The use of Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAV) or drones have in recent years become the modus operandi of US counterterrorism strategy to eliminate sought out terrorists.Since the initiation of systematic drone strikes in Pakistan 2004, their use has increased andalso expanded into other countries. In 2012 Yemen experienced equal levels of strikes asPakistan. Thirteen years have passed since the “war on terror” began and although Osama bin Laden has been killed, al-Qaeda still prevails and might be expanding. This study examines apossible spread of al-Qaeda from Pakistan to Yemen, since the initiation of drone strikes, byprocess tracing. Building on the literature of al-Qaeda, counterterrorism and UCAV, the aimhas been to analyze drone strikes affect on terrorism by tracing al-Qaeda’s development.Findings suggest there are indications of a spread from al-Qaeda in Pakistan to Yemen,although further research is required to confirm uncertainties in the material.

This thesis explores the ideological foundations of three jihadist organizations, Hizbullah, al-Qaeda, and Islamic State (IS). All three are categorized as international terrorist organizations but their goals differ. Hizbullah seeks to alter the government within Lebanon, al-Qaeda seeks to eliminate Western influences in Muslim inhabited territories, and IS seeks to create a caliphate within a large portion of the Middle East. The similarities and differences of these three organizations will be illuminated through this examination. The primary focus of the examination focuses on their religious teachings and discourse, as this is a critical aspect of their ideologies. Through this examination, the differences in discourse coinciding with the differing goals of each organization is presented. The discourse of each organization facilitates their goals, recruitment of fighters, and explanation of their actions. Self/other identification is a commonality of all three ideologies but the identification of the other is different according to each organizations goals. This thesis will highlight this aspect and allow for further discussion of the three organizations in future research. The conclusion will allow for discussion as to who gains and maintains power and whether religion is a base or merely a tool for this power. / Master of Arts / This thesis examines the ideological foundations of three jihadist organizations. The jihadist organizations examined are Hizbullah, al-Qaeda, and ISIS. The ideological foundations are examined by identifying the influences and leaders of the organizations and their contributions to their organizations. The purpose of this examination is to provide the reader with a base understanding of three organizations ideological foundations. This thesis will discuss the varying use of self/other identification by each of the organizations and how it is altered to fit the goals of each group. Understanding how the goals and self/other discourse are related will allow for better understanding of how recruitment is conducted and how each group continues to exist while being battled by more advanced technology and trained militaries.

[pt] O objetivo da dissertação é analisar o conceito de terrorismo presente em reportagens de dois dos principais jornais americanos - The New York Times e The Washington Post - no período entre os ataques de 11 de setembro de 2001 e o início da guerra ao governo Talibã, no Afeganistão. Os parâmetros da análise foram propostos a partir de dois importantes debates acadêmicos relacionados ao conceito de terrorismo. Trata-se do debate sobre a questão da legitimidade do uso da violência para fins políticos e do debate sobre a existência de um novo terrorismo no mundo contemporâneo. A proposta da dissertação foi avaliar quais respostas a alguns dos principais questionamentos dos debates acadêmicos podem ser encontradas no conteúdo dos jornais americanos, nos dias seguintes aos maiores atentados da história. / [en] This dissertation seeks to analyze the concept of terrorism that can be found in the news articles from two main American newspapers - The New York Times and The Washington Post - in the period between the attacks of september 11 and the war against the Taliban government in Afghanistan. As parameters to the analysis, we used questions raised from two main academic debates related to the concept of terrorism. That refers to the debate about legitimacy and the use of political violence and to the debate about the existence of a new terrorism in the contemporary world. Our proposal was to disclose some of the answers to this academic questions that can be found in the content of the articles, in the aftermath of the greatest terrorist attacks in history.

