The United States has experienced several mass shootings in the past few years. It has been averaging one shooting every week in 2015, and something must be done about it. This problem appears to be limited to the United States since several other nations have been able to minimize, and almost eliminate the number of mass shootings. By taking an analysis of the gun laws of the United States with those of Australia and Canada it can be concluded that some aspects of strict gun control can reduce the number of mass shootings. Further, the United States should look at what other common law nations have done to reduce the number of mass shootings. The United States is also the only nation that recognizes a fundamental right to keep and bear arms, and any legislation must address that right. Some ways to address strict gun control in the United States is to strengthen the background check system, add a liability insurance requirement, and strictly enforce culpable negligent statutes. Adding some elements of strict gun control will help minimize the amount, and impact of the shootings. Canada, and Australia both have active hunting communities that require the need for some legal firearms. A night at the movies, a day at school, or attending a church event should not bring about worry that an individual may get shot and killed by a deranged individual. Other similar nations have shown that rampage shootings do not have to be a side effect of living in a free society.

The purpose of this thesis is to determine how different variables can affect a terrorist group's reaction to a targeted leadership strike, known as a decapitation strike. Decapitation strikes often produce unwanted results, such as a splintering of the terrorist group, or a failure to destroy the group. It is important that we understand which variables can lead to a group's destruction after a decapitation strike, to maximize the decapitation's effectiveness. In my research I have determined that group size, group ideological extremism, and the role of the leader targeted all have a substantial impact on the success of the decapitation strike. Using these three variables, I will examine three groups which have varying size, extremism, and leadership, and determine whether the decapitation strikes were successful and how these variables affected the results.

Honour killings are considered by the perpetrators the only path to maintain theirs and their family honour, preventing other's to follow behaviours that move away from traditional patriarchal values. With the aim of exploring how honour killings are characterised, a qualitative study within three European newspapers, in three different languages, was conducted. The findings showed that often the victims are characterised as young women and girls that want to live independently from their birth cultures or that acted in a way considered to be a dishonour to their family culture. Perpetrators are often described as family members, mostly males to whom honour is worth more than life. However, some of the news articles launch the debate of the thin line that divides honour crimes and domestic violence making this not a cultural problem but a widespread cross-cultural reality.

<p>This paper discusses honour related crimes and the judicial process within the legal system in a Swedish context. The empirical base of the study is four cases, with an honour background, and we have used discourse analysis as our method. We have developed four tools for analysing the sentences with which we observed aspects such as; language, the roles of victim and perpetrator that the involved can undertake, the different identities that the sentence might create and finally how the stories change when they enter the legal context. We connect our results to our theoretic backgrounds such as Kolfjord who discusses the legalization of conflicts, the holistic and individual perspective, the legal system as a theoretic background and finally the UN:s definition of honour crimes. These four theoretic perspectives have helped analyse the empiric base. The study reveals that the courts handle cases of honour without discussing that fact. It emerges aspects from the stories that are specific for honour crimes. The courts show a difficulty when handling cases with an honour background, there is a conflict between the group norms and the individualistic perspective. The courts describe honour in the empirical material despite the fact that honour has no legal grounds in the Swedish laws.</p>

This paper discusses honour related crimes and the judicial process within the legal system in a Swedish context. The empirical base of the study is four cases, with an honour background, and we have used discourse analysis as our method. We have developed four tools for analysing the sentences with which we observed aspects such as; language, the roles of victim and perpetrator that the involved can undertake, the different identities that the sentence might create and finally how the stories change when they enter the legal context. We connect our results to our theoretic backgrounds such as Kolfjord who discusses the legalization of conflicts, the holistic and individual perspective, the legal system as a theoretic background and finally the UN:s definition of honour crimes. These four theoretic perspectives have helped analyse the empiric base. The study reveals that the courts handle cases of honour without discussing that fact. It emerges aspects from the stories that are specific for honour crimes. The courts show a difficulty when handling cases with an honour background, there is a conflict between the group norms and the individualistic perspective. The courts describe honour in the empirical material despite the fact that honour has no legal grounds in the Swedish laws.

