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Jihadism in Italy: an analysis of the Islamic State-inspired radicalisation process of Anas El Abboubi and Maria Giulia Sergio
Fiore, Silvia ; Aslan, Emil (advisor) ; Střítecký, Vít (referee)
MSc SECINTEL Independent Study (Dissertation) Jihadism in Italy: an analysis of the Islamic State-inspired radicalisation process of Anas El Abboubi and Maria Giulia Sergio July 2018 Glasgow Student Number: 2267042f Charles Student Number: 12549163 Presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of MSc International Security, Intelligence and Strategic Studies (SECINTEL) Word Count: 22354 Supervisor University of Glasgow: Dr Katherine Allison Supervisor Charles University: Dr Emil Aslan Souleimanov MSc SECINTEL Independent Study (Dissertation) ABSTRACT The terrorist group known as IS (The Islamic State) has been remarkably successful in recruiting young European Muslims, including Italians, into joining its armed jihad. IS skilfully uses Islamist narratives to exploit the vulnerability of aggrieved individuals, which raises important questions regarding the role of Islam in the radicalisation process. This dissertation conducts an analytical inquiry into the journey to radicalism of two young Italian jihadists, Anas El Abboubi and Maria Giulia Sergio, in an attempt to present qualified supportive evidence for the claim that Islam is used as a justification factor rather than being the primary motivator in the adoption of radical beliefs. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the...
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Methods of Recruitment and Propaganda Activities Carried Out by Terrorist Groups Inspired by the Ideology of Salafi Jihadism
Kubrina, Ekaterina ; Ditrych, Ondřej (advisor) ; Ludvík, Zdeněk (referee)
The diploma thesis is focused on the issue of radicalization of young people, who join terrorist organizations inspired by the ideology of Salafi Jihadism. Terrorist groups are one of the greatest global threats of the 21st century, and the recruitment of new fighters is their basic factor of success and growth. Therefore, the aim of the thesis is to compare the methods and techniques of recruitment used by Salafi Jihadist groups and to identify successful strategies of terrorist groups, leading to the radicalization of certain populations. The work deals with two concrete terrorist groups - the "Islamic State" and Al-Qaeda, because these groups operate globally, have sympathizers around the world, and attract different people to join them. The basis of the research is an application of different radicalization models that have been developed up to now on the observed methods and strategies of terrorist recruiters. The result of this research is a revealing of the most used methods of recruitment, the reasons of successful recruitment cases and a summarizing of the qualities of potential recruits and the factors facilitating radicalization of these persons.
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Comparing U.S. Counterterrorist Policies against Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State
Kopecká, Anna - Marie ; Ditrych, Ondřej (advisor) ; Doboš, Bohumil (referee)
The thesis deals with comparison of the United States counterterrorist policies against al- Qaeda and the Islamic state. It compares the approaches of two U.S. administrations in period from 11th September 2001 to end of the year 2014, when the Operation Enduring Freedom came to its end, and in period from July 2014, when the Operation Inherent Resolve was launched, to the end of the year 2016. The thesis characterizes similarities and differences between both strategies. It also aims to answer the question whether the U.S. approach to al- Qaeda was tougher than the one to the Islamic state. Counterterrorist policies are being compared here based on three criteria: military means employed, cooperation with international actors and extra-legalism. The first part of the thesis copes with concepts of terrorism and counter-terrorism. In the next part both approaches are analyzed separately and compared subsequently. In the conclusion the results are summarized and causes of differences between approaches are interpreted.
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Media Construction of Kurdish women's militia in CT, CNN, AJE and RT
Slezák, Prokop ; Vochocová, Lenka (advisor) ; Krobová, Tereza (referee)
The diploma thesis The media construction of the Kurdish women's militia in CT, CNN, AJE and RT deals with the media coverage of all female Kurdish militias in three world media and one domestic. The aim of the thesis is to allow readers a comprehensive approach to the studied media in covering topics related to Kurdish fighters with the use of a qualitative method known as interpretive reading. The author has included TV stations, each of which represents one dominant region - CNN American, AJE Middle Eastern, RT Russian and Czech TV domestic. Existing academic papers often focus on media fascination with Kurdish fighters, labeling them as "tough warriors", describing them as an unusual phenomenon in the territory of the patriarchal Middle East. This work focuses mainly on comparing the degree of fascination and gender stereotyping in media coverage of each media house. Kurdish women's militias have been the center of media attention in connection with the war with the so-called Islamic State, which has captured large areas in Syria and Iraq since 2014. The main events that raised media attention around the Kurdish women fighters were the battle of the city of Kobani in northern Syria and the assault on the Yazidi community in the northwest of Iraq at Mount Sindjar. In both cases, Kurdish women became an...
