My dissertation explores two critical points in understanding John Updike's recent career. First, I examine him from a perspective outside the heavily-studied Rabbit tetralogy. Focusing on Updike's novel Terrorist, I attempt to counter the misperception that he offers little beyond the chronicling of middle-class, suburban America. Instead, this work digs for a deeper understanding of Updike. Next, I consider Updike's role as an artist, professional writer, and celebrity to draw out a sense of the writer's life in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Using him as a case study enables the analysis to include his changing role as a literary writer who also had major bestsellers, as well as his standing as a celebrity and public intellectual. Rather than dismiss these cultural influences, I explore how they intersect with audiences, readers, and critics. Piecing together his commentary regarding fame and celebrity creates a model of the public Updike for scholars to examine. The central task of this dissertation is a close examination of Terrorist, including the themes Updike addressed and literary techniques he employed to advance those ideas. From this textual analysis, Updike's vision of America and the world in the twenty first century emerges. By reassessing Updike's evolution as a writer, both in subject matter and literary technique, one realizes how his work reflects an increasing preoccupation with global issues, from American imperialism to terrorism. This study broadens the general conceptualization critics and scholars hold regarding Updike's work by exploring the themes and literary devices he used to portray the broader world. Focusing on Updike the writer and Terrorist, his final standalone novel, this dissertation helps Updike scholars and critics address a central point that may well define his historical reputation: Is there an Updike beyond the Rabbit novels and is there an Updike beyond suburban nostalgia? I argue that Terrorist reveals a great American writer at his full powers as the world around him undergoes a watershed moment.

Doctora en Ciencias Sociales / El propósito de esta tesis fue abrir un espacio de discusión acerca de un tipo de legislación penal en Chile, específicamente la Ley 18.314 -denominada comúnmente como Ley Antiterrorista- y su funcionalidad en el sistema democrático. Para ello se establecieron distintos niveles analíticos. El primero apunta a elaborar un mapa descriptivo sobre la aplicación de dicha ley desagregado en las variables sexo, edad, territorio y pertenencia étnica de los/as imputados/as, presentando un panorama donde se reconstruyen los datos estadísticos que posee la Defensoría Penal Pública sobre los sujetos a quienes se les invoca tal aparataje penal. El segundo horizonte revisa los argumentos esgrimidos para la invocación y uso de la Ley en tres juicios emblemáticos de nuestro país: Caso Lonkos, Fiscal Elgueta y Caso Bombas con sus respectivas sentencias, permitiéndonos conocer las maneras en que se despliega el uso o desestimación de dicho recurso penal. Por último, se posiciona una reflexión sobre la categoría de cuerpo a partir de dos procesos antagónicos: Dominación y resistencia, por parte de quienes han sido procesados, dando cuenta de las lógicas de castigo y su potencia como aparataje de control y disciplinamiento, para luego evidenciar posibilidades de contrapoder desde las huelgas de hambre / Abstract: The purpose of this thesis was to open a space for discussion about a type of criminal law in Chile, specifically Law 18.314 - commonly referred to as the Anti- Terror Law - and its functionality in the democratic system. For this, different analytical levels were established. The first one aims to elaborate a descriptive map on the application of this disaggregated law in the variables gender, age, territory and ethnicity of the imputed ones, presenting a panorama where the statistical data possessed by the Defensoría Penal Pública are reconstructed on the subjects to whom such criminal apparatus is invoked. The second horizon reviews the arguments used for invoking and using the Law in three emblematic cases of our country: Lonkos Case, Elgueta Prosecutor and Bombas Case with their respective sentences, allowing us to know the ways in which the use or rejection of the use is deployed Criminal appeal. Finally, a reflection on the category of body is posited based on two antagonistic processes: Domination and resistance, by those who have been prosecuted, giving an account of the logic of punishment and its power as an apparatus of control and discipline, and later To demonstrate possibilities of counterpower since hunger strikes