Objetivamos analisar a construção do conceito de inimigo representado nos discursos de Osama bin Laden, durante o período de 1996 a 2004. Estes inimigos são constituídos a partir da edificação de uma realidade que apresenta Estados Unidos, Israel e seus aliados, como opressores dos muçulmanos. A fim de melhor compreender esta construção simbólica, buscaremos estudá-la com base na dinâmica de dois eixos fundamentais para a constituição do pensamento político-religioso de bin Laden: a herança teórica do islamismo radical, conjugada com a sua percepção acerca dos principais eventos geopolíticos contemporâneos envolvendo o mundo muçulmano. Dentro desta perspectiva, empregaremos o construtivismo em sua corrente linguística dos autores Nicholas Onuf e François Debrix como arcabouço teórico. Nos guiaremos pela prerrogativa de que a compreensão do mundo e da realidade ocorre de acordo com o modo como nós nos referimos a eles a partir de nossa linguagem. Como referencial metodológico que orientará nosso exame da construção do conceito de inimigo nos discursos de bin Laden, utilizaremos as categorias de operação da ideologia propostas por John Thompson na obra “Ideologia e Cultura Moderna – Teoria Social Crítica na Era dos Meios de Comunicação”. / We aimed to analyze the construction of the concept of enemy represented in Osama bin Laden‟s speeches, during the period 1996 to 2004. These enemies are making from the building of a reality that presents U.S., Israel and its allies, as oppressors of muslims. To better understand this symbolic construction, we will seek to study it based on the dynamics of two pillars for the constitution of bin Laden's politico-religious thought: the theoretical heritage of radical islam, combined with the author's perception about the main events contemporary geopolitical involving the muslim world. From this perspective, we will employ the Linguistic Constructivism of the authors Nicholas Onuf and François Debrix, as theoretical framework. We will be guided by the prerogative of the understanding of the world and reality occurs according to the way we refer to them from our language. As a methodological framework that will guide our examination of the construction of the concept of enemy in bin Laden's speeches, we will use the categories of operation of ideology proposed by John Thompson in his work "Ideology and Modern Culture - Critical Social Theory in the Era of the Media."

Objetivamos analisar a construção do conceito de inimigo representado nos discursos de Osama bin Laden, durante o período de 1996 a 2004. Estes inimigos são constituídos a partir da edificação de uma realidade que apresenta Estados Unidos, Israel e seus aliados, como opressores dos muçulmanos. A fim de melhor compreender esta construção simbólica, buscaremos estudá-la com base na dinâmica de dois eixos fundamentais para a constituição do pensamento político-religioso de bin Laden: a herança teórica do islamismo radical, conjugada com a sua percepção acerca dos principais eventos geopolíticos contemporâneos envolvendo o mundo muçulmano. Dentro desta perspectiva, empregaremos o construtivismo em sua corrente linguística dos autores Nicholas Onuf e François Debrix como arcabouço teórico. Nos guiaremos pela prerrogativa de que a compreensão do mundo e da realidade ocorre de acordo com o modo como nós nos referimos a eles a partir de nossa linguagem. Como referencial metodológico que orientará nosso exame da construção do conceito de inimigo nos discursos de bin Laden, utilizaremos as categorias de operação da ideologia propostas por John Thompson na obra “Ideologia e Cultura Moderna – Teoria Social Crítica na Era dos Meios de Comunicação”. / We aimed to analyze the construction of the concept of enemy represented in Osama bin Laden‟s speeches, during the period 1996 to 2004. These enemies are making from the building of a reality that presents U.S., Israel and its allies, as oppressors of muslims. To better understand this symbolic construction, we will seek to study it based on the dynamics of two pillars for the constitution of bin Laden's politico-religious thought: the theoretical heritage of radical islam, combined with the author's perception about the main events contemporary geopolitical involving the muslim world. From this perspective, we will employ the Linguistic Constructivism of the authors Nicholas Onuf and François Debrix, as theoretical framework. We will be guided by the prerogative of the understanding of the world and reality occurs according to the way we refer to them from our language. As a methodological framework that will guide our examination of the construction of the concept of enemy in bin Laden's speeches, we will use the categories of operation of ideology proposed by John Thompson in his work "Ideology and Modern Culture - Critical Social Theory in the Era of the Media."

