Letteratura scientifica selezionata sul tema "Geopolitics Middle East Islamism Terrorism"

This paper is about a number of problems in the representation of the region of Southwest Asia that is known as the ‘Middle East’. Through an examination of the Gulf War and so-called ‘Islamic terrorism’, the author considers the place of academic and popular geographical discourses. Me looks at how, and for what reasons spatial metaphors are utilized in Western representations of the Middle East, and considers ‘Islamic’ perspectives on the West. The author draws a critical approach to Middle East studies and geopolitics; fashioned by the concepts and vocabularies of ‘postcolonial’ and sometimes ‘postmodern’ frameworks.

In the period 2014-2015, the European Union was shaken by the influx of migrants from the Middle East, North Africa, and the Balkans (Eastern Europe) who increasingly flooded the western region of the white continent. In a March 2015 report, UNHCR said the conflicts in Iraq and Syria brought the number of asylum seekers in Western countries in 2014 to the highest level in 22 years. There were an estimated 866,000 asylum seekers in 2014. That number is a 45 percent increase compared to 2013. And, during the 2014-16 refugee crisis from the Middle East and Africa, millions of refugee flows from the Middle East and Africa were rejected. In this regard, Olivier Roy sees that in Europe itself there is a danger of radical Islamism, a Muslim terrorism movement that undermines European peace and undermines Western trust on Muslim communities and political Islam. This paper explains Roy's perspective and Islamic radicalism in Europe which does not benefit the position and image of Muslims in Europe and the West in general.

This article describes to the role of the factor of political Islam (“Islamism”) in geopolitics and modern international relations in the Near and Middle East. The absolute majority of the population of this region professes Islam, and many countries (Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran and a number of other states) directly base their state structure and legal system on Islamic principles. If earlier the Muslim factor was like a banner of self-identity and confrontation with Western expansion, now other “fault lines” are coming to the fore - between Sunnis and Shiites, fundamentalists and supporters of a “liberal” understanding of the Islamic religion. Even in the fundamentalist segment of political Islam, there are contradictions. All this complicates the situation, but its analysis and identification of certain prospects for the future is quite realistic.

This volume provides a multi-disciplinary and trans-regional approach to the historical roots and continued development of ties between the Middle East and Asia, from Muslim-Confucian relations to nuclear technology exchange between China and Saudi Arabia. The papers are contributed by specialists who live, research, and have spent considerable time in the Middle East and Asia including institutions in Japan, Israel, China and Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Kuwait, Philippines, Australia, Malaysia, North Africa, Indonesia, Lebanon and Syria, India and Kashmir, Egypt, and Korea. The contributors include academics, policy makers and consultants, leaders in international business, law professionals, and military. The goal of this edited volume is to reach out to the research, diplomatic, and commercial communities. The subjects are addressed to attract individuals and groups from academia, think-tanks, NGOs, members of Congress, the US government, the private sector, and those involved in the policy-making, strategic planning, and public diplomacy in the fields of transnational studies, across-cultural comparison, international relations, energy security, global Islamism, Islamic fundamentalism, and terrorism. The chapters in this volume are broadly divided into three main areas: (I) Cultural and Historical Connections (II) Transnational Allegiances and Local Culture in Asia, and (III) Strategic Relations between Asia and the Middle East.

Although correctional institutions are supposed to be strong partners in de-radicalization and disengagement from violence, prisons have historically played an instrumental role in many radical organizations, enabling recruitment of new followers. Recent examples from Europe and the Middle East demonstrate that prisons frequently facilitate the spread of Islamist ideology by providing inmates a platform to forge alliances, exchange experience and recruit potential attackers. Because policies regarding management of terrorism-related offenders can either mitigate or exacerbate the risks of prison radicalization, it is important to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. This article examines strategies for dealing with Islamism in prisons worldwide (dispersal, containment and mixed approach), focusing on best practices, and assesses the United Kingdom’s experiment of ‘separation centres’ from the point of view of its potential to tackle the spread of Islamism in prisons.