Following the announcement of the establishment of a Caliphate in 2014, individuals and groups from all corners of the world pledged their allegiance to the Islamic State. Of particular interest to this study are violent terrorist groups based in Southeast Asia. The thesis focuses on this region as, despite obvious geographical constraints, local bay'ah pledges have allowed ISIS to suddenly emerge in the region with a large and well organised force allowing for an increase in terrorist activities and ultimately the capture of Marawi, the largest city to fall under the ISIS banner outside of Syria and Iraq. But a question remains too often unanswered - why do terrorist groups ally? While the dynamic is rare and paradoxical due to groups' illicit and clandestine nature, strategic alliances between terrorist groups are far from being a new phenomenon. While a handful of scholars dared to explore this complex field, it remains under-theorised to this day. This thesis uses an available list of studies and analyses on terrorist alliances and complements it with theories related to alliances between states in order to understand the rationale behind Southeast Asian Islamists alliance with ISIS. While there lacks a consensus as to why groups ally, the study finds it to be a multi-dimensional and mutually...

The thesis is focused on the process of demise and disintegration of nationalist terrorist groups. The case studies of terrorism in Northern Ireland and Basque region in Spain demonstrate and analyze the development of local terrorist organizations from the beginning to the cessation of violent actions. An emphasis is put especially on the end of armed campaign and transformation of nationalist activities within a legal framework. In the case of Northern Ireland, the focus is put on the activities of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) from the beginning of the Troubles to the Belfast Agreement in 1998. The research in this thesis includes the influence of affiliated political parties - Sinn Féin in this case - on the process of negotiations and the continuation of Northern Irish nationalism after the end of armed campaign. The Basque case is devoted to the development of Basque nationalism since the beginning of the 20th century, the creation and development of Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) and its terrorist campaign within both the Francoist regime and Spanish democracy. An emphasis is put on the development of the organization until its official dissolution in 2018, activities of the political parties of the Nationalist Left affiliated to ETA and the attitude of Spanish authorities to...

Adult criminals' use of minors to commit crimes associated with the support of terrorist organizations is a significant problem in the United States. Despite strict laws prohibiting adult offenders from exploiting youth, these individuals aggressively pursue minors to commit crimes associated with the support of terrorist organizations. This quasi-experimental, cross-sectional study used resource dependency theory to explore the likelihood that adult criminal offenders in the U.S. will use minors for crimes that are associated with the support of terrorist organizations, based on crime typology, country of origin, and location of crime. Data were collected from a crime database maintained by the United States Sentencing Commission for 2012. Logistic regression was conducted to assess if crime typology, country of origin, and location of crime predicted the use of minors for crime by adult offenders in support of terrorist organizations. Results of the analysis were significant: Ï?2(7, N=485) = 180.18, p < .001, suggesting that crime typology, country of origin, and location of crime were significant predictors of the use of minors in crimes that are associated with the support of terrorist organizations. Drug trafficking and robbery crimes, and crimes committed in the Southern regions of the U.S. were most likely to involve minors when compared to other types of crimes and regions of the U.S., respectively. Positive social change implications stemming from this study include a recommendation to Congress to increase federal funding for law enforcement agencies and social programs, thereby improving the lives of minors that otherwise may become victims of adult criminal offenders who seek to use them to commit crimes in support of terrorist organizations.

