Jacob N. Shapiro
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691157214
- eISBN:
- 9781400848645
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691157214.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Security Studies
This chapter explores the managerial challenges inherent in terrorism by analyzing 108 memoirs written by participants in terrorist organizations that carried descriptions of individual's activities ...
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This chapter explores the managerial challenges inherent in terrorism by analyzing 108 memoirs written by participants in terrorist organizations that carried descriptions of individual's activities in those organizations. This approach addresses one of the key challenges in studying the internal dynamics of terrorist organizations: the relative dearth of data on what actually happens inside these inherently secretive institutions. Aside from a few highly salient examples (al-Qa'ida, Fatah, al-Qa'ida in Iraq), the internal correspondence of terrorist organizations has not been readily available to scholars and so it is hard to pinpoint the pervasiveness of hierarchy and control inside these groups. The chapter shows that agency problems are pervasive in terrorist organizations and security-reducing paperwork and bureaucracy were present in many of them.Less
This chapter explores the managerial challenges inherent in terrorism by analyzing 108 memoirs written by participants in terrorist organizations that carried descriptions of individual's activities in those organizations. This approach addresses one of the key challenges in studying the internal dynamics of terrorist organizations: the relative dearth of data on what actually happens inside these inherently secretive institutions. Aside from a few highly salient examples (al-Qa'ida, Fatah, al-Qa'ida in Iraq), the internal correspondence of terrorist organizations has not been readily available to scholars and so it is hard to pinpoint the pervasiveness of hierarchy and control inside these groups. The chapter shows that agency problems are pervasive in terrorist organizations and security-reducing paperwork and bureaucracy were present in many of them.
Jacob N. Shapiro
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691157214
- eISBN:
- 9781400848645
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691157214.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Security Studies
How do terrorist groups control their members? Do the tools that groups use to monitor their operatives and enforce discipline create security vulnerabilities that governments can exploit? This is ...
More
How do terrorist groups control their members? Do the tools that groups use to monitor their operatives and enforce discipline create security vulnerabilities that governments can exploit? This is the first book to systematically examine the great variation in how terrorist groups are structured. Employing a broad range of agency theory, historical case studies, and terrorists' own internal documents, the book discusses the core managerial challenges that terrorists face and illustrates how their political goals interact with the operational environment to push them to organize in particular ways. The book provides a historically informed explanation for why some groups have little hierarchy, while others resemble miniature firms, complete with line charts and written disciplinary codes. Looking at groups in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America, the book highlights how consistent and widespread the terrorist's dilemma—balancing the desire to maintain control with the need for secrecy—has been since the 1880s. Through an analysis of more than a hundred terrorist autobiographies, the book shows how prevalent bureaucracy has been, and the book utilizes a cache of internal documents from al-Qa'ida in Iraq to outline why this deadly group used so much paperwork to handle its people. Tracing the strategic interaction between terrorist leaders and their operatives, the book closes with a series of comparative case studies, indicating that the differences in how groups in the same conflict approach their dilemmas are consistent with an agency theory perspective. This book demonstrates the management constraints inherent to terrorist groups and sheds light on specific organizational details that can be exploited to more efficiently combat terrorist activity.Less
How do terrorist groups control their members? Do the tools that groups use to monitor their operatives and enforce discipline create security vulnerabilities that governments can exploit? This is the first book to systematically examine the great variation in how terrorist groups are structured. Employing a broad range of agency theory, historical case studies, and terrorists' own internal documents, the book discusses the core managerial challenges that terrorists face and illustrates how their political goals interact with the operational environment to push them to organize in particular ways. The book provides a historically informed explanation for why some groups have little hierarchy, while others resemble miniature firms, complete with line charts and written disciplinary codes. Looking at groups in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America, the book highlights how consistent and widespread the terrorist's dilemma—balancing the desire to maintain control with the need for secrecy—has been since the 1880s. Through an analysis of more than a hundred terrorist autobiographies, the book shows how prevalent bureaucracy has been, and the book utilizes a cache of internal documents from al-Qa'ida in Iraq to outline why this deadly group used so much paperwork to handle its people. Tracing the strategic interaction between terrorist leaders and their operatives, the book closes with a series of comparative case studies, indicating that the differences in how groups in the same conflict approach their dilemmas are consistent with an agency theory perspective. This book demonstrates the management constraints inherent to terrorist groups and sheds light on specific organizational details that can be exploited to more efficiently combat terrorist activity.
