Unraveling the violence in Kazakhstan

There were several high-profile violent incidents in 2011 in Kazakhstan, including several bombings, shootings that targeted police, and a protest turned clash that resulted in a number of deaths. Some of the perpetrators reportedly had links with radical religious groups. An overlooked aspect of the violence is how it is reported in Kazakhstan. There are active, competent media in Kazakhstan, which are largely unknown in the West. An examination of these incidents using the media in Kazakhstan can provide a unique insight into what took place. While Western sources quickly blamed radical religious groups with international connections, media in Kazakhstan have found that there are other reasons for the violence.     

Explaining the impact of militancy on Iran–Pakistan relations

ABSTRACT

Sectarian militants have for years launched attacks from Pakistan across the border to Iran. Finding sanctuary in a neighbouring country can make the difference between success and failure for militants. Conventional wisdom holds that a lasting transnational militancy challenge would typically create serious interstate conflict. Militancy has triggered armed encounters between Iran and Pakistan. This article argues that despite some tension militancy has resulted in deeper cooperation in the ambivalent dyad. Both states’ overarching security concerns, having exhausted other options, the believed involvement of third-party states, and economic potential, have moderately alleviated negative pressure caused by militancy.     

Dying to prove a point: The methodology of Dying to Win

Dying to Win is one of the most important works on suicide terrorism. It purports to unravel the strategic, social, and individual logic that gives suicide terrorism its coercive value. The methodology that Pape uses to support his various assertions is problematic for three reasons. First, he defines his key terms in such a way as to artificially set suicide terrorism apart from other forms of political violence. Second, in a number of cases Pape selects data from single sources to support particular assertions when other sources of data, used together, could provide more rigorous and useful insights into the phenomenon of suicide bombing. Finally, Pape codes his data on suicide attacks according to a loose set of criteria which, if recoded, calls into question some of his broader conclusions about the strategic utility of suicide terrorism campaigns.     

智能水雷主动干扰方法研究

针对传统的扫雷方法在清除智能化水雷引信方面存在的不足,分析了利用主动干扰信号反水雷的思路,通过分析智能引信的工作机理及在干扰背景下对目标信号的检测能力,建立了基于奈曼-皮尔逊准则的主动干扰反水雷模型.针对水雷磁引信,选择电极式电磁扫雷具为干扰源,以中型舰船为保护对象,通过计算三者的相互位置与信噪比的关系,以及水雷检测出...     

Born violent: Armed political parties and non-state governance in Lebanon's civil war

We know little of the internal governing practices of non-state actors once in control of territory. Some territories have witnessed the establishment of new institutions of public goods remarkably similar to state institutions. This article compares four armed political parties governing territory during the Lebanese civil war. These non-state violent actors established complex political and economic institutions and administrative structures. Despite the wide range of ideologies and identities of these actors, they all converged in their institutional priorities, although not in their capacities or the particular ways of achieving those priorities. Data from interviews and the actions of the armed political parties suggest a combination of ideology and desire for control is causal in generating public institutions, partly attributable to the high degree of citizen activism marking the Lebanese case.     

不同游戏方式下的暴力网络游戏对大学生攻击性的影响

目的:探讨不同游戏方式下的暴力网络游戏对不同攻击性特质大学生攻击性的影响。方法:采用攻击性特质问卷、词汇决策任务和竞争反应时任务对60名大学生进行问卷和实验研究。结果:在不同游戏方式下,被试表现出的攻击性认知和行为存在显著差异(F(2,52)=4.41,P<0.05;F(1,52)=50.06,P<0.001)。高、低攻击性特质者在游戏后的攻击性认知和行为上存在显著差异(F(1,52)=15.25,P<0.001;F(1,52)=82.35,P<0.001)。结论:不同游戏方式下的暴力网络游戏对大学生的攻击性存在不同的影响,相比竞争游戏和单人游戏,合作游戏是一种较好的游戏方式,可以在一定程度减少大学生,特别是高攻击性特质大学生的攻击性认知和行为。此外,暴力网络游戏对大学生攻击性认知和攻击性行为的影响存在一致性。     

基于Agent的水面舰艇单舰作战系统建模

对于水面舰艇单舰作战系统这样的复杂系统,传统建模方法已不能很好地对其加以描述.为此,采用基于Agent建模的方法对单舰作战系统建立模型,从结构组成、主要任务、具体动作和输入输出四方面对模型内部各模块进行描述,并以单舰中程反导作战为例具体说明了Agent内部各模块的功能以及在Agent中如何实现整个作战过程.这种建模方法不仅符合对复杂系统从微观到宏观的研究方法,而且支持模型间的聚合和解聚,较好地满足了对单舰作战系统建模的需求.     

Bangladesh: The Changing Dynamics of Violent Extremism and the Response of the State

Bangladesh is currently facing an incremental growth of radicalization. This radicalization can be traced back to the country’s early post-Independence years. Over time, political violence, ideological clashes between secular and right-wing ideologies, and weak governance have created conditions for the growth of radical Islam. The public rhetoric on corruption, weakening of democratic institutions, inadequate law enforcement agencies, fragile justice delivery system, fledgling educational and social institutions and growing unemployment provides further space for alternative narratives by extremist ideologues. Home-grown extremist outfits have received ideological and tactical supports from transnational terrorist network such as Islamic State (IS) and Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), but only in a limited manner. The supply and demand side of radicalization in Bangladesh has not yet been addressed by actors such as the government, private sector, civil society and media. The failures in multiple sectors in the state governance have led to a situation where IS and AQIS now see Bangladesh as a potential ground for exerting their supremacy as flag bearers of radical forms of Islam.     

Underselling Islamist extremism in Sub-Saharan Africa

Islamist extremism as an ideology has seemingly spread in influence in the past few years. The violent Islamist threat may have a singular religious dogma, but that does not mean that it will interact in the same fashion within the various cultures it infests. The Sub-Saharan region is one general context where Islamist extremism is both vividly active and misunderstood. Africa's reaction to: Arabization; the adjustment to post-colonial rule; the perception of secular government institutions; the extent of cultural and religious pluralism; and the local character of Muslim leadership and institutions are all very different from that of the Middle East. Scores of terrorism analysts and even Arab populations only too familiar with the Middle East context superimpose Middle East threats over the Sub-Saharan African cultural landscape. Instead of generalizing the Islamist threats, it might be better to ask why it is that violent Islamist groups have traditionally been challenged to expand their influence in Muslim Sub-Saharan Africa. The underestimated Islamist is using ignorance to its advantage, recruiting through channels unnoticed by its Arab counterparts while creatively catering its message by region.