archive

Realities of the ISIS conflict

Ben Saul (Sydney): Defining Terrorism: A Conceptual Minefield; Terrorism as a Legal Concept; and Old and New Terrorist Threats: What Form Will They Take and How Will States Respond? William Yeomans on what it takes for mass murder to be “terrorism”: It turns on the intent of the perpetrator — and we still don’t know what motivated the San Bernardino shooters. Haider Ala Hamoudi (Pittsburgh): “Lone Wolf” Terrorism and the Classical Jihad: On the Contingencies of Violent Islamic Extremism. This might be the most controversial theory for what’s behind the rise of ISIS. Thomas Piketty thinks inequality led to the rise of ISIS — is that crazy? It’s not the poverty in the Middle East that’s driving terrorism — it’s the politics. This one-sentence explanation of ISIS is brilliant.

Peter Krause (MIT): When Terrorism Works: Explaining Success and Failure Across Varying Targets and Objectives. Does terrorism work? Rebel groups that employ terror in civil wars seldom win or gain concessions — but they tend to prolong conflicts, a new paper finds. Kathy Gilsinan on the geography of terrorism: More than 80 percent of last year’s terrorism fatalities occurred in just five countries. Iraqis think the U.S. is in cahoots with the Islamic State, and it is hurting the war. Jeffrey Goldfarb on D.I.Y. terrorism, and ISIS and Osama Bin Laden on the gray zone. Growing stupid together: Pankaj Mishra on “reality-concealing rhetoric” and our responses to terrorism.

How to anticipate unthinkable terrorist attacks? Hire oddballs to think of them. Tom Scocca on how America was already prepared for an ISIS attack. Will bombing ever get rid of Islamic State? Past campaigns show hard power can do a lot — but it isn’t everything. Stephen Biddle and Jacob Shapiro on why we can only contain the Islamic State, not bomb it back to the Stone Age. Splashback: David Hearst on why bombing IS will spread it. Martin Shaw on three realities of the ISIS conflict: The west must prioritise civilian wellbeing in any intervention. The State Department tried to fight ISIS on Ask.fm, and it didn’t go well. Dominic Tierney on the war on ISIS: Nobody’s focused on winning the peace — that’s a big problem. Ryan Cooper on how Republicans just can’t quit the forever war.