Much of the literature on September 11 focuses on bin Laden as a terrorist or on the idea of a clash of civilizations. In criticizing both, this paper instead conceptualizes bin Laden as a “civilizational revolutionary.” As a revolutionary, bin Laden has sought to topple moderate regimes in the Middle East and to reestablish the caliphate. In contrast with most other national or transnational revolutionaries, however, he has emphasized culture—militant Islamism. Nevertheless, as the literature on social revolutions suggests, bin Laden has used the big strategy of most other revolutionaries in “externalizing” regional conflicts with his attacks on the United States. But his tactic of apocalyptic terrorism has made him unique as a revolutionary.

AbstractIn recent years. Turkey has initiated a proactive, multi-dimensional and constructive foreign policy in many areas, ranging from contributing to peace and stability in the Middle East, to playing an active role in countering terrorism and extremism, from becoming a new “energy hub” to acting as one of the architects of “the inter-civilization dialogue initiative” aiming at producing a vision of the world, based on dialogue, tolerance and living together. Thus, there has been an upsurge of interest in, and a global attraction to, Turkey and its contemporary history. Moreover, the global attraction to Turkey has stemmed not only from the geopolitical identity of Turkey, as a strong state with the capacity to function as a “geopolitical security hinge” in the intersection of the Middle East, the Balkans and the Caucasian regions, but also from its cultural identity as a modern national formation with parliamentary democratic governance, secular constitutional structure and mainly Muslim population. Furthermore, as the world has become more globalized, more interdependent and more risky, this new foreign policy identity entailed the employment of not only geopolitics but also identity and economy. Thus, geopolitics, modernity and democracy have become the constitutive dimensions of Turkish foreign policy today This paper explores the ways in which the increasing role and visibility of “soft power” in Turkish foreign policy operates, and suggests that to be sustainable, Turkish foreign policy, relying on soft power, should go hand in hand with the process of the consolidation of Turkish democracy, and also accept and put into practice Turkey-EU relations as the main axis of proactiveness and constructiveness.

In the early 2014, the global political scene was marked by the emergence of the so-called Islamic State established in the Middle East. It was a direct result of the military intervention of the Western military alliance in Iraq in 2003 and it created chaos ensuing the intervention in this country and the wider region of the Middle East. The pivotal religious and political concept of its operation is a form of government based solely on Islamic (Sharia) law. The origins of this unrecognized, paramilitary, terrorist organization were linked to the year 2004 when the fundamentalist, militant Sunni groups, along with other Islamist organizations, jointly took part in the armed conflict against Western, military invasion forces operating in Iraq. The additional target of their terrorist activities was the political regime officially in power in Iraq at the time, which operated politically and militarily in cooperation with the US and pro-Western forces. The religious and political ideology of the so-called Islamic state is exemplified by the propaganda tactics of violence and extreme interpretation of the Koran and radical Islam as well as by the continual fight against Christians and Jews. It is founded on the methodological promotion of war as a means to quench the non-Muslim countries and Muslim apostates. Establishing the global caliphate, or the global Islamic state, with extreme organizational and functional structure, was the primary strategic objective of the newly formed organization. The emergence of the Islamic State has opened a number of issues which are speculative in part. Although very present in public and covered by the media, this phenomenon has not yet been fully explored scientifically. The more profound causes of the occurrence and development of ID can be viewed and followed concurrently with the emergence and development of Islamism and its forms - from Wahhabism to present day Islamic terrorism at the beginning of the 21st century. In order to address these issues, uncover and comprehend the true essence of the phenomenon of the Islamic State, it was necessary to thoroughly explore the origins and development of this phenomenon. It has undoubtedly played an important role in the destabilization of the international peace and security, caused a different political, military and security constellation of the most important countries on the global political scene, and in part, caused their polarization and confrontation based on petty political, economic and other interests.

