Donald Holbrook

“Terroristic Content”: Towards a Grading Scale

In this article we offer a first attempt at providing a set of universal grading criteria for determining on what basis, and how far, an item of discursive content can be considered “terroristic.” In doing so, we draw loosely on the existing COPINE scale for child abuse images. The scale described in the article is not intended to reflect actual risk of engagement in terrorist violence, nor is it intended to have evidential validity in relation to offenses in certain jurisdictions relating to “terrorist publications.” Rather, by formalising assumptions which seem already to be latent in the literature on terrorist use of the Internet, it aspires to serve as a starting point for a more methodologically coherent approach to relationships between content—particularly online content—and terrorism.

Al-Qaeda and the rise of ISIS

Ayman al-Zawahiri and his allies have focused on the excessive violence perpetrated by ISIS, and sought to present al-Qaeda as a more moderate alternative.

Same kind of different:affordances, terrorism, and the internet

This work was part funded by the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (ESRC Award: ES/N009614/1). Direct correspondence to Paul J. Taylor, Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, U.K. LA1 4YF (e-mail p.j.taylor@lancaster.ac.uk). Comment [SVV1]: AU: Please note that your article has been edited to be consistent with the style and preferences of CPP and the other articles included in this issue.

A critical analysis of the role of the internet in the preparation and planning of acts of terrorism

The purpose of this paper is to offer a critical assessment of the way in which the internet and online material features as part of the process individuals embark on to plan acts of terrorism. The paper begins by evaluating concepts used to describe the role of the internet in the context of terrorism and political violence before analysing a single case study in detail in order to explore particular nuances that emerge which shed light on the relationship between perpetrator on the one hand and online content and behaviour on the other. The case study, in turn, is developed into a conceptual appraisal of terrorist use of the internet. The paper concludes by exploring the important distinction between the “theoretical” application of online learning as set out in terrorist propaganda and the hurdles that individuals face in practice.

Approaching terrorist public relations initiatives

The objective of this article is to further our understanding of terrorist public relations initiatives through exploring communicative efforts that are inherent in terrorist activities and associated with terrorist actors and by scrutinising discourse emanating from terrorist movements and perpetrators. By analysing this content and output, the article identifies three core and interrelated components of terrorist public relations initiatives: (1) the communicative aspect of the terrorist act itself, (2) conveyance of ideological tenets and (3) counter-narrative work. The article concludes by considering some of the theoretical implications of the analysis and the relevance to different disciplines, highlighting the importance of understanding terrorist mobilisation efforts through public relations.

Developing grading processes for ideological content

This article focuses on the development and application of methodological tools to measure and to “grade” the content of ideological material seen to promote violence and extremism. Our premise is that variation in such content suggests that the formulation of a substantive grading tool will provide analysts with an empirical foundation to detect the nature of these differences and highlight important distinctions. The paper argues that such an approach will offer ways in which to construct an evidence-based picture of what constitutes different layers of extremist fringes, as well as understanding how and when output from particular sources has changed over time. Initial shortcuts to understanding content, it is argued, fail to reflect these nuances, thus necessitating a more systematic approach. The paper develops a two-pronged approach to grading ideological material, presenting examples of Islamist extremist discourse to illustrate how the process might work in practice.

Alienating the Grassroots: Looking Back at Al Qaeda's Communicative Approach Toward Muslim Audiences

This article explores the way in which the Al Qaeda leadership appeals to and addresses different cohorts of Sunni Muslim audiences through its statements. This communicative approach is understood in the context of collective action frames from the social movement literature. The article analyzes the way in which communiqués from Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri have approached different Muslim audiences, defining three principal approaches: encouragement, excommunication, and exasperation. The article discusses how these approaches developed from the early 1990s up until the end of 2011, arguing that denunciation of Muslim publics has become an ever more prominent feature of this discourse.

The representation of violence by insurgent political actors: the “violent” part of “violent extremism”?

Terrorism is often held to be “violence as communication”. However, terrorism studies has had very little to say about how violence as such is specifically represented by insurgent “extremist” or transgressive political actors. Informed by social movement theories of framing and the literature on virtualization, this paper sets out to offer a preliminary typology of representations of violence by such groups, and the ways in which subcultural engagement with mediated representations of violence may represent a missing dimension in our understanding of “violent extremism” or “violent radicalization”.

Terrorism as Process Narratives: A Study of Pre-Arrest Media Usage and the Emergence of Pathways to Engagement

ABSTRACT Terrorism is a highly irregular form of crime where multiple factors combine to create circumstances that are unique to each case of involvement, or attempted involvement, in terrorist violence. Yet, there are commonalities in the way in which efforts to become involved unfold as processes, reflected as sequential developments where different forces combine to create conditions where individuals seek to plan acts of violence. The best way to frame this involvement is through analytical approaches that highlight these procedural dimensions but are equally sensitive to the nuances of each case. Analysing pre-arrest media usage of convicted terrorists, this paper focuses on the ways in which belief pathways and operational pathways interact in five distinct cases of terrorist involvement in the UK in what are termed “process narratives.”

Al-Qaeda’s grievances in context : reconciling sharia and society

At a time when political debate in the West is preoccupied with the perceived impact of extremist ideas on individuals who embrace or support terrorism, this article uses the publicly articulated grievances of Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al-Qaeda’s most prolific ideologue, as a case study to examine how a globally focused and distributed extremist narrative matches political realities on the ground. The approach of the article is to compare two political processes: the approach of Islamist extremists, as represented by Zawahiri, to constitutional reform as articulated through public appeals to potential supporters versus the reality of constitutional amendments and evolution of fundamental law in the Middle East and South Asia. Incorporating insights from studies on law and society and International Relations, the article demonstrates how Zawahiri’s interpretation of religious law emphasises wholesale adoption of sharia while the process of legal reform has invariably resulted in the creation of legal hybrids, mixing Islamic and non-Islamic legal traditions. This is not an article about theology or religious law but an effort to dissect the public relations of an international terrorist movement. The analysis pays particular attention to events in Zawahiri’s native Egypt, where evolving grievances concerning a series of constitutional amendments – including those following the Arab revolutions and the toppling of Mohammed Morsi – are assessed.