ideas about appropriate counterinsurgency strategy for the Third World countries are discussed.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / This thesis argues that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia- Peopleâ s Army (FARC-EP), Latin Americaâ s oldest and most powerful guerrilla organization, has not abandoned its ideological beliefs and devolved into a criminal enterprise as a result of its immersion in the drug trade and participation in other illicit activities. Rather, the movement remains an ideologically committed, guerrilla insurgency whose strategic objectives include the defeat of the Colombian military, the toppling of the central government, and the establishment of a regime founded on Marxist-Leninist and â Bolivarianâ principles. While recognizing the important role that resources earned from criminal activities have played in strengthening the FARC-EPâ s challenge to the government, this thesis argues that the guerrilla organizationâ s involvement in the drug trade serves exclusively as a means to an end. However, numerous factors including recent changes in leadership, the recruitment of non-ideologically motivated and poorly educated fighters, and the increased operations tempo have led to the weakening of the ideological commitment of the base. Consequently, many of the FARC-EPâ s newer recruits are poorly educated in the political goals of the insurgency. This, combined with the weakening of the organizationâ s leadership could result in the devolution of the FARC-EP into several criminal enterprises. / Outstanding Thesis

The Kingdom of Thailand currently faces internal and transnational Islamic insurgent threats that have the potential to disrupt Southeast Asian regional stability. As a Major Non-NATO Ally and the signatory of several bilateral and multilateral security arrangements with the US, Thailand has solidified itself as a security alliance partner whose stability and influence in Southeast Asia has become increasingly more important to the US and its War on Terror. The purpose of this thesis is to provide a history and analysis of the Islamic insurgency and transnational terrorist operations that exist in Thailand today. Secondly, this thesis will highlight current Thai, US, and regional security initiatives and underscore policy deficiencies. Finally, this thesis will recommend a solution strategy necessary for the purge of radical Islamic insurgency and transnational terrorism in Thailand. By accepting current policy deficiencies and implementing the courses of action recommended in this thesis, the US and Thailand will both contribute to a greater Southeast Asian security.

Since 2001, the Kingdom of Thailand has seen a resurgence of ethno-religious (Malay-Muslim) violence that has killed approximately 800 people, causing obvious disruption within the nation and instability in the region. As one of the US' staunchest allies in Southeast Asia and with the potential for this violence to intensify further, it behooves the US government to offer solutions to help mitigate or reduce the violence in southern Thailand. This thesis examines the history of southern Thailand, analyzing the political factors behind the Malay-Muslim rebellions of the past, tracing the roots of their rebellion back to the era of Patani Raya and the "Siamization" of the south. It explores the various trends and actors and other antecedent conditions (external influences) during the recent violence. Information on the various separatist groups operating in southern Thailand is provided along with an analysis of the porous Thai-Malay border and the role of PAS in southern Thailand. Lastly, this thesis examines an NPS field experimentation program entitled "Coalition Operation Area Surveillance and Targeting System" (COASTS). COASTS provides tactical, actionable information to remote and local decision-makers by integrating commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), lighter than air vehicles (LTA), and unattended air and ground sensors, and wireless meshed networks technologies. If deployed to problematic areas, systems like COASTS can assist the Royal Thai government in reducing the violence in the south.