King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Abdullah II in 2019 celebrated the 20th anniversary of his ascension to the throne. The article covers the features of the socio-political and economic life of the state and the role of King Abdullah II in the development of the Hashemite Kingdom. The history of Jordan is full of important events, many of which remain significant to this day. One of the main issues for Jordan and its head, King Abdullah II, has been and still remains the Palestinian problem. Considering that the majority of the Jordanian population is Palestinians, represented by both the indigenous inhabitants of the Kingdom and political refugees who have moved to the territory of the Hashemite state as a result of the Palestinian-Israeli wars and conflicts. Currently, the Kingdom is facing quite challenging realities and consequences of international terrorism and extremism, as well as the growth of ideas of radical Islamism within the state. The author’s research goal is not just to present the biography of the king, but through his biography to highlight the history and trends of the modern development of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The political portrait of the king helps to analyze more accurately the multifaceted life of Jordan and present events. A special part of the history of Jordan is the bilateral relationship between the Hashemite Kingdom and the Russian Federation. Regular meetings of King Abdullah II and President V.V. Putin demonstrate the similarity of positions on many foreign policy issues, in particular the situation in the Middle East and in Syria, which emphasizes the importance and priority of cooperation between the two countries. The article also describes the role of the personality of King Abdullah II, his desire to balance the internal political situation of Jordan, as well as his actions regarding international security and the peaceful existence of peoples and religions.

For some time already, the international security community has been at a crossroads and looking for new right directions. The established operational guidelines have changed, and in some areas, it seems that they simply no longer exist. There are many factors which have had an effect on the relatively high level of security we have witnessed in the last few years. The financial crisis, which started to show its teeth in 2008 and 2009, has seriously changed the European armed forces, their structure, organization and development. Many comforted themselves that this does not constitute a significant problem, since we are relatively safe. Public opinion surveys in Slovenia revealed that most of all, people feel threatened by natural disasters and socio-economic situation. However, gradually but relatively quickly, everything has changed. In the spring of 2014, Crimea held a referendum on its annexation to the Russian Federation. The rattling of weapons began, provoking different reactions in the international community and resulting in altered relations between NATO and Russia. These changes were also discussed at the July NATO Summit in Warsaw. Two years earlier, in 2012, the media increasingly reported on the soaring migration problems in the Mediterranean Sea and difficulties suffered by Italy due to those phenomena. By the end of last year, migrations from the Southeast reached unimaginable proportions and gave a profound shock to the foundations of the European Union. Some terrorist attacks in European cities, which were said to be organized and carried out by migrants, had a significant impact on the altered understanding of the new (in)security. Some experts adopted a scientific approach to the new understanding of safety. The Defence Research Centre of the Faculty of Social Sciences, for example, published the results of a survey on the opinions of the Slovenian public regarding safety, which was carried out in 2015/2016. Among other things, the findings show that the recent migrant crisis has affected the Slovenian public, which perceives mass migrations as well as illegal and economic migrants as an important reason of concern. The authors of the survey observed a marked increase in the acceptance of the idea that in the protection of borders from illegal crossings, the Police are assisted by the Slovenian Armed Forces. A significantly high number of people also agreed with the idea that the armed forces should help in the fight against terrorism which, before the occurrence of mass migrations, was unthinkable. According to the authors of the survey, in the last three years, the support of the Slovenian public to the participation of Slovenia in international operations and missions has also grown by more than 20 percent. In addition, the proportion of the public which supports proposals to increase the defence budget has gone up. But will it actually increase, and how soon? We are still waiting for the new European defence strategy. We are anticipating new solutions, agreements between the decision-makers, etc. In the meantime, different authors went through various experiences. Some of them have decided to share them with our readers. In his article Fourth Generation Warfare: Geopolitical Framework to Slovenian Security (Part 1),Viktor Potočnik explores the issue of how geopolitics impacts the global security situation, what are the contemporary security risks and how they can affect Slovenia. In ensuring national security, the Slovenian Armed Forces play an important role. Consequently, Potočnik raises the question of whether they have a sufficient level of readiness to withstand potential risks, and presents the facts which he believes can have a key influence on the Slovenian national security. Cyber threats represent one of the most modern forms of security threats. In the previous issue of the Contemporary Military Challenges, Vinko Vegič provided the definition of cyber threats. This issue continues this theme with the article NATO and Cyber Deterrence, written by Staša Novak. According to her, NATO is de facto already pursuing certain elements of cyber deterrence based on strong defence, declaratory policy and responsive measures. However, responsive measures are not NATO offensive cyber capabilities, but the possibility of a collective defence response to a cyber attack, which implies a response with all available means. The increased number of migrants on their way to a better future has surprised many people in the Balkans, although numerous institutions and individuals had warned of this possibility before. Some experiences and responses of Slovenia’s neighbour, Hungary, are presented in an article by József Padányi and László Földi, titled Lessons Learned for the Hungarian Defence Forces from the Deployment of Engineer Obstacles during the 2015 Europe-Wide Mass-Migration Emergency. The article focuses mainly on the activities of the Hungarian armed forces. Metodi Hadji-Janev and Marija Jankuloska point out that the region of South- Eastern Europe has witnessed some examples of terrorist attacks and observe that the use of drones for countering global terrorism proved to be effective. Their article The Challenges of Drone Usage by Southeast European Countries examines the possibilities of their use in the home region. In his article titled Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the International Fight against It, József Kis-Benedek discusses the origins of this phenomenon and its manifestations in various Middle East countries, as well as the response of those countries and other international actors who share an interest in this part of the world. He also calls attention to the question of the Kurds and the emergence of volunteer fighters who are coming to Syria and Iraq to fight. The Battalion Battle Group and the evaluation of its training is the subject of the article titled Battle Group Training Cycle, in which Aleš Avsec compares the methods of training of these units in the Slovenian Armed Forces with the training of similar units in the United States of America. Is it even possible to compare two countries which are that different?

