O objetivo deste trabalho é examinar como os principais veículos de cobertura política da imprensa dos Estados Unidos se posicionaram a respeito da estratégia do governo do presidente Barack Obama para combater o Estado Islâmico no Iraque e na Síria, lançada em setembro de 2014. Referido plano estratégico é relevante, uma vez que representou inflexão na posição até então adotada pela administração Obama de não intervir militarmente no conflito armado em curso na Síria, ao mesmo tempo em que visou manter-se fiel à promessa eleitoral do então mandatário de retirada das tropas norte-americanas das guerras no Iraque e no Afeganistão. Faz-se um breve resumo das circunstâncias em que o plano de combate ao Estado Islâmico foi lançado, bem como dos antecedentes de intervenções militares estadunidenses recentes na região, para então se analisar a estratégia em si e o debate travado em três periódicos (The New York Times, Washington Post e The Wall Street Journal) e de duas redes de televisão (CNN e Fox News), no período compreendido entre janeiro de 2014 e dezembro de 2014. / The goal of this work is to review how the main news outlets with political coverage in the United States of America viewed the strategy to counter the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria launched by president Barack Obama in September 2014. Such strategy is a landmark as it represents a turning point in Obama administration\'s policy not to militarily intervene in the armed conflict in Syria, while also aiming at sustaining the president\'s electoral promise to withdraw American troops from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. After a summary of the circumstances in which the strategy was launched and of the recent US military interventions in the region, this article presents the strategy\'s main components and analyzes the public debate held on three daily papers (The New York Times, Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal) and two television networks (CNN and Fox News) in the period from January 2014 to December 2014.

This dissertation is a study of Islamist ideas on and visions of the Islamic state. It begins with the observation that although a growing amount of research explores Islamism; few studies closely investigate Islamist ideas. The aim of this dissertation is to empirically and theoretically contribute to the understanding and interpretation of contemporary Islamism and its intellectual origins. Sayyid Qutb, Abu al-Ala al-Mawdudi and Ruhollah Khomeini are generally considered as sources of inspiration to Islamists currently active. Their ideas are analysed and compared to those of two Islamist parties; the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) in Pakistan and the Front Islamique du Salut (FIS) in Algeria. Islamism is part of a global religious resurgence that has taken many politicai and other social scientists by surprise. According to modernization and secularisation theories, such a resurgence was not to be expected. The focus in this study is therefore on the relationship between visions of the Islamic state and modernity. In this respect, two theoretical positions are critically assessed; one stating that we should understand Islamism in terms of a rejection of modernity and the other that Islamism can be understood and interpreted as an expression of there being multiple or alternative modernities. A key issue in this regard revolves around the question of how modernity is alternative and what that means. A content-oriented analysis of ideas — based on a social constructivist approach and anchored in practical hermeneutics - is utilized in the reconstruction and analysis of Islamist texts. A framework for analysis is developed in which dimensions of modernity are constructed. Islamist ideas on and visions of the Islamic state are analysed in terms of what is rejected, accepted or possibly added to these dimensions. The empirical contribution to research on Islamism is the content-oriented analysis of Islamist ideas. This analysis also helps to explore similarities and differences between the ideas of Qutb, Mawdudi and Khomeini and those of the JI and the FIS. The comparisons show that Islamist ideas are under evolution; there are important differences between the two contemporary parties and their sources of inspiration. Moreover, the content-oriented analysis reveals the complexity of the relationship between modernity and visions of the Islamic state. The theoretical contribution involves both theory-testing and theory-development. It is concluded that theories of multiple or alternative modernities, with some reservations, can be applied to Islamist ideas on and visions of the Islamic state. / digitalisering@umu

This paper attempts to provide a comprehensive description and analysis of Al-Qaeda affiliates fighting in Syria. The implications for Middle Eastern Security, US foreign policy and Islamic extremism in the future are projected.

In the Islamic world, the term Jihad bears intricate meaning, and its rightful interpretation has occupied many scholars and Muslims across the globe. For some, it relates to the personal struggle that one may have to deal with on a regular basis. For others, the term operates on the basis of a willingness to fight. While the latter interpretation seems to be shared by extremist terrorists of organisations such as ISIS and Al Qaeda, the majority of Muslims have an entirely different interpretation of jihad. This essay wishes to delve deeper into this intricate term in order to come closer to an understanding of Jihad. This is done by conducting a qualitative and comparative analysis of three magazines of propaganda: the Ahmadiyya Community, the Islamic State and Al Qaeda respectively. The results of the study showed that the Ahmadiyya Community claim that a vital aspect of jihad is “jihad-of-the-pen”, a concept which aims to educate other people on the peaceful nature of Islam. Because of the wrongful interpretation of Jihad by extremist organisations, the Ahmadiyya Community take to the pen in order to battle these misinterpretations while also wanting to show that Islam is a peaceful religion. Furthermore, they claim that this wrongful interpretation affects the way ordinary law-abiding Muslim citizens are being viewed upon. Moreover, the findings also showed that ISIS and Al Qaeda interpret jihad as being the “jihad-of-the-sword”, whereby it is considered to be the sixth pillar. While ISIS use the concept of jihad to justify its fighting of the disbelievers, including Muslims who deal with ‘Crusader’ Western democracies, Al Qaeda aims their jihad towards the United States, whom they feel are the root to everything terror. The essay concludes with a the notion that research on this topic should focus more on peaceful jihad, the kind of personal and inner struggle that is being advocated by the Ahmadiyya communities. Literature, such as Understanding Jihad, Field of Blood, and The Secret History of Al Qaeda, has all too much tended to the violent-nature of jihad and left the peaceful, inner struggle out of the discussion. More research can be conducted on this topic to further paint the picture of peaceful struggle, which is a struggle that is felt for the absolute majority of Muslims throughout this world.

