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Targeted Killing as a Counterterrorism Instrument: Evaluating Impacts on The Islamic State and Al Qaeda
Štěpán, David ; Bureš, Oldřich (advisor) ; Hynek, Nikola (referee)
This study analyzes targeted killing as a counterterrorism instrument and evaluates its impacts on the Islamic State and al-Qaeda in two separate case studies, one analyzing the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi while the other assesses the impact of the killing of Osama Bin Laden. The theory of leadership decapitation is applied in this thesis and the academic discourse on this theory is discussed. Additionally, moral and legal aspects of targeted killing are also briefly considered. The analysis combines a quantitative approach in the form of descriptive statistics of data regarding terrorist attacks with qualitative evaluation of other counterterrorism policies and political as well as societal aspects surrounding the operations. There are some general suggestions regarding leadership decapitation that are validated in this study. Various factors need to be considered when employing targeted killing in counterterrorism, such as the structure of the terrorist group as well as its age. This study presents evidence that targeted killing of high-ranking terrorist leaders is likely to increase the use of suicide bombing in the short-term period after leadership decapitation. It also points out evidence that there is no correlation between targeted killing and the decrease of casualties from terrorism....
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Targeted liquidations as a means of fight against terrorism
Peterová, Jana ; Honusková, Věra (advisor) ; Scheu, Harald Christian (referee)
Within the fight against terrorism, conflicts may arise between the interest of the state to maximize the effectiveness of methods of combating terrorism and the international standard of human rights. One of the methods that some states carry out to combat terrorism is targeted killing. Legitimate effort of states to suppress terrorism and may not lead to violations of human rights. The thesis aims to answer the question: "Is targeted killing a permissible method of combating terrorism, in terms of the lex lata of human rights law, humanitarian law and rules for the use of force between states?" Regarding the methodology of the thesis I was inspired by the books: "Vědecká propedeutika pro právníky" by Viktor Knapp," Metodologie vědy" by František Ochrana and "Jak studovat politiku" by Peter Drulák. The thesis consists of four chapters. The objective of the first chapter is descriptive. The first chapter should clarify the terminology and content of key concepts. The content of the second chapter is an analysis of the legality of targeted killings under human rights law. The third chapter examines the conditions of legality of targeted killings in humanitarian law. Chapter Four deals with the admissibility of targeted killings in the light of law of interstate force. Through an analysis of...
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Targeted killing: How and when intelligence agencies eliminate their targets and the impact of emerging technologies
Nguyen, Ba Nguyen ; Střítecký, Vít (advisor) ; Tesař, Jakub (referee)
History has shown that assassination could be wielded as an effective weapon in the pursuit of interest, security and power. As the feudal age neared its end in Europe, nation states emerged. Despite its pragmatic usefulness, assassination was considered unfit for this new form of governance. States no longer sought to destroy one another as predicted by Thomas Hobbes, but adhered to John Locke's proposed values, which believed that states could mutually exist as rivals. In this system which favored negotiation and settlements, it was difficult for assassination to have a place. Yet at the start of the 21st century, assassination once again saw employment. As of today, it is preferably referred to as targeted killing by its employers and has become somewhat of a 'new normal.' Clearly, there must be certain permissive catalysts that allowed this to happen. This master's thesis firstly explores the ways the United States, Israel and Russia conduct their assassination/targeted killing operations to present the unique ways these states eliminate their enemies, and secondly pinpoints the permissive causes that allowed these three super and great powers of assassination to transform the international norm against assassination and turn a dishonest, immoral practice into something more acceptable and fit...
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International Terrorism and Challenges for International Law
Kobulská, Natália ; Bílková, Veronika (advisor) ; Ondřej, Jan (referee)
English abstract International Terrorism and Challenges for International Law Rigorosum thesis is focused on the understanding of essential problems of interna- tional terrorism in context of international law. Main challenges include the adoption of universal definition of terrorism, the settlement of the legal status of terrorists and their rights and obligations mainly in relation to human rights. It is important to clarify the responsibility of the State for terrorism (State terrorism and attribution of his actions), in relation to the population, captured terrorists, and non-state actors. The latter pose several problems in reaction to terrorist crimes, such as the legality of the use of force against them including the right of self-defence or the use of drones for targeted killing. It is contentious whether it is possible to place terrorism under existing categories of in- ternational law or it constitutes a separate act which is necessary to regulate apart from valid international rules. Keywords: terrorism, human rights, targeted killing, right to self-defence, use of force, State responsibility, non-state actor, 9/11 terrorist attacks
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The use of unmanned combat aircraft systems in international law
Halajová, Ludmila ; Honusková, Věra (advisor) ; Scheu, Harald Christian (referee)
Unmanned combat aircraft systems (UCAS) represent a certain type of modern technology the States use to counter the growing number of security threats coming from the various non-state actors. The thesis focuses on the most common use of UCAS in the fight against these threats, on the practice called targeted killing. The purpose of the thesis is to identify all conditions amongst the norms of international law pertaining to the use of force between States, international human rights law and international humanitarian law, which are relevant for the targeted killing through UCAS. Furthermore, the thesis seeks to set out the circumstances, under which this practice can satisfy the relevant conditions, and when, on the other hand, it is never lawful. The thesis is composed of four chapters. The First Chapter defines the key terms used in the thesis and clarifies the terminology relating to UCAS. It also offers a short overview of their technical specifications and capabilities and identifies the States, which own, develop and sell the technology. The following three chapters represent the analytical core of the thesis and set out the conditions for the use of UCAS found in three systems of international law. The Second Chapter examines the use of UCAS from the perspective of the prohibition on the...