Le Tribunal spécial pour le Liban (TSL) est établi en vertu d’un accord bilatéral conclu entre l’ONU et le Gouvernement libanais; mais ses instruments constitutifs ne sont entrés en vigueur qu’en vertu de la résolution 1757 (2007) du Conseil de sécurité adoptée sur la base du Chapitre VII de la Charte. Le TSL, siégeant aux Pays-Bas, composé de juges étrangers et libanais, s’avère un tribunal pénal internationalisé sui generis. Son mandat principal consiste à poursuivre les responsables de l’attentat du 14 février 2005 ôtant la vie à l’ancien Premier Ministre libanais Rafic HARIRI et de 22 autres personnes ; toutefois la compétence du TSL peut être élargie pour couvrir des attentats connexes. Plusieurs caractéristiques distinguent le TSL du fait qu’il est le premier tribunal pénal créé sous les auspices des Nations Unies, sans appartenir à la discipline du droit international humanitaire, et qui ne juge que des crimes de terrorisme en temps de paix à la lumière du droit national libanais ; comme il est le premier tribunal pénal international qui mène des procès in absentia; et le premier qui est doté d’un Bureau pour la Défense - comme organe autonome du TSL – sur un même pied d’égalité avec le Bureau du Procureur en conférant des pouvoirs larges aux conseils de la Défense. Le TSL fonctionne selon son propre Règlement de procédure et de preuve - adopté par ses juges - associant à la fois le système romano-germanique et le système anglo-saxon. Le fonctionnement du TSL confronte des défis juridiques, de par son financement mixte assuré à travers la contribution conventionnelle du Gouvernement libanais et les contributions volontaires des États membres, ou de par sa primauté restreinte qui est juste limitée aux juridictions libanaises, générant une coopération problématique avec les États tiers et hésitante avec le Liban. Également, le Statut du Tribunal est réticent sur la question des immunités. La mise en place du TSL a créé une grande polémique politique au Liban, son fonctionnement au cœur d’un cadre géopolitique instable provoque des enjeux stratégiques pertinents ayant des impacts sur la scène politique au Liban et au Moyen-Orient. Le TSL encourt des enjeux stratégiques du fait que son premier acte d’accusation incrimine des membres appartenant au Hezbollah - une résistance armée contre Israël - allié de l’Iran et de la Syrie. Le Printemps arabe et ses implications sur la révolte syrienne générèrent une instabilité politique et sécuritaire au Liban, alertant une nouvelle série d’attentats terroristes. La mission principale du TSL consiste à mettre fin à l’impunité au Liban, principalement celle relative aux assassinats politiques. Du fait que le TSL est établi juste pour juger un seul attentat et un nombre restreint de crimes connexes dans un cadre temporel et spatial restreints, alors qu’un grand nombre de crimes graves de droit international humanitaire et de crimes politiques et terroristes restent impunis au Liban, le TSL est conçu comme un instrument de justice sélective. Pour ses détracteurs, le TSL concrétise le dilemme entre « paix civile » et « justice internationale », bien que sa finalité consiste à consolider la réconciliation nationale à travers la découverte de la vérité
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is created through a bilateral agreement concluded between the UN and the Lebanese Government; but its essential instruments didn’t come into force until the adoption of the binding resolution 1757 (2007) of the Security Council adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. The STL, sitting in the Netherlands, composed of foreign and Lebanese judges, is an internationalized criminal tribunal sui generis. Its primary mandate consists on prosecuting those responsible for the 14th February 2005 attempt which caused the death of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic HARIRI and 22 other people; nevertheless the STL’s jurisdiction can be extended to cover connected attacks. Many features distinguish the STL, since it is the first criminal tribunal that was created under the UN’s framework outside of the International humanitarian law’s discipline; it judges terrorism crimes in peace time under the Lebanese domestic law; moreover, it is the first international criminal tribunal which holds trials in absentia, establishes an Office for the Defense as an autonomous organ equally with the Office of the Prosecutor giving the defense counsel large powers. The STL works according to its proper Rules of Procedure and Evidence – adopted by its judges – associating the civil law system and the common law system. The STL’s functioning confronts legal challenges due to its combined funding mechanism, assured by the conventional contribution of the Lebanese Government as by the voluntary contributions of member States; or due to its restricted primacy limited only to Lebanese courts, arising a problematical horizontal cooperation. In addition, the STL’s Statute expresses reluctance on the immunities’ question. The implementation of the STL has created a large political controversy in Lebanon; its work in an unstable geopolitical framework triggers relevant strategic issues having impacts on the political scene in Lebanon and Middle-East. The STL incurs strategic challenges since its first indictment incriminates Hezbollah members – an armed resistance against Israel – ally of Iran and Syria. The Arab spring and its implications on the Syrian revolution generate instability to the political and security conditions of Lebanon, alerting a new series of terrorist attempts. The main mission of the STL consists to end impunity in Lebanon related first and foremost to political assassinations. The STL is considered as an instrument of selective justice since it is established only to judge a single attempt and a small number of connected crimes in a restricted spatiotemporal framework, whereas a large number of serious crimes of International humanitarian law and political crimes perpetrated in Lebanon are still unpunished. For its detractors, the STL embodies the dilemma between "civil peace" and "international justice", although its finality seeks to consolidate the national reconciliation through the discovery of the truth

