Terrorism is academically understood as the quest of non-state actors to cause fear beyond the immediate victims of their action to reach political goals. Means that have an immense psychological impact are therefore expected to be sought after to a high extent by these actors. This paper seeks therefore to explain the surprisingly low frequency of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) attacks by non-state actors and why the attempts which have been made rarely accomplish to cause mass casualties, also called super terrorism. Through multiple logistic regression analysis of data from the Profiles of Incidents Involving CBRN and Non-state Actors (POICN) database, this study found that lack of actor experience from prior CBRN attempts is correlated to failed CBRN events. The paper also found that events before the year 2001 did fail to a higher extent than after 2001. However, the paper did not find support for hypotheses provided by the literature regarding how sophisticated the plot was or that the perpetrator motive affected the outcome of CBRN events. The study did neither find support for alternative explanations regarding that regime type or state wealth correlated with the outcome of CBRN events. Further research should therefore involve grounded theoretical work in both conventional as CBRN terrorism studies as theoretical frameworks lack in the field which has negative complications for this type of positivistic hypothesis-testing studies. Without studies that test theoretical claims, CBRN terrorism studies are at risk of being contaminated with cognitive biases regarding the severity and frequency of the threat.

As the effects of climate change grow more severe, scholars and policymakers have paid increased attention to the intersection of climate and conflict. This study examines one subset of that crossing: how drought leads to the exacerbation of state-based violence. While researchers generally agree that droughts increase conflict risks, the underlying link that connects them remains a key uncertainty. This study puts forth a newly assembled causal mechanism of staple insecurities, forced displacement and recruitment opportunities. It argues that as water and food become scarce due to drought, individuals are forcibly displaced in search of basic necessities. Subsequent vulnerabilities and lack of economic alternatives give warring parties an opportunity to recruit members, ultimately leading to an escalation of the conflict. Using a structured focused comparison method with elements of process tracing, this study analyzes four cases (time periods of drought and non-drought) which are drawn from the southern area of Somalia. The findings are aligned with the hypothesized relationship, thus contributing to the academic literature by providing evidence of a causal mechanism through which drought – and therefore climate change – can exacerbate state-based violence.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in African Languages. Wits University, Johannesburg, 2015 / This report interrogates the representation of blackness in post-1994 black-centred films in South Africa. With a particular focus on Khalo Matabane’s films, I analyse Conversations on a Sunday Afternoon (2005), When We Were Black (2007) and State of Violence (2011) across a spectrum of themes. I also interrogate and introduce several critical concepts such as ‘blackness’, ‘the image of blackness’, ‘black identity’, ‘masculinity’, ‘femininity’, ‘the Gaze’ and ‘Otherness’. These concepts are interlinked in ways that bring about an understanding of the concept of black-centred films, which is central to the research report. Amidst the different interpretations of black-centred films, the vantage point from which the concept is used is interested in black-centred films as films that are made by a black filmmaker, whose content addresses issues of blackness and is targeted at a black audience. However, these three factors need not always resonate in a single film in order for it to be considered and analysed as a black-centred film. The lens through which Matabane holds the camera questions his representation of the black image and whether it is from an insider or outsider’s perspective. The view from which Matabane holds the camera is important in establishing whether he has purported to represent historically stereotypical images of blackness, or whether his endeavours in filmmaking are occupied by the relentless pursuit to present new images of blackness.