The present text develops a model designed to generate conceptual theories with respect to the pictorial (visual) form of representation. This is achieved by combining a computational approach to cognition with philosophical devices of the analytic tradition. The model itself, simulating the structure of reality, consists of (i) a metaphysical stage based on Armstrong's theory of combinatorial possibility, (ii) an epistemological stage proposing emergent phenomena founded upon the notion of computational irreducibility, and (iii) a semantic stage proposing a stochastic account of concepts anchored in the intensional/extensional apprehension of meaning. Towards the end, the model is applied to develop a conceptual account of a case of social, political, and economic organization of human communities as depicted in the visual propaganda of the so-called Islamic State.

No description available.

The existing research on lone wolf terrorism and the use of case study research within this field and criminology is discussed and reviewed. In an attempt to find how an investigated and IS inspired extremist commits an act of lone wolf terrorism without any suspicion of authorities was the key focus. Through the use of a case study utilizing a chronological time-series analysis, Man Haron Monis responsible for the Martin Place Siege in Sydney, Australia in 2014 was examined. The analysis produced eleven significant events contributing to his radicalization. His radicalization process and the causal factors were examined against two radicalization pyramids developed by McCauley and Moskalenko (2014) that placed him at the most dangerous level of a lone wolf about to act. This thesis also indicates the limitations of lone wolf terrorism research and the further steps required in order for authorities to effectively identify and disrupt lone wolf terrorists prior to terrorist acts.

This thesis is a comparative, empirically driven, small-n, comparative study that attempts to answer the question: Does morally motivated violence increase the level of conflict brutality? The study argues that higher levels of moral violence will lead to an increase in conflict brutality due to psychological processes that limit restraint. Two rebel groups are studied, the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra li al-Sham in the context of the intrastate conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic. Motivations of violence are measured through an idea analysis and are operationalized in both instrumental and moral motivations. The Islamic State shows higher rates of conflict brutality and are more morally motivated in their acts of violence than Jabhat al-Nusra, who show more instrumental objectives and are not as brutal. The study concludes that there is a relation between morally motivated violence and conflict brutality and urges future research to further establish this relation.

Throughout history, radical individuals have caused violence and tarnished the reputation of many communities and beliefs. Following 9/11, Islamic Terrorism put fear into many individuals. New fronts of the War on Terror began to open as militaries began to engage terrorist groups who sought to take action through radical beliefs. Al Qaeda had opened up a new front and joined the ranks of the Sunni Insurgency to confront the armed forces of the United States as the Invasion of Iraq began to unfold. This new group had radical leaders who were able to incite a stiff and violent campaign against their enemies. The U.S. was able to slow down the group, but not the ideology, tactics, and leadership once it withdrew from the conflict zone. As leaders in the area began to divide their societies by violence and marginalization, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria were able to come into power and create small, quasi-legitimate caliphate. Although the group may be somewhat defeated in the region, the ideology will carry on. By using organizational theory, we can better compare both groups and learn from their strengths and weaknesses. Through analyzing this parallel case study, new doors may be opened up for research to be able to slow down radical ideologies and thwart violent actions. / Master of Arts / Following 9/11, we begin to see the United States devote countless amounts of resources and energy to combat radical Islamic ideologies. In this, we study Al Qaeda and its Iraq branch, AQI, and how its remnants were able to create one of the most successful and notorious Islamic terror organizations. This thesis allows growth to the study of terrorism, primarily by comparing two terror groups and understanding their rise to success and failures. This thesis also helps study how groups can split apart and form new offshoot organizations. Looking into groups' ideologies allows for the researchers to also how they may affect success. As groups rise and fall, there may a continuation of an ideology. New platforms can assist in this, and play large parts of a groups success. Leadership can be a large factor, guiding a group to success or hurting its image. To combat terror organizations, the military can affect how they grow, thus showing the power of settings and where terror organizations can thrive. By comparing and contrasting organizations, it allows for a different approach of research that can help in preventing violent actors to continue on a similar path.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.