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Securitization of the Veteran Effect of Foreign Fighters from ISIS in Europe
Pěčková, Miroslava ; Ditrych, Ondřej (advisor) ; Ludvík, Zdeněk (referee)
The aim of this Master's thesis is to examine the securitization discourse used to construct the security threat coming from the veteran effect of the Islamic State's foreign fighters in Europe, and to see what kind of policies were adopted to counter it so far. The phenomenon of departing European citizens, who are becoming foreign fighters in the Syrian conflict, joining the ranks of the Islamic State, and then return back to their country of origin after having acquired combat experience or other training, has become a hot topic of discussion not only for academics, but also for politicians and ordinary citizens. To precise, this thesis is working with three main case studies, whose securitization discourse and security policies are analysed. These are: European Union, United Kingdom and France. The author was interested in finding out what similarities and differences can be found between the analysed countries, plus, whether there is some pattern of influence between the European Union and its member states in this area. The author of this thesis chose to use a comparative case study as a research design. It is useful to realize a contrast of contexts and therefore to discover specifics of the analysed cases. Two tables were created in order to clarify the operationalization of the analysed...
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US cooperation with the Middle East in the fight against the Islamic state
Koláč, Vojtěch ; Calda, Miloš (advisor) ; Raška, Francis (referee)
The Islamic State's phenomenon has been the subject of many analyses since its inception, and in 2018 it is a very dynamic, dynamic issue with a global dimension. The main goal of the bachelor thesis is to find out in what way the approach to defeating the "IS" in the four major powers, except the USA, also in the concepts of Russia, Iran and Turkey based on a search of available literature, domestic and foreign articles and analysis of elaborated strategic documents. The Middle East is a region where the interests of global actors meet the national interests of local powers. This work also aims to define the ways in which the Islamic State influences and influences the strategic interests of four selected actors: the United States of America, Russia, Turkey and Iran. Analytical and descriptive methods are used in the work. Because of the topicality of the issue, it is largely drawn from internet sources, in the form of expert analyses and newspaper articles, to a lesser extent from the final works and book publications.
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The Formation of coalitions against the Islamic State
Pinkas, Šimon ; Kofroň, Jan (advisor) ; Střítecký, Vít (referee)
In this bachelor thesis, I will be exploring the process of formation of coalitions in the context of war against Islamic State in the region of Near and Middle East. Through this analysis, I will try to test the Balance of Threat theory, conceived by Stephen Walt, whose main assumption is a severe influence of the aspect of threat on the state's coalition policy. Coalitions are important phenomena on the international scene, often being crucial for the next political development, researching them is both instructive and beneficial. In this thesis, I will firstly summarize the assumptions of the theory concerning the formation of coalitions and follow up with the analysis of all state-actors participating in my research, according to the qualities needed for successful test of the theory. Then I will explore the coalition making process that led to formation of the main coalitions against ISIS. Finally, according to the data from this analysis, I will decide whether the Balance of Threat theory is or is not valid.
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Pictorial Possible Worlds
Špelda, Petr ; Střítecký, Vít (advisor) ; Raida, Zbyněk (referee) ; Conway, Maura (referee)
The present text develops a model designed to generate conceptual theories with respect to the pictorial (visual) form of representation. This is achieved by combining a computational approach to cognition with philosophical devices of the analytic tradition. The model itself, simulating the structure of reality, consists of (i) a metaphysical stage based on Armstrong's theory of combinatorial possibility, (ii) an epistemological stage proposing emergent phenomena founded upon the notion of computational irreducibility, and (iii) a semantic stage proposing a stochastic account of concepts anchored in the intensional/extensional apprehension of meaning. Towards the end, the model is applied to develop a conceptual account of a case of social, political, and economic organization of human communities as depicted in the visual propaganda of the so-called Islamic State.
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Chosen ethically disputable aspects in the czech audiovisual media coverage about organization Islamic state
Randuška, David ; Moravec, Václav (advisor) ; Osvaldová, Barbora (referee)
I deal in master thesis with reflection of audiovisual media in the Czech Republic and their work with events of terroristic attacks of Islamic State. I focused on main broadcasting which are the most representative material for the form of image of approaches of particular media. In theoretic part I deal with organization Islamic state and symbiotic relation between terrorism and media. We encouter a new phenomena of terrorism which can adapt for new media, social sites and which can work also with audiovisual agenda. I try to get closer and try to set the ethics of west media and I am looking for answers which are underlay of chosen literature or contemporary codified standards (f.e. BBC Editorial Guidelines). I compare new phenomena of terrorism and media reflection with current sociological trends and create terrorism and his work in media in "liquid times". In practical part I deal with specific events of terroristic attacks of ISIS in Europe and I search ethical questionable aspects in content of czech AV media. I am looking for specific points on the relief of terroristic attacks which broadcasters do. Based on the theoretical part I focus next to primary also on secondary ethically questionable aspects which are result of symbiotic relation between media and terrorism.
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