Jacob N. Shapiro
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691157214
- eISBN:
- 9781400848645
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691157214.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Security Studies
This chapter examines one of the most prominent terrorist groups in the last twenty years, al-Qa'ida in Iraq (AQI), using a host of the group's internal documents to study its financial and ...
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This chapter examines one of the most prominent terrorist groups in the last twenty years, al-Qa'ida in Iraq (AQI), using a host of the group's internal documents to study its financial and operational management. As the AQI materials so richly demonstrate, in any organization made up of thinking human beings, the level of control terrorist leaders actually exercise depends on the specific internal dynamics of a group. Terrorist operatives have their own ideas about what to do and these ideas do not always coincide with those of their leaders. A group's solution to its fundamental dilemma depends on the outcomes of the strategic interactions between terrorist leaders and their operatives.Less
This chapter examines one of the most prominent terrorist groups in the last twenty years, al-Qa'ida in Iraq (AQI), using a host of the group's internal documents to study its financial and operational management. As the AQI materials so richly demonstrate, in any organization made up of thinking human beings, the level of control terrorist leaders actually exercise depends on the specific internal dynamics of a group. Terrorist operatives have their own ideas about what to do and these ideas do not always coincide with those of their leaders. A group's solution to its fundamental dilemma depends on the outcomes of the strategic interactions between terrorist leaders and their operatives.
Sayed Khatab
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9789774164996
- eISBN:
- 9781617971075
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774164996.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter explores the connections between medieval and modern movements in greater detail. It investigates the transformation from medieval fundamentalism to the recent neo-jihadist ideology ...
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This chapter explores the connections between medieval and modern movements in greater detail. It investigates the transformation from medieval fundamentalism to the recent neo-jihadist ideology adopted by al-Qa'ida and similar jihadist networks. Apart from defining the concept of neo-jihadism, and its source in the literature of al-Qa'ida, the analysis focuses on the process of the transition from fundamentalism to neo-jihadism, including the factors involved, the roots of al-Qa'ida in these processes, these networks' main theological and intellectual inspirations, and their scholarly sources of information.Less
This chapter explores the connections between medieval and modern movements in greater detail. It investigates the transformation from medieval fundamentalism to the recent neo-jihadist ideology adopted by al-Qa'ida and similar jihadist networks. Apart from defining the concept of neo-jihadism, and its source in the literature of al-Qa'ida, the analysis focuses on the process of the transition from fundamentalism to neo-jihadism, including the factors involved, the roots of al-Qa'ida in these processes, these networks' main theological and intellectual inspirations, and their scholarly sources of information.
Sayed Khatab
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9789774164996
- eISBN:
- 9781617971075
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774164996.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter investigates the war in Afghanistan, the establishment of al-Qa'ida, the transformation of Usama bin Laden from an exclusively Afghan-based jihadist to an al-Qa'ida neo-jihadist, the ...
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This chapter investigates the war in Afghanistan, the establishment of al-Qa'ida, the transformation of Usama bin Laden from an exclusively Afghan-based jihadist to an al-Qa'ida neo-jihadist, the role of the USA within the Arab-Muslim countries therein, and the Bin Laden-Taliban relationship.Less
This chapter investigates the war in Afghanistan, the establishment of al-Qa'ida, the transformation of Usama bin Laden from an exclusively Afghan-based jihadist to an al-Qa'ida neo-jihadist, the role of the USA within the Arab-Muslim countries therein, and the Bin Laden-Taliban relationship.
Sayed Khatab
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9789774164996
- eISBN:
- 9781617971075
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774164996.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter investigates al-Qa'ida's neo-jihadist ideology and compares it with the notion of jihad and the qualifications to it in the Muslim consensus. It also explores the question of who ...
