World Terrorism

This textbook is a comprehensive introduction to global terrorism, intended to help students understand the history, politics, ideologies & strategies of both contemporary & older terrorist groups.

"We believe Al Qaeda continues to have a terrorist infrastructure in Canada, one with documented links to the U.S. While many border security measures have been implemented since 9/11, the vast expanse of the 4,000-mile-long U.S. northern border, with eighty-six points of entry and various unofficial crossings, may still provide opportunities for operatives to penetrate U.S. national security, particularly if Western passports are used." --The FBI, in a classified bulletin "Cold Terror will shock the conscience of a nation. In terrifying detail, it shows how the world’s terrorists have made themselves at home in Canada—and how they have been made welcome by cowardly politicians." --David Frum, Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of, with Richard Perle, An End to Evil: What’s Next in the War on Terror "Stewart Bell’s clarion call for action needs to be heeded before the ticking Canadian terrorist time bomb blows up closer to home. If Canadian terrorists aren’t stopped before they use weapons of mass destruction in the United States, we’ll have far bigger problems than keeping the border open for trade." --Patrick Grady, The Globe and Mail

This book explores the points of convergence between corporate capitalist and terrorist practice. Assessing an increase in the number of terrorist attacks directed at commercial entities in urban areas, with an emphasis on the shopping mall in general and Nairobi's Westgate Mall in particular, Suzi Mirgani offers a fascinating and disturbing perspective on the spaces where the most powerful forces of contemporary culture - the most mainstream and the most extreme - meet on common ground.

Although both Canada and the United Kingdom had experienced terrorism prior to the attacks of 9/11 and already had in place extensive provisions to deal with terrorism, the events of that day led to the enactment of new and expansive counter-terrorism legislation being enacted in both jurisdictions. This book explores these changes to counter-terrorism laws and policies in the United Kingdom and Canada in order to demonstrate that despite the force of international legal instruments, including the heavily scrutinized UN Security Council Resolution 1373, the evolution of counter-terrorism policies in different jurisdictions is best analysed and understood as a product of local institutional structures and cultures. The book compares legal and political structures and cultures within Canada and the United Kingdom. It analyses variations in the evolution of post-9/11 counter-terrorism measures in the two jurisdictions and explores the domestic reasons for them. While focus is primarily geared towards security certificates and bail with recognizance/investigative hearings in Canada, and detention without trial, control orders and TPIMs in the United Kingdom , the use of secret evidence in the wider national security context (terrorist listing, civil litigation, criminal prosecutions, etc.) is also discussed. The book reveals how domestic structures and cultures, including the legal system, the relative stability of government, local human rights culture and geopolitical relationships all influence how counter-terrorism measures evolve. In this sense, the book utilizes a methodology that is both comparative and interdisciplinary by engaging in legal, political, historical and cultural analyses. This book will be particularly useful for target audiences in the fields of comparative law and criminal justice, counter-terrorism law, human rights law and international relations and politics.

This book offers a guide to interpreting available statistical data on terrorism attacks around the world. The Global Terrorism Database (GTD) now includes more than 113,000 terrorist attacks, starting in 1970. By analyzing these data, researchers demonstrate how a very small number of terrorist attacks have had an outsized effect on attitudes and policies toward terrorism. These attacks, referred to as ‘black swan’ events, are difficult to predict but have an enormous impact on human affairs for years to come. The book discusses terrorist attacks, such as 9/11, possibly the most high profile ‘black swan’ event in living memory, by putting them into context with thousands of less publicized attacks that have plagued the world since 1970. Historically, the study of terrorism has suffered from a general lack of empirical data and statistical analysis. This is largely due to the difficulty of obtaining valid data on a topic that poses significant collection challenges. However, this book makes use of the fact that the GTD is currently the most extensive unclassified database on terrorism ever collected. While there have been summaries of the research literature on terrorism and important analyses of international terrorism event data, this is the first book that provides a comprehensive empirical overview of the nature and evolution of both modern international and domestic terrorism. This book will be of interest to students of terrorism and political violence, criminology, international security, and political science in general.

This three-volume reference on terrorism in the 20th century places this growing phenomenon in the context of modern history. It provides students with both detailed information and the historical perspective tie terrorism to the high school and college curriculum. "Volume 1" defines terrorism, explores the historical perspective from the dawn of Western Civilisation through World War II, and discusses specific activities of modern terrorist groups. "Volume 2" focuses on the developing world, with emphasis on the Middle East (including the 1996 peace process). "Volume 3" explores terrorism and responses to terrorism in the developed world. This volume covers the United States, Europe, Israel, Britain, Central and South America and concludes with a chronology of major terrorist events since 1945, an A-Z listing of terrorist groups and leaders, and a select bibliography.

In 1979, several world reknowned politicians, ambassadors, academicians, and journalists met at the Jerusalem Conference on Terrorism to discuss the origins, nature, and future of terrorism and to propose measures for combatting and defeating the international terror movements. This conference marked a turning point in the world's understanding of the problem of terrorism and what has to be done about it. This excellent collection of articles expressing a broad range of political opinion on terrorism makes available for the first time the contents of that conference.

This book examines novel and nonmainstream aspects of international terrorism in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. It explores issues that are not really explored in the mainstream literature such as the environmental message of terror groups, the issue of female jihadists and the social media strategy of terror groups. Whilst old issues remain and deserves a dissident perspective, like the Iran nuclear deal, newer issues like the impact of the Abrahamic Accord on the Middle East comes to the fore. At the same time, policy-makers need to be bold in responding to terror threat, including pooling sovereignty when confronting a truly global threat. Taken together this study reflects the most up to date volume on recent development in terrorism globally.