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Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in US National Security Policy. New Face of War of Terror
Matějka, Stanislav ; Raška, Francis (advisor) ; Anděl, Petr (referee)
The paper deals with the use of unmanned aircraft of the American national security policy. It examines the history of unmanned aviation, its military use, and cost- efficiency. It then examines the main obstacles and problems with their use in national security that this technology meets and will meet in the future after a higher level of autonomy is developed. These problems involve legal issues, international and domestic American law, the issue of civilian casualties, the role of the media, and public opinion. The final chapter focuses on the problems of technical, strategic and operational issues. In this section the research paper comes to the first conclusion which claims that the introduction of more autonomous systems to war will radically change its structure and, consequently, standard procedures and strategies. Case studies are included to illustrate how successful the drone strategy is applied in the five countries where the United States leads a war on terror. The research using the theory of the revolution in military affairs concludes that these UAVs pose the greatest challenge in history and it goes well beyond military matters. UAVs in national security affect the understanding of the basic principles of war in relation to the concepts of warrior ethos and just war.
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Israeli Precision Strikes after the Second Intifada: On Target or Missing the Mark?
Hawkins, Andrew ; Bureš, Oldřich (advisor) ; Hynek, Nikola (referee)
During the Second Intifada, Israel shocked the international community by becoming the first country in the world to publically announce an overt policy of targeted-killing. While utilized by Israel in previous conflicts, the Second Intifada was a turning point in Israeli history due to a series of dramatic changes introduced to its targeting policy which would sharply contrast those which were previously utilized. This diploma thesis analyzed thirty-eight cases of Israeli targeting operations conducted both before and during the Second Intifada to determine if the changes made to its policy during the Second Intifada resulted in more or less successful targeting operations compared to those conducted prior to this time period. The results of this study indicated that, following the introduction of the aforementioned policy changes, Israeli targeting operations during the Second Intifada were less successful than those conducted prior to this time period.
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Targeted liquidations as a means of fight against terrorism
Peterová, Jana ; Honusková, Věra (advisor) ; Scheu, Harald Christian (referee)
Within the fight against terrorism, conflicts may arise between the interest of the state to maximize the effectiveness of methods of combating terrorism and the international standard of human rights. One of the methods that some states carry out to combat terrorism is targeted killing. Legitimate effort of states to suppress terrorism and may not lead to violations of human rights. The thesis aims to answer the question: "Is targeted killing a permissible method of combating terrorism, in terms of the lex lata of human rights law, humanitarian law and rules for the use of force between states?" Regarding the methodology of the thesis I was inspired by the books: "Vědecká propedeutika pro právníky" by Viktor Knapp," Metodologie vědy" by František Ochrana and "Jak studovat politiku" by Peter Drulák. The thesis consists of four chapters. The objective of the first chapter is descriptive. The first chapter should clarify the terminology and content of key concepts. The content of the second chapter is an analysis of the legality of targeted killings under human rights law. The third chapter examines the conditions of legality of targeted killings in humanitarian law. Chapter Four deals with the admissibility of targeted killings in the light of law of interstate force. Through an analysis of...
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Legalita užití dronů
Slabá, Tereza ; Trávníčková, Zuzana (advisor) ; Melounová, Irena (referee)
The thesis analyses the legality of the use of drones in warfare based on the examination of three specific case studies. Firstly the use of armed drones in Afghanistan 2001 and 2002, then Pakistan drone strikes ongoing since 2004 and lastly the Yemen case study. A developed legal framework is used to assess the legality of the use of drones. Furthermore, it briefly touches upon the aspects of morality and ethics of the use of the unmanned aerial vehicles in combat.
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