In the last decade the fight against terrorism was carried out not only by measures indicated in national criminal procedure laws or international treaties outlining measures in the fight against terrorism, but also using military forces and carrying out military measures. Thus the dissertation aims to establish when and to what extent is the international humanitarian law (hereinafter – IHL) applied in the fight against terrorism, that is, to analyze in what cases the fight against terrorism amounts to armed conflict, what is the status of terrorists taking part in the armed conflict according to IHL, and to evaluate in the light of IHL principles and rules the specific measures taken against terrorists. Firstly the dissertation analyses the question of the definition of terrorism and proposes a possible definition of this phenomenon. Further on the dissertation analyzes the instances when the IHL rules are applied in the fight against terrorism, that is, when such situation amounts to an armed conflict, and evaluates the main criteria of armed conflict – intensity and organization – and their application in the fight against terrorism. The dissertation also explores the questions of the status of terrorists taking part in an armed conflict, distinguishing those taking part in international and non-international armed conflicts, and exploring the criteria for the direct participation in hostilities for such persons. Finally, the dissertation analyzes the specific measure of... [to full text] / Pastaraisiais dešimtmečiais kovą su terorizmu pradėta vykdyti ne tik pasitelkiant nacionaliniuose baudžiamojo proceso įstatymuose ar tarptautinėse sutartyse, skirtose kovai su terorizmu, numatytas priemones, tačiau ir naudojant karines pajėgas bei atliekant karinius veiksmus. Taigi disertacijoje iškeliamas tikslas nustatyti, kada ir kokiu mastu taikoma tarptautinė humanitarinė teisė (toliau – THT) kovoje su terorizmu, tai yra, ištirti, kokiais atvejais kova su terorizmu laikytina ginkluotu konfliktu, koks yra teroristų, dalyvaujančių ginkluotame konflikte, statusas pagal THT ir atsižvelgiant į THT normas įvertinti specifines kovos priemones, naudojamas kovojant su teroristais. Pirmiausiai disertacijoje analizuojamas terorizmo apibrėžimo klausimas ir pateikiamas galimas terorizmo apibrėžimas. Toliau disertacijoje vertinama, kuriais atvejais kovojant su terorizmu bus taikomos THT normos, tai yra, kada kova su terorizmu prilygsta ginkluotam konfliktui, tiriami ginkluoto konflikto intensyvumo ir organizuotumo kriterijai ir jų taikymas kovos su terorizmu situacijose. Disertacijoje taip pat tiriama, koks yra teroristų, dalyvaujančių ginkluotame konflikte, statusas pagal THT, išskiriant tarptautiniuose ir netarptautiniuose ginkluotuose konfliktuose dalyvaujančius asmenis, taip pat išsamiai išanalizuojant asmenų tiesioginio dalyvavimo ginkluotame konflikte kriterijus. Galiausiai disertacijoje tiriama specifinė kovos su terorizmu priemonė – tikslinių nužudymų, ypač naudojant... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Pastaraisiais dešimtmečiais kovą su terorizmu pradėta vykdyti ne tik pasitelkiant nacionaliniuose baudžiamojo proceso įstatymuose ar tarptautinėse sutartyse, skirtose kovai su terorizmu, numatytas priemones, tačiau ir naudojant karines pajėgas bei atliekant karinius veiksmus. Taigi disertacijoje iškeliamas tikslas nustatyti, kada ir kokiu mastu taikoma tarptautinė humanitarinė teisė (toliau – THT) kovoje su terorizmu, tai yra, ištirti, kokiais atvejais kova su terorizmu laikytina ginkluotu konfliktu, koks yra teroristų, dalyvaujančių ginkluotame konflikte, statusas pagal THT ir atsižvelgiant į THT normas įvertinti specifines kovos priemones, naudojamas kovojant su teroristais. Pirmiausiai disertacijoje analizuojamas terorizmo apibrėžimo klausimas ir pateikiamas galimas terorizmo apibrėžimas. Toliau disertacijoje vertinama, kuriais atvejais kovojant su terorizmu bus taikomos THT normos, tai yra, kada kova su terorizmu prilygsta ginkluotam konfliktui, tiriami ginkluoto konflikto intensyvumo ir organizuotumo kriterijai ir jų taikymas kovos su terorizmu situacijose. Disertacijoje taip pat tiriama, koks yra teroristų, dalyvaujančių ginkluotame konflikte, statusas pagal THT, išskiriant tarptautiniuose ir netarptautiniuose ginkluotuose konfliktuose dalyvaujančius asmenis, taip pat išsamiai išanalizuojant asmenų tiesioginio dalyvavimo ginkluotame konflikte kriterijus. Galiausiai disertacijoje tiriama specifinė kovos su terorizmu priemonė – tikslinių nužudymų, ypač naudojant... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In the last decade the fight against terrorism was carried out not only by measures indicated in national criminal procedure laws or international treaties outlining measures in the fight against terrorism, but also using military forces and carrying out military measures. Thus the dissertation aims to establish when and to what extent is the international humanitarian law (hereinafter – IHL) applied in the fight against terrorism, that is, to analyze in what cases the fight against terrorism amounts to armed conflict, what is the status of terrorists taking part in the armed conflict according to IHL, and to evaluate in the light of IHL principles and rules the specific measures taken against terrorists. Firstly the dissertation analyses the question of the definition of terrorism and proposes a possible definition of this phenomenon. Further on the dissertation analyzes the instances when the IHL rules are applied in the fight against terrorism, that is, when such situation amounts to an armed conflict, and evaluates the main criteria of armed conflict – intensity and organization – and their application in the fight against terrorism. The dissertation also explores the questions of the status of terrorists taking part in an armed conflict, distinguishing those taking part in international and non-international armed conflicts, and exploring the criteria for the direct participation in hostilities for such persons. Finally, the dissertation analyzes the specific measure of... [to full text]

