9 research outputs found
The internet and terrorism: pathways towards terrorism & counter-terrorism
The internet and terrorism: pathways towards terrorism & counter-terroris
Irish Republicanism and the internet: support for new wave dissidents
This article considers the use of the Internet by Irish Republicans and does so by applying thematic content analysis to a sample of websites that support the Irish Republican movement. Particular attention is paid to the Irish Republican virtual community which, through regular user interaction, creates and sustains an online discourse of support for their cause and the currently active dissident movements. Further analysis focuses on the function of a virtual community and the interactions facilitated by this online social space in relation to the potential for increased commitment to, and involvement in, support-related activities both on and off line
The Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement in George W. Bushâs âWar on Terrorâ Rhetoric
Despite considerable literature on the Bush administrationâs war on terrorism rhetoric, little attention has been paid to its discourse of moral disengagement, leaving an important and still relevant gap that this paper aims to address. Rather than approaching this gap in terms of an archival historical analysis that is disconnected from the present, it proposes an exploratory revisit of the rhetoric that the benefits of hindsight might enrich and, we argue, aid in understanding connections to the current post-invasion turmoil and the gradual ISIS takeover. Having subjected nineteen presidential speeches to qualitative content analysis, we identified a number of moral disengagement mechanisms: moral justification, advantageous comparisons, and attribution of blame, dehumanisation of the enemy, the use of sanitizing language, diffusion of responsibility and minimization of harm. We also identified novel themes relating to American excellence/patriotism, religious ideals and fear- arousing appeals, offering original contributions to the existing literature and advancing our understanding of dynamic, real-world, and highest stakes moral disengagement whose parallels can be identified in todayâs political discourses. The detailed analysis unveils the apparent paradox of propagating moral disengagement through a thread of arguments that interweave diversity with uniformity, complexity with simplicity, in effect alerting the reader to the processes of moral desensitisation that the past, current and future âwarmongeringâ political discourses may often rely upon
Between a rock and a hard place of geopolitically sensitive threats - critical incidents and decision inertia
While the SAFE-T model of decision making emphasizes naturalistic decision making, its potential for cross-comparative analysis of incidents with global implications remains underutilized, which the current paper aims to address. To this end, it draws upon open-source reports from unclassified American, British and Russian intelligence reports to explore the management of three types of 10 high-profile geopolitically sensitive threats from across the globe (verifying potential terrorist identity, hostage rescue and national/international security). Defining features of such incidents include decision makersâ ability to prospectively model competing scenarios in which they must select between options and where every outcome looks aversive and high risk (âdamned if you do or damned if you donât decisionsâ). A frequent consequence of such calculations is âdecision inertiaâ (a failure to execute an important, irrevocable decision resulting in non-optimal consequences), or âimplementation failureâ (a failure to make a choice). Combining the benefit of the theoretical framework and hindsight knowledge of the analyzed incidents, the paper facilitates theoretical understanding of decision inertia and failures to act. Encouraging the consideration of multiple scenario endings contingent on a wide spectrum of factors and unique cultural-historical context, it also helps identify past decision errors in order to inform assessment and management of similar geopolitical threats in the future
Anti-abortion extremism online
This paper presents an overview of anti-abortion extremism online, focusing on the âArmy of Godâ Web site that supports the use of violence to criminalise abortion. Also discussed are some of the dominant figures in this movement and their online presence. The use of the Internet by movements of this nature highlights its function as a powerful propaganda tool that can be used to encourage support for and action in the name of the anti-abortion extremist movement
Exploring âStormfrontâ: a virtual community of the radical right
In considering how terrorist movements use the Internet, it is becoming increasingly apparent that we must move beyond predominantly descriptive overviews of the contents
of websites to examine in more detail the notion of virtual communities of support and the functions of these for their members. Virtual communities in support of terrorist
movements are real social spaces where people interact on a regular basis to disseminate their views, share their knowledge, and encourage each other to become increasingly
supportive of movements that use terrorism to achieve their goals. Taken from a larger body of comparative qualitative research investigating the content and function of
discourses created in virtual communities in support of terrorism, this article presents a thematic analysis of âStormfront,â a virtual community of the radical right
Exploring the form and function of dissident Irish Republican online discourses
This article seeks to contribute to broadening the focus of research in the area of violent online political extremism by examining the use of the internet by dissident Irish Republicans and their supporters. The argument here is not that the internet substitutes face-to-face contacts amongst Irish Republicans, including violent dissidents, nor that it currently plays a central role in processes of radicalisation into violent dissident groups, but that it has an important support function in terms of providing an âalways-onâ space for discussion, consumption, and production of Irish Republicanism and thus a potentially educative role in terms of introducing ânewbiesâ to violent dissident Republicanism while also acting as a âmaintenanceâ space for the already committed. This exploratory study considers the importance of these functions in the context of repeated suggestions that the dissidents have no significant support base or constituency as internet activity certainly gives the appearance of some such support
Anxiety about digital security and terrorism, and support for counter-terror measures
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the potential predictors of anxiety about digital security, terrorist threats and support for high-tech counter measures. Design/methodology/approach In Study 1, 195 participants indicated their anxiety about digital security systems, data protection and social networking sites. In Study 2, 107 participants indicated their anxiety about domestic terrorism, international terrorism and extremist groups. In Study 3, 261 participants indicated their support for high-tech counter-terrorism measures. Findings Study 1 suggests that whereas anxiety about digital security systems, data protection and social networking sites was positively predicted by right-wing authoritarianism, anxiety about social networking was also negatively predicted by time spent online. Study 2 shows that time spent online was a negative predictor of anxiety about domestic terrorism. Study 3 indicates that the strongest positive predictor of support for all the measures was right-wing authoritarianism, followed by national identity. Research limitations/implications The findings show the relevance of terror management theory to digital security and counter-terrorism. Practical implications It appears that right-wing authoritarianism and national identity may serve as mechanisms for people to subjectively counter the presented threats. This notion may inform relevant policy and practice aimed at making communities safer and potentially helps introduce counter-terror measures with less public backlash. Social implications When designing counter-terror measures, policy makers should consider compound national identities (e.g. Catalan or Basque people). Originality/value The paper makes contribution to under-explored areas of terrorism anxiety and support for counter-terror measures. </jats:sec