To many individuals, particularly to Muslims, ISIL’s social network as well as its undying, though misleading, devotion to Islam is attractive. However, with the general human tendency to avoid killing and committing acts generally deemed as heinous, this brings into question the mechanisms that are behind the choice to join ISIL, and how these recruits are able to view membership to such a group as appealing. Janoff-Bulman, Sheikh, and Hepp (2009) identified and distinguished between two constructs of morality: the approach, activation-based prescriptive morality and inhibitory, condemnatory proscriptive morality. This study evaluates the role of these two moral regulators and how they motivate people to join an organization known for its medieval, murderous tactics, hypothesizing that there is support for both prescriptive and proscriptive morality, with prescriptive motivation being the dominant morality when faced with joining ISIL. To prove this, articles with empirical evidence for both religious and social identification as variables that cause people to behave more prescriptively or prescriptively are assessed. Though most of the studies examined provide behavioral support for prescriptive morality as the stronger motive when joining ISIL, there are limitations to what we can infer from this literature review alone. Theoretical implications in both psychology and counterterrorism strategy are discussed, as well as possible ways to further study this theory empirically.

Experimental design has applications in many fields, from medicine to manufacturing. Incorporating statistics into both the planning and analysis stages of the experiment will ensure that appropriate data are collected to allow for meaningful analysis and interpretation of the results. If the number of factors of interest is very large, or if the experimental runs are very expensive, then a supersaturated design (SSD) can be used for factor screening. These designs have n runs and k > n - 1 factors, so there are not enough degrees of freedom to allow estimation of all of the main effects. This paper will first review some of the current techniques for the construction and analysis of SSDs, as well as the analysis challenges inherent to SSDs. Analysis techniques of Sure Independence Screening (SIS) and Iterative Sure Independence Screening (ISIS) are discussed, and their applications for SSDs are explored using simulation, in combination with the Smoothly Clipped Absolute Deviation (SCAD) approach for down-selecting and estimating the effects.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

This paper explains how the Islamic State grew rapidly, answering a question of "what is" the Islamic State? A review of existing literature on simulation modeling of insurgencies identifies several gaps, as existing theories of non-state actors and insurgencies are inadequate to explain ISIS's performance. Additionally, there are few mathematical simulation models of insurgent behavior that can reproduce ISIS results. Finally, what models exist are not detailed enough either to conduct detailed experiments testing proposed explanations of ISIS, or evaluate policy responses aimed at containing or mitigating ISIS. The paper offers several contributions. First it proposes a dynamic hypothesis that the Islamic State (ISIS) is an emerging-state actor, a new form of actor that differs from traditional non- state actors and insurgencies. Propositions are constructed and presented as an overall theory of emerging-state actor behavior. These propositions are then simulated as experiments within a detailed model parameterized with conditions very similar to what ISIS faced in Iraq and Syria 2013. The model is then run from 2013-2020, and experiment results confirm evidence of emerging- state actor behavior and allow refinement of model boundary assumptions. Second, an initial set of intervention policies are tested in a variety of conditions: best case, operationally constrained, isolated, combined, and at different timing intervals. Analysis of the results yields key dynamic insights. These insights aid policy makers in understanding the challenges posed by emerging state actors. Finally, the detailed simulation model used to test the propositions and policy analysis, including a novel approach to combat simulation with endogenous geospatial feedback, is provided in full detail in two Appendices. Appendix A provides a sector-by-sector view of model structure and equations. Appendix B provides more discussion, analysis and sources used to develop model structure, establish parameter values and determine equations for the simulation. Due to length and other considerations, Appendix B is available only upon request. The detailed simulation model can be used to refine non-state actor theories (configured for insurgencies, emerging-state actors, or other scenarios). The model can be loaded with other scenarios to simulate other actors in other geospatial terrain: ISIS in Libya, Boko Haram in Nigeria, the returning Taliban in Afghanistan, etc. Keywords: ISIS, ISIL, DAESH, insurgency, conflict, security, stability, non-state actor, emerging- state actor, combat simulator, geospatial, national security.

