January 16, 2018

By Athul Menath   Since 1979, the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) has been at the forefront of insurgent violence in the Indian state of Assam. The group sprang up during the ‘anti-outsider’ agitation which demanded the expulsion of ethnic Bengalis whose large scale influx had impacted the local demography of Assam. Soon the … Continue reading “ULFA: A Persistent Threat”

January 9, 2018

By Jamie Matthews   On October 17 2017, Philippine President Duterte declared that the city of Marawi had been ‘liberated from terrorist influence‘. The city, located on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, had been under siege by militant groups fighting under the flag of the so-called Islamic State (IS). While the Government’s victory is … Continue reading “Islamist Extremism in the Philippines”

December 18, 2017

  The issue of terrorism financing has become a major international concern in the past few years. For instance, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the US President George W. Bush decided to target finances, and therefore issued Executive Order 13224. Similarly, the November 2015 Paris Attacks have resulted in further efforts to targeting … Continue reading “Strife Interview – Tom Keatinge (RUSI) on Financial Intelligence”

September 14, 2016

By: Kyle R. Brady   With yet another[1] illegal underground nuclear weapons test[2], North Korea has again flaunted the international community’s attempt to control what is quite arguably a rogue and/or failed state. A key difference in this test[3], however, is not its apparent yield[4] but, instead, the claim that this is part of a miniaturization … Continue reading “North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, and the Spectre of Enhanced Terrorism”

April 29, 2016

By: Munira Mustaffa While Indonesia successfully demonstrated remarkable resilience with her defiant cry of “Kami tidak takut” (“We are not intimidated”) on social media after the January 2016 attack,[1] there are some uncertainties that the same level of fortitude can be witnessed in Malaysia should a Daesh-inspired attack happen.[2] This raises some pressing debates about Malaysia’s … Continue reading “Does Malaysia have concrete counterterrorism strategies to mitigate potential terrorist attacks?”

April 22, 2016

By: Peter Kirechu The most notable feature of President Barack Obama’s partnership-based counterterrorism doctrine­–roughly defined–is its central focus on training and arming local security services to independently deal with emerging terrorism threats. The President’s doctrine is unfortunately fraught with inconsistent performance of US-trained security services, especially among fragile states in the Middle East and beyond. … Continue reading “The limits of US security cooperation in Jordan”

April 1, 2016

By: Sabina Ciofu Unlike any other terrorist organisation, the so-called Islamic State has consistently and efficiently made use of social media tools for self-promotion and recruitment. With an estimated 200,000 tweets a day for at least the last couple of years, it is by far the most aggressive social media offensive we have ever seen … Continue reading “Turning technology from an asset into a liability: using big data to fight ISIS”

March 25, 2016

EDITORS NOTE: This is the fourth and final article in a four-part series which explores the role of water in human conflict and politics. The series marks (though is not affiliated with) World Water Day 2016, a UN initiative to promote awareness of water issues. More information on World Water Day can be found here. … Continue reading “ISIS and the Flood: the hydro-politics behind the rise (and fall) of Daesh”

February 19, 2016

This is the fourth, and final, piece in Strife’s four-part series exploring the relationship between organised crime and terrorism in a 21st century security environment. The first, second, and third parts can be found here, here, and here, respectively. By: Joe Atkins Too often, some conflicts attract attention only when something abnormally brutal happens. This occurred … Continue reading “Organised crime and terrorism Part IV: Setting examples: Violence as communication in Mexico’s Cartel War”

February 18, 2016

This is the third piece in Strife’s four-part series exploring the relationship between organised crime and terrorism in a 21st century security environment. The first and second parts can be found here and here, respectively. By: Andrea Varsori Rags-to-riches criminal overlords do not normally lack ambition; yet, most of them do not aim to claim … Continue reading “Organised crime and terrorism Part III: Letters from Dubai: D-Company’ and the ‘93 Mumbai terror attacks”