Objetivamos analisar a construção do conceito de inimigo representado nos discursos de Osama bin Laden, durante o período de 1996 a 2004. Estes inimigos são constituídos a partir da edificação de uma realidade que apresenta Estados Unidos, Israel e seus aliados, como opressores dos muçulmanos. A fim de melhor compreender esta construção simbólica, buscaremos estudá-la com base na dinâmica de dois eixos fundamentais para a constituição do pensamento político-religioso de bin Laden: a herança teórica do islamismo radical, conjugada com a sua percepção acerca dos principais eventos geopolíticos contemporâneos envolvendo o mundo muçulmano. Dentro desta perspectiva, empregaremos o construtivismo em sua corrente linguística dos autores Nicholas Onuf e François Debrix como arcabouço teórico. Nos guiaremos pela prerrogativa de que a compreensão do mundo e da realidade ocorre de acordo com o modo como nós nos referimos a eles a partir de nossa linguagem. Como referencial metodológico que orientará nosso exame da construção do conceito de inimigo nos discursos de bin Laden, utilizaremos as categorias de operação da ideologia propostas por John Thompson na obra “Ideologia e Cultura Moderna – Teoria Social Crítica na Era dos Meios de Comunicação”. / We aimed to analyze the construction of the concept of enemy represented in Osama bin Laden‟s speeches, during the period 1996 to 2004. These enemies are making from the building of a reality that presents U.S., Israel and its allies, as oppressors of muslims. To better understand this symbolic construction, we will seek to study it based on the dynamics of two pillars for the constitution of bin Laden's politico-religious thought: the theoretical heritage of radical islam, combined with the author's perception about the main events contemporary geopolitical involving the muslim world. From this perspective, we will employ the Linguistic Constructivism of the authors Nicholas Onuf and François Debrix, as theoretical framework. We will be guided by the prerogative of the understanding of the world and reality occurs according to the way we refer to them from our language. As a methodological framework that will guide our examination of the construction of the concept of enemy in bin Laden's speeches, we will use the categories of operation of ideology proposed by John Thompson in his work "Ideology and Modern Culture - Critical Social Theory in the Era of the Media."

Al Qaeda s’est fait connaître grâce à quelques attentats pionniers symboliques dont le plus spectaculaire a eu lieu le 11 septembre 2001. L’étude du profil complexe d’Al Qaeda, avec ses racines profondes ancrées dans l’histoire, la politique et la société du monde islamique, puis de son évolution, permet de comprendre que la véritable menace ne vient pas d’un seul homme ni même d’un groupe, mais d’une idéologie plus large dédiée au djihad défensif, l’Al Qaedisme. Cette idéologie construite sur des piliers solides et cohérents, prône une guerre sainte planétaire contre l’Occident. Des réseaux fondamentalistes ad hoc et des groupes terroristes locaux se sont greffés autour des objectifs et stratégies d’un Al Qaedisme codifié commun diffusé dans le cyberespace et ont amplifié la menace en touchant toutes les sphères de la communauté internationale. L’approche politique conservatrice dominante a tenté de mettre un frein aux attentats en instituant toute une série de mesures exceptionnelles plus répressives les unes que les autres. Pourtant, le phénomène croissant de radicalisation et la multiplication des attentats terroristes depuis 2001, démontrent que les modèles occidentaux appliqués par des Occidentaux à des sociétés établies sur d’autres fondamentaux n’ont pas permis de trouver de solution durable contre l’Al Qaedisme et même aggravé la menace. Des réponses adaptées à la véritable menace renforcées par le respect des droits de l’homme, sont à mettre en œuvre au travers de nouvelles stratégies multidisciplinaires et synchronisées de déradicalisation qui passent par la guerre des idées pour dépolariser les relations entre les musulmans et non-musulmans. L’adoption de mesures préventives, proactives et réactives qui trouvent un équilibre entre les besoins de la lutte contre le terrorisme et les valeurs démocratiques fondamentales devra en tout premier lieu viser à gagner les cœurs et les esprits de toutes les parties et à former une alliance des civilisations. / Al Qaeda has become renowned thanks to a few symbolic pioneering terrorist attacks among which the most spectacular ones took place on 11 September 2001. The study of Al Qaeda’s complex profile with deep roots in history, politics and the society of the Islamic world, and of its evolution, helps to understand that the real menace comes not from one man, nor from a group, but from an overarching ideology dedicated to a defensive jihad, Al Qaedism. This radical ideology, built upon strong and coherent pillars, preaches a holy global war against the West. Radical fundamentalist ad hoc networks and local terrorist groups have amalgamated around the objectives and strategies of a common, codified Al Qaedism disseminated in cyberspace and have magnified the menace by reaching all the spheres of the international community. The dominating conservative political approach attempted in vain to prevent further terrorist attacks by putting in place a series of exceptional measures more repressive one than another. However, the growing radicalization and the unprecedented multiplication of terrorist attacks since 2001 demonstrate that the western models applied as such by Westerners to societies established on other fundamentals have not allowed to find a longstanding solution against Al Qaedism and rather increased the menace. Responses adjusted to the real menace, reinforced by the respect to human rights, have to be introduced by new multidisciplinary and synchronized strategies of deradicalization that take into account the war on ideas in order to depolarize the relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in the world. The adoption of preventive, proactive and reactive measures that find a balance between the needs of the fight against terrorism and the fundamental democratic values will have to aim first at gaining the hearts and minds of all the parties involved and to foster an alliance of civilizations.