Submitted by Pedro Brandão Solti (pedrosolti@gmail.com) on 2016-04-29T00:08:03Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Foreign Support, Internal Political Disputes and Mass Killings_Biblioteca.pdf: 491661 bytes, checksum: 6003dbc9dfce9fc1a8d17e087e25c9e4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by GILSON ROCHA MIRANDA (gilson.miranda@fgv.br) on 2016-05-25T14:48:40Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Foreign Support, Internal Political Disputes and Mass Killings_Biblioteca.pdf: 491661 bytes, checksum: 6003dbc9dfce9fc1a8d17e087e25c9e4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marcia Bacha (marcia.bacha@fgv.br) on 2016-06-13T12:41:27Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Foreign Support, Internal Political Disputes and Mass Killings_Biblioteca.pdf: 491661 bytes, checksum: 6003dbc9dfce9fc1a8d17e087e25c9e4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-13T12:42:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Foreign Support, Internal Political Disputes and Mass Killings_Biblioteca.pdf: 491661 bytes, checksum: 6003dbc9dfce9fc1a8d17e087e25c9e4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-28 / This paper studies the incentives underlying the relations between foreign countries and rival domestic groups. It models the interaction in a infinitely-repeated game between these three players. The domestic groups bargain for a split of the domestic surplus and may engage in violent dispute for power and in unilateral mass killing processes. The foreign country may choose to support one of these groups in exchange for monetary transfers. The paper characterizes the parametric set in which strategies leading to no violent disputes nor mass killings are Subgame Perfect Nash Equilibra in the presence of foreign support, but not in its absence.

