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The role of Open Source Intelligence in the Fight against Transnational Organized Crime - A European Perspective
Ehe, Ricardo ; Butler, Eamonn (vedoucí práce) ; Střítecký, Vít (oponent) ; Dowd, Caitriona (oponent)
While terrorism and the internet, especially social media, has received substantial recognition in literature, this paper will address the research question of how Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) can be utilized to combat Transnational Organized Crime (TOC). As the fight against transnational organized groups is primarily a government concern, the perspective of European Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) and the methodology of intelligence-led policing is placed in the center of the analysis. The link between vendors and consumers of illegal goods and services will also be investigated as it is a particularly valuable access point for OSINT given that the attention of consumers is generally captured publicly. One of the most promising applications could be identified in the context of combating human trafficking, as sexual exploitation of victims is often linked to a rich source of images which can provide specific traces. Even if the illegal business of TOC is conducted in anonymous places such as the darknet, new technological solutions of machine learning and web crawling constitute promising ways forward. Due to its unique characteristics as an intelligence discipline, OSINT, does not only provide opportunities regarding TOC, but it also has a positive impact on interagency collaboration and...
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The International Drug Control Regime: A Case for Regime Theory and Issue Salience
Padilla Pineda, Eugenia Isabel ; Karásek, Tomáš (vedoucí práce) ; Aliyev, Huseyn (oponent) ; Dowd, Caitriona (oponent)
Utilizing regime theory and the concept of issue salience, this study aims to show how the resilience of an agenda item can contribute to a change in an international security regime. The International Drug Control Regime's (IDCR) conventions and principles, rules and norms have been continuously contested over the past years. Several countries (Canada, Uruguay and some U.S. states) have moved forward with the legalisation of the recreational and medicinal use of cannabis, one of the drugs the regime has classified as 'highly dangerous', citing security, human rights and their citizen's preferences to explain their unilateral decision at the expense of the IDCR. The cannabis debate has become a salient issue in the IDCR, demonstrating patterns of change like internal contradictions, underlying structures of power and exogenous forces. This study will rely on a theoretical approach supported by a within-case historical analysis of the IDCR between 2009-2020, as well as discourse and documentary methods to assess how the salience of the cannabis debate to the regime's member-states can contribute to the possibility of a regime shift or change.
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The Securitisation of Human Development in Russia - Does it Allow for a Russian Human Security Doctrine?
Ribeiro Assumpção, Clara ; Cheskin, Ammon (vedoucí práce) ; Hynek, Nikola (oponent) ; Dowd, Caitriona (oponent)
The securitisation of human development in Russia - Does it allow for a Russian human security doctrine? Abstract This work sets out to find whether Russia's security doctrine is compatible with an understanding of human security. The main theoretical underpinnings guiding this research is an understanding of human security as an instance of securitisation, as well as an expanded approach to securitisation theory that takes ordinary politics into consideration. In order to analyse the Russian case, this work first constructs a framework of what human security entails by organising the most prevalent definitions of the term in a spectrum of broadness. Subsequently, a thematic content analysis of the founding documents of the Russian security doctrine is executed, and its findings are compared to the previously established baseline of human security definitions. Through this comparison, the author is then capable of answering the research questions "Does Russia's security doctrine securitise development issues using the individual as a referent? If so, does it make for a Russian definition of human security?". Keywords: Human Development; Human Security; Russia; Securitisation.
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Narratives and interstate relations: Understanding the depth of the Sino-Russo partnership through the narratives China and Russia propagate
Mulholland, Steven ; Kaczmarski, Marcin (vedoucí práce) ; Dowd, Caitriona (oponent)
This dissertation seeks to understand the depth, scale and limitations of the Sino-Russo Partnership through the narratives propagated by Russia and China. Although the results are not completely conclusive due to the fact that there are other factors which will determine the depth of the partnership, it does provide an understanding of Sino-Russo interaction in a narrative context. To achieve these results, a collection of media sources has been taken from the global level, from Western Europe and the Balkans in order to identify the key narratives being exported by Russia and China and whether any placement of the other, be it positive or negative, is present in their respective narratives. This will also be achieved in tandem with the existing scholarly literature. The overall results showed a lack of negative placement in the media sources, suggesting an unwillingness to portray the other negatively for the sake of their partnership and some positive placement from both states towards the other, primarily in Western Europe and becoming minimal in the Balkans. The positive placement found was particularly interesting, providing connotations that there is a willingness to support each other but specifically in Western Europe where there seems to be more in common for projecting shared strength....
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Hybrid governance in Latin America : A case study of the response of Mexican criminal syndicates to the COVID-19 pandemic
Natale, Maria Fabiana ; Berg, Julie (vedoucí práce) ; Dowd, Caitriona (oponent)
Hybrid governance in Latin America A case study of the response of Mexican criminal syndicates to the COVID-19 pandemic Wordcount: 20282 International Master in Security Intelligence and Strategic Studies 2409572N 29/07/2021 Abstract In the academia, long dominated by a Western state-centric approach, the idea of the coexistence of different orders of social domination emerged in the nineties. It set the premises for the academic literature on hybrid governance. This research area is very recent and still developing. Hence, the fields of application of this concept in the academic literature are diverse but still too limited. Therefore, this dissertation arises from the consideration that it would be interesting to further investigate the applicability of this under-exploited notion. In particular, it looks at criminal organizations in Latin America through the case study of Mexican drug cartels amid the pandemic. This case presents the key characteristics of hybridity, hence making it a relevant tool to analyze it. The finding of the possibility of the applicability of hybrid governance as an analytical lens to understand Mexican drug cartels during the pandemic suggests the possibility to expand the field of application of this concept. It leads to a broader reflection on hybrid governance schemes with...
