Matthew Moran

Opposing Exclusion: The Political Significance of the Riots in French Suburbs (2005–2007)

In 2005, following the deaths of two teenagers in the Parisian suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, France witnessed three weeks of widespread rioting. These events were mirrored, albeit on a smaller scale, in the nearby suburb of Villiers-le-Bel in 2007 when two local youths died in a collision involving police officers. Both during and after these respective events, many social and political commentators denounced the riots as a purely nihilistic expression of violence, a rejection of the Republic and of French society at large. However, this interpretation fails to fully consider the complexity of the situation. This essay will attempt to deconstruct the security-oriented interpretation of the violence and instead offer an analysis that views the riots of both 2005 and 2007 as a plea for access to French society on the part of those involved. Drawing on empirical fieldwork carried out in Villiers-le-Bel, the article will examine the case of Villiers-le-Bel in relation to the arguments put forward by a number of French sociologists, most notably Lapeyronnie and Kokoreff, which attributed political significance to the riots. The argument will explore the idea of the riots as a protopolitical event, that is, a primitive attempt by a socially excluded population to gain visibility in the public and political spheres.

The Iranian nuclear dilemma: light at the end of the tunnel?

In February 2012, Iran announced its willingness to resume negotiations with the Western powers. This statement followed in the wake of a damning report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors and the imposition of additional sanctions by the international community on an Iranian economy already under pressure. Tehrans announcement also coincided with increased speculation regarding an Israeli military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. At the same time, however, this seemingly positive step appeared to be undermined by Irans concomitant announcement that “huge” technical progress has been made on Irans nuclear programme. This article will explore the significance of the recent political, diplomatic and technical developments in the Iranian nuclear affair and situate them in the broader context of Tehrans nuclear strategy. The analysis will assess the potential for this latest phase in the Iranian nuclear crisis to reverse Irans current trajectory and initiate a rapprochement between Iran and Western powers.

Collective Terms: Race, Culture and Community in a State-Planned City in France

of the content. Ultimately, this book reasserts the importance of French historiography in the broader field of Holocaust studies. Few works on the Final Solution in France are written and/or translated into English, and when they are it is usually from the perspective of Vichy collaboration and French anti-Semitism. Edited collections of Holocaust history rarely dedicate a chapter to experiences in Vichy France. While we can spend time debating why this is the case, it is better here to embrace such initiatives to integrate Vichy history into Holocaust studies.

Looking Beyond a Nuclear-Armed Iran: Is Regional Proliferation Inevitable?

The past year has seen a steady rise in tensions with regard to Irans nuclear programme. Irans economy is being crippled by far-ranging sanctions and the threat of an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities looms large on the horizon. Yet the countrys nuclear programme marches on, stoking fears that Iran may indeed be seeking to cross the nuclear weapons threshold. In this context, it is timely to consider how key regional players would respond to a nuclear-armed Iran. Many argue that an Iranian bomb would prompt a proliferation cascade in the Middle East. However, a closer examination of the drivers for key regional players shows that this is not necessarily the case. There is a range of non-proliferation tools that could be applied by the West and others to offset this risk.

Living with nuclear hedging: the implications of Iran's nuclear strategy

For the past decade, much attention has been devoted to the potential consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran. Yet the binary ‘acquisition/restraint’ lens through which the Iranian nuclear issue is frequently viewed is limiting. There is now much evidence to suggest that Iran is engaged in a strategy based on nuclear hedging, rather than an outright pursuit of the bomb. This does not change the need to contain Tehrans proliferation potential, yet it does add another layer of complexity to the challenge. Iran will retain a low level of latency whatever the final outcome of longstanding diplomatic efforts to constrain the scope and pace of its nuclear efforts. This article will explore the implications of Iranian nuclear hedging and consider how regional rivals might interpret and respond to Tehrans nuclear strategy. On a larger scale, the article will explore the potential impact of the international communitys approach to the Iranian case—implicitly recognizing, even giving legitimacy to, hedging—both in terms of the future of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the ability of the international community to limit the negative effects of this form of proliferation behaviour

Open Source Intelligence in the Twenty-First Century

This edited volume takes a fresh look at the subject of open source intelligence (OSINT), exploring both the opportunities and the challenges that this emergent area offers at the beginning of the twenty-first century. In particular, it explores the new methodologies and approaches that technological advances have engendered, while at the same time considering the risks associated with the pervasive nature of the Internet. Drawing on a diverse range of experience and expertise, the book begins with a number of chapters devoted to exploring the uses and value of OSINT in a general sense, identifying patterns, trends and key areas of debate. The focus of the book then turns to the role and influence of OSINT in three key areas of international security nuclear proliferation; humanitarian crises; and terrorism. The book offers a timely discussion on the merits and failings ofOSINT and provides readers with an insight into the latest and most original research being conducted in this area.