There can be many different approaches to the study of governments and their policies. Each of them has its advantages and disadvantages. One of the approaches would be a comparative case study which would give a clear frame of reference in relation to other states. In such a study it is possible to identify similarities and differences and relate the findings of one case to the findings of another. Such a study is useful but, because of the quantity of material, it might limit the depth of each case study. Comparative case studies are important, especially when no clear frame of reference is in place. In the case of states’ contemporary policy on Islamism, this frame is however already in place. Many of the theories of policy analysis emphasise extraordinary events as playing important roles in causing policy alterations. It is evident that for instance Nine Eleven led to changes in both western and eastern states’ stance towards Islamism. Knowing that, this thesis analyses whether any such events can be identified in the Egyptian context. Was Nine Eleven e.g. followed by a policy change in Egypt as well? Apart from the effect of extraordinary events, other causal factors are also illuminated. International relations, policy inheritance and the domestic situation can be mentioned as potentially interesting in further explaining policy stasis or change. This thesis aims at critically analysing the driving factors of the Egyptian state response to Islamism and Islamic extremism. In order to structure and systematise the data, the Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PE) is applied as a tool of analysis. The thesis attempts to understand and explain policy change in President Mubarak’s Egypt by adapting a state-centric perspective and mainly using PE as a tool of analysis.

