Comparing Goals and Aspirations of National vs Transnational Islamist Movements
National-based Islamist movements and transnational-based Islamist movements have different approaches to diverse political attitudes and religious value systems.
Pledging Allegiance to ISIS: Who Benefits Most?
Rivalries among jihadist movements will not bring about their downfall, but they will prevent the unified, worldwide jihadist movement that ISIS has sought to build.
The Fifteen-Sided War
US strategy for dealing with ISIL is widely criticised. However, it seems to be right for a war in which US enemies are its allies and allies are allies of its enemies.
Review – Jihadi Culture on the World Wide Web
Ramsay’s analysis of online jihadi culture challenges current assumptions about this phenomenon and examines its limited translation to real world violence.
Review – Terrorism and the Politics of Social Change
Dingley’s analysis of the origins of terrorism is somewhat undermined by his Durkheimian sociological approach, and his use of qualitative methodologies in place of sophisticated statistical research.
The Duality of Syria: Civil War and The War on Terror
Finding a conclusion to the civil war and the ‘War on Terror’ is reliant upon fulfilling the will of the Syrian people without letting them fracture to the point of continuing civil unrest.
An Open Rebuttal to Gian Gentile’s Article on Counterinsurgency
Gian Gentile’s article on COIN ignores literature that weigh stability and combat operations equally. The key failure of COIN has been not understanding how to integrate the multiple levels required.
Counterinsurgency: The Graduate Level of War or Pure Hokum?
The US Army’s counterinsurgency manual calls COIN the “graduate level of war.” But, the idea that enlightened soldiers were required to win a war is hokum.
What Do We Really Know About Boko Haram?
If the US gets involved in fighting Boko Haram, it could galvanise the support of anti-US movements. However, there are several conflicting narratives on Boko Haram. What is known about the sect is speculative, which highlights a need for empirical research.
Russia, America, and Syria
Moscow and Washington strongly disagree over many issues. Their differences over Syria, however, do not amount to a Cold War-style proxy war between them. Regional actors are more at odds in Syria than the U.S. and Russia.