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This chapter investigates al-Qa'ida's neo-jihadist ideology and compares it with the notion of jihad and the qualifications to it in the Muslim consensus. It also explores the question of who declares jihad, and argues that al-Qa'ida's neo-jihadist dogma is outdated.Less
This chapter investigates al-Qa'ida's neo-jihadist ideology and compares it with the notion of jihad and the qualifications to it in the Muslim consensus. It also explores the question of who declares jihad, and argues that al-Qa'ida's neo-jihadist dogma is outdated.
Sayed Khatab
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9789774164996
- eISBN:
- 9781617971075
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774164996.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter investigates the ongoing ideological war within al-Qa'ida. It focuses on the theo-political and ideological disputes between the main ideologues of global jihad, and looks, among other ...
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This chapter investigates the ongoing ideological war within al-Qa'ida. It focuses on the theo-political and ideological disputes between the main ideologues of global jihad, and looks, among other examples, at the dispute between Dr. Fadl and Ayman al-Zawahiri. This final chapter is intended to bring the ideas of these two jihadist rivals face to face in an attempt to address a number of questions, for example: When, how, and why was the Jihad organization established in Egypt? When and how did it come into contact with al-Qa'ida? When and why did Jihad leave Egypt for Afghanistan? What were they doing there? What was their relationship with 'Abdullah 'Azzam, Bin Laden, and al-Qa'ida?Less
This chapter investigates the ongoing ideological war within al-Qa'ida. It focuses on the theo-political and ideological disputes between the main ideologues of global jihad, and looks, among other examples, at the dispute between Dr. Fadl and Ayman al-Zawahiri. This final chapter is intended to bring the ideas of these two jihadist rivals face to face in an attempt to address a number of questions, for example: When, how, and why was the Jihad organization established in Egypt? When and how did it come into contact with al-Qa'ida? When and why did Jihad leave Egypt for Afghanistan? What were they doing there? What was their relationship with 'Abdullah 'Azzam, Bin Laden, and al-Qa'ida?
Elizabeth Grimm Arsenault
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780231180788
- eISBN:
- 9780231543255
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231180788.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Security Studies
This chapter introduces the research puzzle: How could the United States violate laws and norms that are so deeply internalized in its identity and practice? It then provides the argument, explains ...
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This chapter introduces the research puzzle: How could the United States violate laws and norms that are so deeply internalized in its identity and practice? It then provides the argument, explains the relevance of norms on detainee treatment, provides a discussion of the norm life cycle theory, and outlines the research methods. Chapter 1 describes the contribution of this book to international relations and international legal scholarship as well as details the gaps in those disciplines.Less
This chapter introduces the research puzzle: How could the United States violate laws and norms that are so deeply internalized in its identity and practice? It then provides the argument, explains the relevance of norms on detainee treatment, provides a discussion of the norm life cycle theory, and outlines the research methods. Chapter 1 describes the contribution of this book to international relations and international legal scholarship as well as details the gaps in those disciplines.
James Toth
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199790883
- eISBN:
- 9780199332601
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199790883.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Sayyid Qutb is considered to be the notorious godfather of the militant Islam that perpetrated the September 11th attacks. The purpose of the book is to understand the man and his ideas. The first ...