Islam vs. Islamism introduces the Islamic world's diversity, conflicts, and dilemmas—its origins, extraordinary creativity, and current crisis, the result of its unhappy encounter with Western modernity. Particular attention is given to Islamism, Islam's radically antimodern and often violent revision that is causing turmoil in the Middle East and beyond. Islam vs. Islamism introduces the reader to the Islamic world, to its diversity and conflicts, and to possible solutions to those conflicts. Steering clear of either Islamophilia or Muslim-bashing, yet avoiding blandness, Demant explains the origins of Islam, its history, and its position in today's world. After a period of extraordinary expansion and creativity, and a long sequel of decline, the Islamic world is now in deep crisis, caused by Islam's unhappy encounter with the West and its modernity. Islamic societies have tried a variety of approaches to escape from their predicament, but the result has only been to deepen Muslim powerlessness and Muslims' feelings of frustration. Then came Islamism (Islamic fundamentalism) with its revolutionary but antimodern proposal to refashion Muslim society after the Prophet's original model. Islamism has had unsettling results, first in Islam's heartlands, then along its multiple frontiers, and finally in confrontation with the West itself. Among the outcomes has been an ascending wave of terrorism. But violence is not the whole story. Extremism represents no more than a minority within Islam. Although co-existence with violent fundamentalists is a hopeless task, the questions Islamists raise are serious and evoke echoes in the hearts of many more Muslims. To prevent a war of civilizations, dialogue with the moderate majority of Muslims is more urgent than ever. This book is one step on that long road.

Television and print news media are replete with images of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. For most of us, thankfully, that is how we experience war—through media representations and political rhetoric carefully crafted to solicit support and sympathy. Given Walzer’s claim that a war deemed unjust is a war misliked, and that conflicts are undertaken within the broader politics of the interstate system, it follows that the geopolitics of conflict includes the battle of projecting war goals, strategy, and tactics to gain the “moral high ground.” Mostly, it is the politics rather than the practice of war that we evaluate and respond to. Though this chapter illuminates the manipulation of the image of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, it is concerned with the brutal realities “on the ground” that are the manifestations and reasons of the ongoing conflict. Of particular interest is the manner in which an embryonic Palestinian state is represented as failing in the “policing” tasks that are generally understood to be the duty of a sovereign state while, at the same time, it faces political-geographic constraints that deny it the ability to exercise authority. While the Palestinians are denied a functioning state, the establishment of the Palestinian Authority has enabled the embryonic political entity to be labeled a “rogue” that is unwilling to prevent acts of terrorism. The case study shows how intrastate geopolitics, from a Gramscian perspective, is an essential component of exerting power and debilitating opponents. Finally, analysis of this conflict allows us to note how the dynamism of war and peace entails changing political geographies of conflict, especially how the Palestinians have been constrained by abandoning their established geography of resistance and constructing a space of state power amid severe geopolitical constraints. Three territorial suggestions for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by peaceful means have been envisioned and in the air since the end of the Gulf War in 1991, but despite the involvement of many parties in the process, there has been no meaningful progress on any of them. These suggestions for a lasting peace in the Middle East can be characterized as “land for peace,” “comprehensive peace,” and “peace for peace.”