This paper explains how the Islamic State grew rapidly, answering a question of "what is" the Islamic State? A review of existing literature on simulation modeling of insurgencies identifies several gaps, as existing theories of non-state actors and insurgencies are inadequate to explain ISIS's performance. Additionally, there are few mathematical simulation models of insurgent behavior that can reproduce ISIS results. Finally, what models exist are not detailed enough either to conduct detailed experiments testing proposed explanations of ISIS, or evaluate policy responses aimed at containing or mitigating ISIS. The paper offers several contributions. First it proposes a dynamic hypothesis that the Islamic State (ISIS) is an emerging-state actor, a new form of actor that differs from traditional non- state actors and insurgencies. Propositions are constructed and presented as an overall theory of emerging-state actor behavior. These propositions are then simulated as experiments within a detailed model parameterized with conditions very similar to what ISIS faced in Iraq and Syria 2013. The model is then run from 2013-2020, and experiment results confirm evidence of emerging- state actor behavior and allow refinement of model boundary assumptions. Second, an initial set of intervention policies are tested in a variety of conditions: best case, operationally constrained, isolated, combined, and at different timing intervals. Analysis of the results yields key dynamic insights. These insights aid policy makers in understanding the challenges posed by emerging state actors. Finally, the detailed simulation model used to test the propositions and policy analysis, including a novel approach to combat simulation with endogenous geospatial feedback, is provided in full detail in two Appendices. Appendix A provides a sector-by-sector view of model structure and equations. Appendix B provides more discussion, analysis and sources used to develop model structure, establish parameter values and determine equations for the simulation. Due to length and other considerations, Appendix B is available only upon request. The detailed simulation model can be used to refine non-state actor theories (configured for insurgencies, emerging-state actors, or other scenarios). The model can be loaded with other scenarios to simulate other actors in other geospatial terrain: ISIS in Libya, Boko Haram in Nigeria, the returning Taliban in Afghanistan, etc. Keywords: ISIS, ISIL, DAESH, insurgency, conflict, security, stability, non-state actor, emerging- state actor, combat simulator, geospatial, national security.

No description available.

Magister Legum - LLM / As the world evolves new perils emerge which pose a significant threat to human and child rights, it is imperative that the protection of these rights is prioritised. Human rights can be defined as the rights that every human being is entitled to. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was one of the first international legal instruments which set forth the basic human rights of citizens which are applicable irrespective of race, culture, sex or economic standing highlighting the universal applicability of human rights. Human rights violations have been prevalent on the African continent due to regimes such as apartheid and the innumerable armed conflicts which have played out in states such as Sierra Leone, Angola, South Sudan and Uganda. Over the past century a variety of insurgent groups have emerged, and their actions has resulted in catastrophic human rights violations across continent. Insurgent groups such as the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, Al-Shabab in Somalia, M 23 in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Tajoura Battalion in Libya are some of the armed factions at the forefront of current conflicts.

This study will examine the impact of the hotly-debated sanctions against Iran from the perspective of the civilians who live in a country other than their sanctioned homeland, yet keep ties with their country of origin, specifically Iranians immigrants in Toronto and Halifax. Using transnationalism theory, this study shows that human consequences of the sanctions are not limited to the Iranians who live inside Iran but reach out to immigrants who live across borders. In particular, the more extensive these ties are, the more severe are the effects of the sanctions on all the people involved. Although sanctions are ostensibly to pressure a government, my study demonstrates that the effect of sanctions has transnational consequences beyond that which is desirable or foreseen. This study broadens our understanding of human consequences of economic sanctions. It also has implications for policy-makers to consider their immigration populations before imposing sanctions.

The Yazidi religious minority was a subject to extreme violence perpetrated by the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Iraq in 2014. This thesis argues that the violence was genocidal in nature and aimed to destroy the Yazidi group as such. Using theories from sociology, it seeks to explain how the violence caused a tremendous social change within the Yazidi community. The study further revises concepts of terrorism and perpetrators of genocide and demonstrates that the perpetrator does not necessarily need to be a state, but another kind of strong organization can be capable of committing such atrocities as well.

Cette recherche qualitative, une analyse structurale, vise à comprendre la trame narrative des vidéos de l'État islamique (ÉI) publiées depuis juin 2014 en français et en anglais. Elle fait état des objectifs, des thèmes et des symboles récurrents. Cette étude se base sur le schéma actanciel d'Algirdas Julien Greimas (1966) et sa théorie narrative bonifiée par l'apport de Vladimir Propp (1970), de Claude Lévi-Strauss (1973; 1974) et d'Anne Piret, Jean Nizet & Étienne Bourgeois (1996). La recherche a donné lieu à l'analyse de 40 vidéos de l'ÉI dont la catégorisation proposée par Bole & Kallmyer (2016) et Farwell (2014) a constitué le point de départ. L'interprétation des données a été guidée, dans un premier temps, par les théories portant sur l'opposition de Greimas, de Propp, de Lévi-Strauss et de Piret, Nizet & Bourgeois et, dans un deuxième temps, les théories de la narration de Nicole D'Almeida (2004) et les trois critères de la symbolique de Joseph Tuman (2010). À la lumière de cette recherche, 5 objectifs, dont ceux avancés par Bole & Kallmyer et Farwell, 7 thèmes et 59 symboles ont été répertoriés. Elle présente un portrait global de toutes les vidéos analysées grâce à une schématisation de la séquence de contenu et de la structure type, laquelle met en relief l'omniprésence de l'opposition dans la trame narrative de l'ÉI.