In this essay, two of the most lethal terrorist organizations in the world, al-Qaeda and Boko Haram are being examined and compared based on psychological, political, economical and religious theories. The essay was written with the aim to find out about cause, objectives as well as course of action within al-Qaeda and Boko Haram. One has found out that the cause of al-Qaeda is mainly based on religious and political indicators, while Boko Haram is primary caused by economical and political factors. The objectives for both of the cases are religious, but for Boko Haram, political as well. Both of the organizations use psychological factors as a way to go through with their course of action, but in the case of Boko Haram, the economical indicators are very convincing as well.

The United States needs a long-term counterterrorism strategy in Yemen. Nearly three years in, the faltering Yemeni transition threatens to fall apart in the face of an economic crisis, ongoing internal conflict, and al Qaeda attacks. Unchecked, a failed Yemeni state will provide al Qaeda with a larger recruiting base and an expanded area for operations. To prevent this nightmare scenario, the United States should integrate military restructuring, political reform, and economic development policies into its greater strategy to counter al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). This report describes the dynamics of the 2011 Yemeni uprising, the subsequent political transition, and the simultaneous evolution of AQAP. The report then analyzes these phenomena in the context of U.S. national security policy to determine a long-term counterterrorism strategy in Yemen. To succeed in defeating AQAP and stabilizing Yemen, the U.S. government must engage with its Yemeni partners and regional actors; invest in Yemen's military restructuring, political transition, and economic reforms; and continue to attack AQAP through direct action operations and in tandem with Yemeni armed forces. / text

<p> </p><p>Denna uppsats är en jämförelse av hur terroristdåden den 11 september 2001 i USA och den 11 mars 2004 i Spanien framställdes i Dagens Nyheter. Syftet med uppsatsen är att åskådliggöra hur terroristdåd utförda av Al Qaeda framställs i Dagens Nyheter på två olika kontinenter. Uppsatsen bygger på material från litteratur om terrorism som begrepp och dess gestaltning i media, samt tidningsartiklar om dåden från Dagens Nyheter. En diskursanalys har vidare genomförts på tidningsartiklarna för att kunna se likheter och skillnader i framställningen av text kring dessa dåd. Kodningen och jämförelsen har skett genom en dimensionering av olika företeelser som återfunnits i artiklarna. På detta vis framkom en skillnad i framställningen på dessa olika kontinenter i media. Dådet den 11 september erhåller ett större utrymme i Dagens Nyheter och framställs genom en krigsdiskurs som angår alla demokratiska länder i världen. Amerikanerna framställs i sammanhanget som ett folk som aldrig tidigare upplevt terrorism. Detta medan den 11 mars framställs genom en nedtonad terroristdiskurs som gör händelsen beskedlig och till något alldagligt och en närmare beskrivning av händelseförloppet uteblir. Dådet på denna kontinent angår endast Europa och européerna framställs som ett folk med stor erfarenhet av terrorism och våld. I båda dåden förekommer en vi-och-dem-diskurs, men inriktad på olika företeelser. I dådet den 11 september gestaltas detta genom en motsättning mellan den demokratiska västvärlden och de islamistiska länderna. Detta medan dådet den 11 mars påvisar en motsättning mellan europeiska medborgare och de säkerhetstjänster som fått i uppgift att lösa problemet med terrorism, men som i sammanhanget framställs som opålitliga hemlighetsmakare.</p>