International Terrorism & Insurgency
| There may be no greater immediate transnational security threat to more governments and populations around the world than that posed by militant Islamists. Above all is that particularly virulent strain of militant Islamism broadly referred to as the ‘Global Jihadi Movement;’ a manifold threat presented in a wide range of regional insurgencies, professional terrorist networks like al-Qa’eda, and grassroots or ‘homegrown’ radicalization. Each class of threat poses its own distinct challenges, and each manifestation unique to its own. Chechnya is not Somalia nor Spain. Motivations, modes of operation, strategic intent, narratives, and organizational dynamics differ and therefore so too must the particulars of any successful counterstrategy. Too often analysis blurs these grave distinctions, categorizing the broader mass as ‘militant Salafism’ or, more prosaically, simply dubbing it all al-Qa’eda. Whether subscribing to a model of ‘global insurgency’ or a more multifaceted approach, specifics matter. Associated Scholars of the Transnational Crisis Project are asked to embrace this complexity and provide narrowly tailored, specific, concrete assessments about particular elements of the threat and their relation to broader strategic considerations. Research will focus principally on threat analysis and the concrete, counterinsurgency and counterterrorism instruments through which those threats may be neutralized through practical, comprehensive strategic means. | |