Iran's Nuclear Programme: A Case Study in Hedging?

Abstract: This article examines Iranian proliferation behaviour through the lens of nuclear hedging. Defined as ‘nuclear latency with intent’, hedging is an area of proliferation behaviour that has not been fully explored. The Iranian case presents an outstanding example of the questions and types of evidence required to judge whether a nuclear programme is engaged in a hedging strategy. By examining a nuclear programme from three distinct angles – technical, narrative and diplomatic – key elements of strategic hedging can be identified. Applied to Iran, evidence supports a diagnosis of hedging. But this assessment is further complicated by Irans domestic political context, which has engendered an approach that is as much ‘hedging by default’ as it is ‘hedging by design’. This approach allows Tehran to reconcile restraint with domestic consensus on nuclear advancement. In this regard, our analysis shows that international exposure of Irans undeclared nuclear activities had an enormous impact on the direction of Irans nuclear programme, placing important constraints on Irans nuclear progress. The article argues that any solution to the Iranian nuclear challenge must be based on realistic goals. The international community should focus on containing Iranian advancements rather than rollback, with a view to restricting hedging to a low level of latency.

Terrorism and the banlieues: the Charlie Hebdo attacks in context

Abstract In January 2015, French society was shocked by a sequence of fatal attacks at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket in Paris. In the wake of these tragic events, many social and political commentators interpreted the killings as an assault on freedom of expression and core French values of liberty, equality and laïcité. Prime Minister Manuel Valls described the perpetrators as disciples of Islamofascism. More than this, the terrorists were represented as the extreme manifestation of a deviant and nihilistic ‘other’—largely concentrated in France’s infamous banlieues—that rejected the Republic and embraced a form of ideological extremism that originated beyond France’s borders. Yet this interpretation fails to adequately consider the complexity of the situation. Drawing on the work on radicalisation by Wiktorowicz, and illustrated with lessons learned from research into the causes of the 2005 French riots, this article has two objectives: to highlight the importance of everyday exclusion in the web of causal factors that frames the path to violent extremism in France; and to offer an alternative view of the role and influence of the banlieues in this context.

Introduction: Understanding Riots

The past 10 years have been marked by a series of high profile and heavily mediatised riots across the globe. The earliest major example occurred in autumn 2005, when France witnessed 3 weeks of nationwide rioting following the deaths of two youths in the infamous banlieues, the underprivileged suburbs at the fringes of major French cities. The latest example was in April 2015, when the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray in police custody led to large-scale disorder in Baltimore, a city in the US state of Maryland. The intensity of these riots prompted the mayor of Baltimore to declare a state of emergency and saw some 4000 National Guard troops deployed throughout the city. These examples are notable but not isolated incidents. Other high-profile riots have occurred in Australia (2005), Greece (2008), England (2011), Sweden (2013), and the USA (2014). From the overspill of racial tensions in Sydney to anti-police riots in London, democratic societies have, in recent years, witnessed powerful and costly outbursts of anger and violence. Not surprisingly, these developments have renewed interest in the nature, significance, and causes of collective disorder, both in terms of public perceptions and the political response to riots, and in terms of academic debate on how these phenomena should be theorised and understood.

Bound by History? Exploring Challenges to French Nuclear Disarmament

In April 2009, President Obama gave a landmark speech in Prague in which he unequivocally committed the United States to the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.This speech highlighted the growing importance attached to the question of disarmament in the nuclear field. Of course, Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) have already taken steps to reduce their stockpiles and move towards the minimum requirements to maintain a credible nuclear deterrent, even if there remains a lot to be done. In recent years, for example, France has “significantly reduced its nuclear arsenal and constrained its means to reverse this trend by dismantling its test site and its fissile materials production facilities.” France was also the first NWS to support a “zeroyield” test ban in the 1996 Geneva negotiations. There is an enormous gap between reduction and elimination with regard to nuclear weapons. Threats to national security, perceived or real, are frequently cited as the biggest obstacle to disarmament. In a rapidly changing geopolitical context, nuclear weapons undoubtedly represent the surest deterrent.The security question is not the only obstacle blocking the path to nuclear-zero. More subtle and nuanced issues relating to nationalism, prestige and international status also play a crucial role in the disarmament debate.This article will argue that the question of France’s role on the world stage,deeply rooted in the historical and ideological matrix of French republicanism, constitutes an important obstacle to French disarmament. Moreover, the article will relate these issues to contemporary society and President Sarkozy’s political engagement with the question of nuclear disarmament, examining in particular the implications of the recent strategic alliance agreed between France and the UK. Defense & Security AnalysisVol. 27, No. 4, pp. 341–357, December 2011