Since the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) declared its caliphate in June 2014, there has been an unprecedented amount of terrorist attacks conducted in the West by individuals either inspired by jihadist ideology or linked to ISIS. As evidenced by the number of ISIS-related attacks throughout Europe and North America, the West faces an ongoing and persistent transnational threat from Islamic terrorism. There is an extensive amount of literature on terrorism and ISIS. However, there is a gap in literature on the potential impact of ISIS on the future of Islamic terrorism. This qualitative case study explored how ISIS potentially shaped the future of Islamic transnational terrorism. Stepanova'€™s asymmetric conflict theory served as the framework for this study. Interviews and one open-ended questionnaire on Islamic transnational terrorism were collected from 15 individuals within the defense enterprise, academia, and individuals working in private defense organizations, using purposive sampling. Analysis occurred by using Braum and Clarke'€™s six phases of coding. The results of this study indicated ISIS has shaped the future of transnational terrorism by demonstrating likeminded extremists no longer have to travel to conflict zones in order to plan or receive guidance on attack targets while using simple attack methods and weapons. Additionally, ISIS empowered and encouraged its members to interact with potential recruits or supporters through social media and open forums, which may possibly be emulated in the future by likeminded groups. The results contribute to positive social change by providing decision makers information on the future of Islamic transnational terrorism, thus allowing for appropriate countermeasures that mitigate terror activities.

This paper explores the research puzzle if states, in the name of security, conduct policy changes due to terrorist attacks and whether theses policy changes has an affect on the level of democracy. The research examines the cases of France and the UK during 2014-2016. France experienced several terrorist attacks in 2015 while the UK experienced none. The hypothesis, that the exposure of a terrorist attack/terrorist attacks leads to a decrease in democracy, received strong support. France saw a greater number of democratic restrictions than the UK in 2016. However, the support was reduced to a moderate level since the empirics indicate that countries often conduct anti-democratic policy changes due to previous experienced terrorist attacks and a perceived threat of terrorist attacks. This was the case in both countries 2014 and the UK 2016 where no terrorist attack was observed. An alternative explanation is that crises in general constitute a reduction in democracy rather than specifically terrorist attacks. Another objection is that the result might suffer from low reliability due to the case's similarity in terms of being European democratic countries. Therefore, to generalize the result a broader number of cases have to be examined.

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This thesis investigates the terrorist designation issued by Israel against six Palestinian civil society organizations in 2021. The organizations are based in the West Bank and remain designated as terrorist organizations according to Israeli law, despite rejections and condemnations by the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN), and the United States (US). The investigation builds on an interpretive approach and in-depth semi-structured interviews with five of the six designated organizations. By using the theory of ontological counter-securitization to investigate a case of shrinking civic space, this thesis brings the theory to a new context. Given that the context of Palestinian civil society is understudied, the aim is to contribute new context-specific findings as well as theoretical knowledge. More specifically, this approach is aimed at better understanding views and means of resistance among the interviewed organizations. The findings show that the five organizations view their terrorist designation as a way to defund Palestinian civil society. It is further implied that the terrorist designation has impacted the organizations' relationship with their donors. To maintain their work, the organizations have undertaken a form of risk management. The analysis also shows that enhanced recognition, cooperation and conviction have constituted means of resistance. The main finding of the analysis concerns the construction of a new identity among the designated organizations. It is argued that this identity construction is a specific form of resistance against the shrinking civic space. The findings are central to enhancing the understanding of how security practices are resisted in asymmetric power relationships.

In the last 12 years, since the devastating attack on the United States Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, the global community has become increasingly wary. The continuing terrorism on July 7, 2005 on the United Kingdom subway system increased tensions between citizens and immigrants in these countries. I use these two countries to examine the consequences effects that these terrorist attacks have had on, in particular, the Muslim immigrant population. In addition to that, I use Germany as a control, since it has not faced a major terrorist attack, yet has a substantial Muslim immigrant population. In the United States and United Kingdom, I use public opinion data polls and immigration policies before and after the attacks. In Germany's case, I utilize the same data and to assess any correlation to the other two countries data. Using the literature already written, public opinion data polls and policy initiatives enacted before and after these attacks, I examine the overall effect, if any, on the Muslim immigrant population in these countries. The intent of this thesis is to explore if the significant changes in immigration policies after the attacks have occurred due to economic or cultural factors. Because public opinion is central to policy changes, I also consider the implications of public's views on immigration after the attacks, along with the effect all this has on the number of Muslim immigrants entering these countries.