Les assassinats ciblés désignent l’utilisation étatique de la force létale avec l’intention préméditée et délibérée de tuer individuellement les personnes sélectionnées se trouvant en dehors des frontières nationales. Sont-ils légitimes au regard de notre compréhension des règles démocratiques et libérales ? Pour répondre à cette question, cette thèse de doctorat dresse une comparaison entre les pratique israélienne et américaine. Les assassinats ciblés participent d’une discussion sur la légitimité de l’assassinat politique en même temps qu’ils procèdent des évolutions des théories des bombardements et de l’utilisation préventive/préemptive de la force. (Chap. I) La discussion générale sur leur légitimité doit donc être complétée par une étude soulignant les spécificités nationales de ces politiques. (Chap. II) Israël et les États-Unis se sont servis de ces pratiques pour conduire une reformulation partielle du droit international. (Chap. III) L’absence de mécanismes efficaces de contrôle des normes juridiques lors de conflits armés pose problème. Nous évaluons les procédures et institutions existantes et proposons un élargissement du régime de responsabilité des drones proposés par Allan Buchanan et Robert Keohane aux opérations d’assassinats ciblés. (Chap. IV) Leur efficacité tactique ne garantit pas leur pertinence pour une stratégie de long terme contrant le terrorisme. (Chap. V) Leurs conséquences sur la politique étrangère sont-elles bénéfiques ? Nous montrons qu’ils contribuent à renforcer la souveraineté des États faisant la guerre aux « illégitimes ». (Chap. VI) Ceux-ci sont-ils compatibles avec les valeurs morales prônées par les démocraties israéliennes et américaines ? Ils promeuvent une conception libérale de l’action politique légitime en renouvelant les exigences de transparence à l’égard de l’utilisation secrète de la force. (Chap. VII) Ce débat ouvre des pistes pour un aménagement de la raison d’État en démocratie libérale en précisant le contenu théorique d’une moralité d’exception. (Chap. VIII). / The term “targeted killings” is commonly employed to refer to the intentional, premeditated and deliberate use of lethal force by states to kill selected individuals who are not in their custody. My research questions the justifications used to legitimize targeted killings within the liberal-democratic framework. I first give a chronological account of lethal practices pertaining to targeted killings and the context of their emergence. In the literature, targeted killings are discussed in reference to political assassination, theories of bombing in warfare and the use of preventive/preemptive force. (Chapter I) I then explore the national specific features of targeted killings by comparing Israeli with American discussion. (Chapter II) I analyze how targeted killings have been the spearhead of a recasting of legal obligations of Israel and the United States restricting use of force against irregular actors. (Chapter III) I then analyze national and international actual and hypothetical accountability mechanisms. I complete Allan Buchanan and Robert Keohane proposition of a “Drone Accountability Regime” by extending it to targeted killings. (Chapter IV) Their tactical efficiency does not guarantee their relevance for a long-term strategy aiming at countering terrorism. (Chapter V). What are their consequences on the international level? Targeted killings contribute to reinforce sovereignty of States waging war against “unlawful combatants”. (Chapter VI) Are they compatible with the moral values put forward by Israeli and American democracies? Targeted killings promote a new conception of legitimate violence by strengthening transparency demands towards secret use of force. (Chapter VII) This debate opens up avenues for “Raison d’État” in a liberal democracy by specifying the theoretical content of an exceptional morality. (Chapter VIII).

This literature study investigates the link between gender, religion, and honour related violence with a focus on the intersection of rumours. Rumours as an intersection of honour will help to find out the answers to the research questions. The literature study concentrates on two honour killings cases, Fadime ’s and Sorya M. The research questions, therefore, will focus on three themes, religion and honour, gender, and honour and rumours and the side effects onMuslim women. At the end of the 20th century lots of families moved to Sweden; from different regions from the Middle East such as Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt; due to conflict. Those families like many other migrants brought their traditions and beliefs. Some of them successfully integrated into Swedish society while others; refused to integrate, holding their beliefs hard and ignoring some Swedish law and policy. The concept of honour killings was brought from theMiddle East, a term which will be explained further in the paper. Three Arabic migrant women interviewed in this study in order to discover the meaning of rumours and how it relates to honour killings. The results show that gender differences existed in Fadime and Soraya ’s case. Rumoursas honour intersection could cause to honour killings and violence. However, the term rumours were not discussed in previous literature was not mentioned in other papers.Honour killings exist in the Swedish society and the Middle Eastern society, but it is not related to the Islamic religion, rather than a tradition, therefore, the old Middle Eastern societies were based on power rather than gender equality and justice. Keywords: Honour killings, Religion, Gender, Rumours, Middle East, Islam.