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Russia’s Counterterrorism Policy: Variations on an Imperial Theme

By Mariya Y. Omelicheva

For over a decade, Russia has struggled with persistent domestic insurgency and terrorism. The country has experienced a multitude of terrorist and militant attacks, and the turn of the century was marked by a series of high-profile terrorist incidents involving a large number of civilian casualties. In response to this threat, Russian authorities adopted extensive counterterrorism legislation, established and modified institutions responsible for combating terrorism, and streamlined the leadership and conduct of counterterrorist operations. According to recent statements...

By Luis de la Corte and Andrea Giménez-Salinas

Suicide bombings have become a method of growing use by terrorist groups and insurgents. This article reviews the strategic objectives as well as tactical and operational advantages of this modality. It also presents and analyzes factors increasing the risk of suicidal campaigns, as well as some of the measures that can be applied to counter and prevent suicide attacks.

by Raffaello Pantucci

This article will attempt to show how a recent plot in the United Kingdom, known by its police codename Operation Praline, and the broader international conspiracy that supported the group responsible may constitute an organic evolution of terrorist networks towards 'al-Qaeda' “architect” Abu Musab al-Suri’s nizam, la tanzim – “a system, not secret organization.” This is not to conclude that Aabid Khan and his broader network were necessarily purposefully moulding themselves in this direction – as the author has not seen evidence supporting this assertion – but rather this article attempts to show how al-Suri’s framework for global jihad offers a good prism through which to analyse this group since they would appear to have developed in broad accordance with al-Suri’s principles, whether wittingly or no.

A Perspective on Intelligence Reform

By Charles S. Faddis

Several years ago, while I was working operationally overseas, a team of analysts visited our office from headquarters in Washington, DC. These officers were on a tour of the region, and one of them offered to give a briefing to our local personnel regarding a terrorist group active in the country to which I was assigned and on which a lengthy piece of finished analysis had just been completed. The briefer, who had written the analysis, had reached a number of very interesting conclusions concerning the evolution of the group and believed that he was able to make a number of very detailed predictions regarding the direction this group would take in the future. Among other things, he was convinced that the group was losing support, was unable to maintain its previous level of activity and...

By Will H. Moore and Stephen M. Shellman

This essay is written in the midst of the recent calls for social scientists to perform research projects for the US Department of Defense. In that light, the essay makes an argument for what kinds of information the conflict processes school of thought can provide policymakers. Specifically, the authors contend that the current conceptual and theoretical orientation scholars are taking toward the study of dissent, repression, and violent conflict can illuminate causal mechanisms and answer questions other traditional schools of thought cannot. The essay argues that political scientists are on the cusp of being able to say very interesting things about the violent behavior of dissidents and governments as the outcome of dynamic processes that vary over time and space across the countries in which such conflicts take place.

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