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Sayyid Qutb is considered to be the notorious godfather of the militant Islam that perpetrated the September 11th attacks. The purpose of the book is to understand the man and his ideas. The first part reviews the course of Qutb’s life, starting from his birth in 1906 in southern Egypt, and then later in Cairo, going from his secular, nationalist years as a modern poet and literary critic, to his turn toward moderate Islam, and then closing as he becomes more conservative and radical. In 1948, he traveled to the United States where he confirmed his preconceived aversions to the West. He supported Jamal Abdel Nasser’s 1952 revolution, but soon soured as his organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, suffered increasing repression. He served 10 years in prison. Just two years after his release, he was re-arrested, tried for treason, and executed in 1966. The second part documents Qutb’s philosophy and his ideas for revitalization, starting with its current decadence (“jahiliyya”), ending with the utopia of Islam’s ideal political economy and social history (“hakimiyya”), and set in motion by different types of struggle (“jihad” of the heart, tongue, hand, and sword). This campaign is then legitimated by a moral history of Islam. The standard one-dimensional stereotype of Qutb is dispelled with a candid appraisal of his impact. Jihadist organizations arose in the 1970s and 1980s to address problems that even the milder Muslim Brotherhood could not solve. These groups were crushed in the 1990s. Remnants traveled to Afghanistan to establish al-Qa’ida and others wormed their way into the Brotherhood so that even now, after the uprising of January, 2011, Qutb and his followers remain a serious challenge in Egyptian politics.Less
Sayyid Qutb is considered to be the notorious godfather of the militant Islam that perpetrated the September 11th attacks. The purpose of the book is to understand the man and his ideas. The first part reviews the course of Qutb’s life, starting from his birth in 1906 in southern Egypt, and then later in Cairo, going from his secular, nationalist years as a modern poet and literary critic, to his turn toward moderate Islam, and then closing as he becomes more conservative and radical. In 1948, he traveled to the United States where he confirmed his preconceived aversions to the West. He supported Jamal Abdel Nasser’s 1952 revolution, but soon soured as his organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, suffered increasing repression. He served 10 years in prison. Just two years after his release, he was re-arrested, tried for treason, and executed in 1966. The second part documents Qutb’s philosophy and his ideas for revitalization, starting with its current decadence (“jahiliyya”), ending with the utopia of Islam’s ideal political economy and social history (“hakimiyya”), and set in motion by different types of struggle (“jihad” of the heart, tongue, hand, and sword). This campaign is then legitimated by a moral history of Islam. The standard one-dimensional stereotype of Qutb is dispelled with a candid appraisal of his impact. Jihadist organizations arose in the 1970s and 1980s to address problems that even the milder Muslim Brotherhood could not solve. These groups were crushed in the 1990s. Remnants traveled to Afghanistan to establish al-Qa’ida and others wormed their way into the Brotherhood so that even now, after the uprising of January, 2011, Qutb and his followers remain a serious challenge in Egyptian politics.
James Toth
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199790883
- eISBN:
- 9780199332601
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199790883.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Chapter twelve examines Qutb’s recent impact. Islamic activists used his writings to promote a campaign which today is called terrorism. This is documented in the movement’s emergence in southern ...
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Chapter twelve examines Qutb’s recent impact. Islamic activists used his writings to promote a campaign which today is called terrorism. This is documented in the movement’s emergence in southern Egypt in the 1970s and 1980s and its transformation from small charity groups into the violence of al-Jihad and al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya. These two exhibited important tactical and organizational distinctions that together contrasted considerably with the more moderate Muslim Brotherhood. Yet by the 1990s, the government had soundly defeated these militants. Many were jailed indefinitely while others escaped abroad. In the 1990s, the imprisoned leaders renounced violence and published the four-volume Revised Concepts. Those committed to violence moved to Afghanistan and under the leadership of Usama bin Ladin and Ayman al-Zawahiri created al-Qa’ida. Yet it is significant that even after the turn of the century, the milder Muslim Brothers continued to be accused of promoting Qutbism. The 2011 uprising did not dispel this suspicion; if anything, the rise of legitimate religious political parties streamlined the Brotherhood and purified its ranks.Less
Chapter twelve examines Qutb’s recent impact. Islamic activists used his writings to promote a campaign which today is called terrorism. This is documented in the movement’s emergence in southern Egypt in the 1970s and 1980s and its transformation from small charity groups into the violence of al-Jihad and al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya. These two exhibited important tactical and organizational distinctions that together contrasted considerably with the more moderate Muslim Brotherhood. Yet by the 1990s, the government had soundly defeated these militants. Many were jailed indefinitely while others escaped abroad. In the 1990s, the imprisoned leaders renounced violence and published the four-volume Revised Concepts. Those committed to violence moved to Afghanistan and under the leadership of Usama bin Ladin and Ayman al-Zawahiri created al-Qa’ida. Yet it is significant that even after the turn of the century, the milder Muslim Brothers continued to be accused of promoting Qutbism. The 2011 uprising did not dispel this suspicion; if anything, the rise of legitimate religious political parties streamlined the Brotherhood and purified its ranks.