The task of researching the material for this book proved more arduous than originally anticipated. The Abu Sayyaf Group was generally misunderstood in their formation, goals, ideology – if any – and structure. Consequently, it became necessary to chronologically trace all the crimes attributed to the group as well as research the lives and deeds of the leaders and majordomos in the group. This at times became a task of trying to distinguish what was fact from what was myth. The main source of primary evidence for this book came from newspaper reports and official Philippine Government media releases – including Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) releases. The newspaper reports, and AFP releases, were, in the main, carefully choreographed to reflect the domestic security policies of the Philippine Administration of the time. Individual reports, including those from the Bangkok-based Focus on the Global South, gave a more balanced account of the Abu Sayyaf activities and their leaders. After careful consideration of all data and evidence available, it became obvious the Abu Sayyaf had been in decline since its heyday of 2002. This was even more so since the death of Khadaffy Janjalani in the middle part of the first decade of the 21st century. The conclusion reached was that the Abu Sayyaf in 2012 existed in name only – or fragmented cells – more so than any organised terrorist entity.

A ground-breaking study on how natural disasters can escalate or defuse wars, insurgencies, and other strife. Armed conflict and natural disasters have plagued the twenty-first century. Not since the end of World War II has the number of armed conflicts been higher. At the same time, natural disasters have increased in frequency and intensity over the past two decades, their impacts worsened by climate change, urbanization, and persistent social and economic inequalities. Providing the first comprehensive analysis of the interplay between natural disasters and armed conflict, Catastrophes, Confrontations, and Constraints explores the extent to which disasters facilitate the escalation or abatement of armed conflicts—as well as the ways and contexts in which combatants exploit these catastrophes. Tobias Ide utilizes both qualitative insights and quantitative data to explain the link between disasters and the (de-)escalation of armed conflict and presents over thirty case studies of earthquakes, droughts, floods, and storms in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. He also examines the impact of COVID-19 on armed conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and the Philippines. Catastrophes, Confrontations, and Constraints is an invaluable addition to current debates on climate change, environmental stress, and security. Professionals and students will greatly appreciate the wealth of timely data it provides for their own investigations.

How should we analyze and assess new terrorist behaviors? What are the particular risks and challenges from new terrorism? Should we negotiate with terrorists, and, if so, how? When should we use force against terrorists? Countering New(est) Terrorism: Hostage-Taking, Kidnapping, and Active Violence—Assessing, Negotiating, and Assaulting improves our knowledge of new terrorist behaviors, and our skills in responding to such attacks. The term "new terrorism" has been in circulation since the late 90’s. This book analyzes the "newest terrorism" that has emerged in recent years—characterized by increased hostage-taking, kidnapping, and active violence—and develops best practices for countering these emerging threats. Along the way, it challenges fashionable wishful thinking that all terrorists are open to rational negotiation or de-radicalization, that military responses always reflect badly on the official side, and that terrorists are not constrained by their own doctrines. The new terrorists are dramatically more ideological, murderous, and suicidal. They are generally less reconcilable, less trusting of official negotiators, less likely to release detainees, and more likely to kill detainees. They are less likely to demand ransoms yet more likely to release hostages in cases in which they do demand ransom. They are more informed about the official side’s policies, tactics, techniques, and procedures. They are more likely to use new information and communication technologies against responding agencies and officials. They are more capable fighters—they kill more people despite deploying fewer fighters per hostage. Most disturbing is the fact that they take advantage of free-er societies to access easier targets. Features: Includes evidence-based definitions and descriptions of political, religious, Jihadi, and new terrorism Presents the first large-n comparison of old and new terrorism, using an original extension of the Global Terrorism Database (GTD), with added codes for each of 10,735 hostage crises and more than 500,000 data points from 1970 through 2016 Details a further extension of the GTD covering all terrorist events from 2004 through 2016, roughly 5 million data points. Offers prescriptive advice and visual decision trees on how to negotiate crises, assess the risk of terrorism, and how and when to assault terrorists Reviews official practices, interviews with experienced officials, and real-world simulations of recent terrorist events and attacks Countering New(est) Terrorism will be of interest to researchers, students enrolled in terrorism and Homeland Security programs, crisis negotiators, and police, security, intelligence, and military authorities tasked with counterterrorism and anti-terrorism efforts.

This book examines the relationship between terrorism and counterterrorism and how it operates within the broader context of communication, control, power, and democratic governance at the national, international, and transnational level. A culmination of decades of research on the challenges that liberal democracies face in dealing with terrorism, this work provides an innovative framework that maps out the broader context in which terrorism and counterterrorism interact and co-evolve – the terrorism–counterterrorism nexus. In a series of models moving from local to global perspectives, the framework places this nexus within the broader context of social, cultural, political, and economic life. This framework provides a tool for maintaining situational awareness in a multi-tiered, networked world where geography and history are splintering into a rainbow of perspectives and locales, revealing the contested nature of space and time themselves. This book will be of much interest to students of political violence, terrorism studies, communication studies, and international relations, as well as security professionals.

This new Handbook provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art overview of current knowledge and debates on terrorism and counterterrorism, as well as providing a benchmark for future research. The attacks of 9/11 and the ‘global war on terror’ and its various legacies have dominated international politics in the opening decades of the 21st century. In response to the dramatic rise of terrorism, within the public eye and the academic world, the need for an accessible and comprehensive overview of these controversial issues remains profound. The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism and Counterterrorism seeks to fulfil this need. The volume is divided into two key parts: Part I: Terrorism: This section provides an overview of terrorism, covering the history of terrorism, its causes and characteristics, major tactics and strategies, major trends and critical contemporary issues such as radicalisation and cyber-terrorism. It concludes with a series of detailed case studies, including the IRA, Hamas and Islamic State. Part II: Counterterrorism: This part draws on the main themes and critical issues surrounding counterterrorism. It covers the major strategies and policies, key events and trends and the impact and effectiveness of different approaches. This section also concludes with a series of case studies focused on major counterterrorism campaigns. This book will be of great interest to all students of terrorism and counterterrorism, political violence, counter-insurgency, criminology, war and conflict studies, security studies and IR more generally.

South Asia offers an instructive instance for studying the phenomenon of terrorism. The Other Side of Terror offers insights from the literatures of India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The Nepali writings concern the Maoist insurgency; those from Sri Lanka, the Tamil militancy. The Indian selections engage with manifestations ranging from the militant wing of the Independence movement to the various post-Independence terrorist movements, such as separatism in Punjab, the insurgency in Assam, and the Naxalite movement in Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh. The selections, comprising both original writings in English as well as translations from regional languages, include short stories, poetry, and excerpts from novels and plays. The volume will appeal to all those concerned with the phenomenon of terrorism in South Asia, cultural studies, history, literature, as well as general readers.

Which socializing agents are influential in people joining terror groups? What ideologies do terror groups hold? Which aspects of societies and social contexts contribute towards groups forming and people joining them? This book considers a range of influential terror groups from the last 40 years, exploring relationships between people, local and global social processes, and activities that result in acts of terrorism. Examining Islamic groups alongside nationalist, 'red' and far right organizations, Stephen Vertigans identifies important similarities in the social contexts, experiences of members and some of their demands. Key questions are applied to a range of case studies of contemporary relevance. The groups studied originated from Europe, the United States, Asia and Africa and are associated with religion, nationalism, pro-state terrorism, militias and racism. Each chapter offers the reader a clear understanding about why particular terror groups form, while comparative analysis draws out commonalities and distinctions.