O objetivo desta tese é analisar Operación masacre de Rodolfo Walsh à luz da reflexão sobre as relações entre literatura e testemunho. O trabalho tem como hipótese que Operación masacre pode ser lida como um romance de testemunho não só porque em suas páginas denuncia a prática da violência de Estado mas, sobretudo, porque essa violência gera o imperativo ético de escrever e a procura de uma forma narrativa. / The purpose of this thesis is to analise Operación masacre written by Rodolfo Walsh under the lights of reflection about the relations between literature and testimony. The work has as hypothesis that Operación masacre can be read as a testimony novel not only because in its pages denounces the State´s violence, but above all, because this violence generates the ethical imperative of writing and the search for a narrative form.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T19:34:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcia de Oliveira Jesus.pdf: 824448 bytes, checksum: 5429e0c5dac10e10ced904c6c47881c4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-11-25 / The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze how does language, in its different manifestations, constitute one of the utmost expressive ways of violence in the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, being such newspaper considered one of the most prestigious and trustful mass communication in Brazil. Specifically, our survey aims demonstrating how the expressions of violence against women are constructed in José Simão s chronicles. Marked, mostly, by a grotesque and inelegant humor, Simão s texts embrace issues that cover from economics and politics to sports and entertainment. Through an apparent adrift chat, the amusement postulated by José Simão s chronicles seem to nullify the violence that when considered something non serious allows that, through it, one does and says things that outside that context, social rules would not allow. In this survey one noticed that the violence forms against women in José Simão s chronicles have been rooted for long time in the core of our sexist and patriarchal society, becoming visible, yet also invisible, because hidden under the form of laws, racism, intolerance, habits and traditions. Whilst reproducing old generalizing and prejudiced stereotypes that deal with the female universe, the author contributes - very much - to violence dissemination and perpetuation that abases women on daily basis. We prove that the woman s image is violently antagonized, turning motif of depreciation and mockery. For the exam of our corpus, we consider as analysis categories, the violence consummated against women, either because of her physical form or because of cultural and social aspects, or her moral quality. The corpus was divided in accordance with those three categories. In linguistic terms, violence against women can be felt by the poly-semantic exploration expressed in the chronicles, not only using metaphors and ironies, but also using depreciatory terms, ambiguities, malicious change of first names and neologisms / O objetivo desta dissertação é analisar de que modo a linguagem, nas suas várias manifestações, constitui uma das formas mais expressivas da representação da violência no jornal Folha de S. Paulo, uma vez que esse periódico é considerado um dos veículos de informação de maior prestígio e credibilidade do Brasil. Especificamente, nossa pesquisa se dispõe a demonstrar como são construídas, nas crônicas de José Simão, as expressões de violência contra a mulher. Marcados, principalmente, pelo humor grotesco e deselegante, os textos de Simão abrangem assuntos que vão desde a economia e a política até esportes e entretenimento. Por meio de uma aparente conversa sem rumo, o divertimento postulado pelas crônicas de José Simão parece anular a violência pois, sendo considerado algo não-sério , permite que, por meio dele, se faça e diga coisas que fora dele as normas sociais não permitiriam. Nesse estudo verificou-se que as formas de violência contra as mulheres nas crônicas de José Simão estão arraigadas há muito tempo no seio de nossa sociedade, machista e patriarcal, fazendo-se visíveis, mas também invisíveis, porque escondidas sob formas de leis, racismos, intolerâncias, costumes e tradições. Ao reproduzir velhos estereótipos generalizantes e preconceituosos que dizem respeito ao universo feminino, o autor contribui - e muito para a disseminação e perpetuação da violência que avilta diariamente as mulheres. Comprovamos que a imagem da mulher é violentamente hostilizada, tornando-se motivo de depreciação e zombaria. Para o exame do nosso corpus, consideramos como categorias de análise a violência consumada contra a mulher, seja pela sua forma física, seja por aspectos culturais e sociais, seja por sua qualidade moral. O corpus foi dividido segundo estas três categorias. Em termos lingüísticos, a violência contra as mulheres se fez sentir pela exploração polissêmica ocorrida nas crônicas, não só pela utilização das metáforas e das ironias, mas também pelo uso de termos pejorativos, de trocadilhos, da alteração maliciosa de nomes próprios e de neologismos

O objetivo desta tese é analisar Operación masacre de Rodolfo Walsh à luz da reflexão sobre as relações entre literatura e testemunho. O trabalho tem como hipótese que Operación masacre pode ser lida como um romance de testemunho não só porque em suas páginas denuncia a prática da violência de Estado mas, sobretudo, porque essa violência gera o imperativo ético de escrever e a procura de uma forma narrativa. / The purpose of this thesis is to analise Operación masacre written by Rodolfo Walsh under the lights of reflection about the relations between literature and testimony. The work has as hypothesis that Operación masacre can be read as a testimony novel not only because in its pages denounces the State´s violence, but above all, because this violence generates the ethical imperative of writing and the search for a narrative form.