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"Smartening" European borders: Are we automating discrimination?
Gyan-Addo, Lawreen Dzifa ; Kay, Rebecca (vedoucí práce) ; Dowd, Caitriona (oponent)
1 "Smartening" European borders: are we automating discrimination? An analysis of the technical and legal idiosyncrasies between the EU's approach to algorithmic discrimination and the organisations' actions in the context of border management. August 2021 UofG: 2486511 DCU: 19109792 Charles: 64314260 Presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of International Master in Security, Intelligence and Strategic Studies Word Count: 20974 Supervisor: Dr. Rebecca Kay Date of Submission: 02 August 2021 2 International Master in Security, Intelligence and Strategic Studies 2019/2021 Dissertation Archive Permission Form I give the University of Glasgow and Charles University permission to archive an e- copy of my Master dissertation in a publicly available folder and to use it for educational purposes in the future. Student Name: LAWREEN GYAN-ADDO Student Number: 2486511 Student Signature: Date: 02/08/2021 3 Abstract Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Big Data technologies are progressively being utilised in various spheres of our lives, demonstrating an ability to interfere with job applications, social media interactions and even judicial proceedings. A novel area of expansion of such technologies is EU border crossings, where the introduction of artificial lie- detectors,...
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The Islamic Petroleum State: A study of US-Led airstrikes against ISIS's oil network in Iraq and Syria
de Rooij, Mats Julian ; Dowd, Caitriona (vedoucí práce) ; Špelda, Petr (oponent)
Dissertation Mats de Rooij Charles University Student Number: 17287595 ABSTRACT Keywords: ISIS oil financing strategy-making third-party interventions United States This dissertation will explore the US-led coalition's strategy for disrupting ISIS's oil network in Iraq and Syria. Scholars have debated the desirability of third-party interventions and strategies for countering financing structures of violent non- state actors. However, remarkably limited research exists on ISIS's estimated largest source of revenue during the existence of its caliphate: the production and distribution of petroleum. This study will therefore introduce a framework for analysing the military response enacted by the US-led coalition between September 2014 and October 2017. It will do so through a mixed method study that includes the first-hand generation and analysis of a dataset containing 5,768 unique data points that present both an insight into the strategy behind the strikes and vulnerabilities in ISIS's oil network. Findings demonstrate how the coalition was able to exploit vulnerabilities specifically in the production, transportation, and refinement stages of the production chain. It will be argued that, as the campaign proceeded, the coalition became increasingly willing to take risks of collateral damage as a...
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Human security and the Nigerian counterterrorism policy: Is the Nigerian counterterrorism policy human security centred?
Delfour, Marie ; Dowd, Caitriona (vedoucí práce) ; Hynek, Nikola (oponent)
In 2014, the Nigerian government released the National Counter-Terrorism Strategy (NACTEST). This comprehensive strategy aims to tackle the root causes of terrorism. It combines elements of hard and soft approaches but it emphasis soft powers. The root causes of terrorism are grouped in the seven key elements of human security. It is essential to take into account all the aspects of human security because they are intrinsically linked.Therefore a human security centred counterterrorism policy is an effective way to tackle the leading factors to terrorism. This dissertation aims to establish whether the Nigerian counterterrorism policy is human security centred both in paper and in practice. This dissertation demonstrates that the counterterrorism policy is human security centred in the policy paper but not in practice. The author argues that the lack of human security in the policy conducted in the ground explains the failure of the government to eradicate Boko Haram.
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Understanding the current threat of bioterrorism: A study of violent non-state actors' online instruction manuals
Ekren, Frida ; Anceschi, Luca (vedoucí práce) ; Dowd, Caitriona (oponent)
Against the backdrop of a pandemic that has overwhelmed and caused great damage to nations across the world, the issue of bioterrorism has received renewed attention. There is increasing concern that ill-intentioned actors' interest in bioterrorism might revive as Violent Non-State Actors (VNSAs) are witnessing the devastating effect of biological threat agents and national authorities' inability to control the COVID virus and its consequences. Simultaneously, technological developments are decreasing the economical, practical, and intellectual barriers for VNSAs to enact advanced mass destruction bioterrorist attacks. The crux then, lies in the fact that bioterrorism-related incidents, thus far, have been scarce and limited in scope despite increasing technological opportunities. Indeed, the world has yet to witness a successful mass casualty bioterrorist attack. The divergence between the room of opportunity available to VNSAs and the seeming lack of efforts to exploit these opportunities to advance their bioterrorism capabilities, instigates further research on the issue to improve our understanding of the current and future bioterrorism threat. This paper aims to improve our understanding of the bioterrorism threat by conducting an empirically grounded qualitative evaluation of VNSAs' current...
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