Browsing by Subject "Transnational Terrorism"

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Open Access
Conceptualizing transnational terrorism and the emergence of the non-state security actor : Al Qaeda
(2004) Konur, Nur Çağrı
This thesis analyzes the nature of transnational terrorism and the actorness of transnational terrorists in order to answer the question of whether it is possibility to give an effective international response to transnational terrorism. A dualistic approach of world politics has been developed in order to understand the ‘international’ nature of the response on the one hand, and the ‘transnational’ nature of the threat on the other hand. Accordingly, international nature of the response has been explained with the statecentric world image, while transnational nature of the threat has been explained with the multi-centric world image. Then, the term transnational terrorism has been conceptualized and the differences of the threat percerptions within the multi-centric world, of which transnational terrorism is a part, than those of the state-centric world have been analyzed. Thus, the rise of transnational terrorists as non-state security actors with the help of the multi-centric world and the actorness characteristics of these nonstate security actors have been mentioned. The evolution and the characteristics of Al Qaeda transnational terrorist organization, which fits the non-state actorness criteria the best, has been evaluated in order to demonstrate the arguments made. In conclusion, it has been found out that the existing international response mechanisms cannot meet the challange posed by transnational terrorism effectively. This is because while the response mechanisms are international and developed to meet the challanges posed by states, transnational terrorism is a transnational threat that is posed by non-state security actors, namely by transnational terrorists.
Open Access
Transnational terrorism under structural realism
(2003) Sarı, Burcu
This thesis aims to analyze the concept of terrorism under the impact of international structure. For that purpose, first, the concept of terrorism is compared with other types of violence and its common characteristics were defined. Second, terrorism is classified and historical examples were given accordingly. Third, terrorist organizations were assessed as smart mechanisms that are able to learn and adapt into the conditions in which they subsist. Last, it is highlighted that in the development of terrorist organizations, besides their internal dynamics, states’ tendency to cheat plays a crucial role. Terrorist organizations make use of the feeling of uncertainty and grow stronger out of the states’ rivalry. In the end, they emerge as secondary actors. As units interacting in the international system, the behaviors of terrorist organizations are also shaped and shoved by the structure. They both affect and become subject to the impact of structure. The impacts of the new actor on the international system were evaluated according to the basic principles of Structural Realism. As a result, it is concluded that since structural factors plays a crucial role in the emergence of terrorism, as long as the structure endures, terrorism will also persist. Therefore, states should find ways to coexist with terrorism with the possible least hazard.
Open Access
Transnational terrorist franchising in sub-saharan Africa : the effects of religion and natural resources
(2016-08) Buğday, Anastassia
In the past decade or so, several major franchises took place between a transnational terrorist organization – such as Al Qaeda and Islamic State – and domestic terrorist organizations. By adopting Al Qaeda’s brand name, Algerian Salafist Group for Preaching and Fighting was not only able to survive through counterterrorism measures enforced by the Algerian government, but also to reshape itself into a transnational terrorist group extending its influence to other countries. This dissertation argues that terrorist organizations are like business firms. Whatever their proclaimed goal is, their ultimate aim is survival. Terrorist organizations apply diverse strategies, in order to ‘stay in business,’ and franchise being one of them. By applying Zelinsky and Shubik’s (2009) typological framework, this work analyzes the motivations of terrorist organizations, both domestic and transnational, for involvement in the franchise strategy. This framework characterizes franchise as centralized in terms of operations, while being decentralized in terms of resources. This dissertation posits that religion and natural resources play an essential role in this framework: religious motivations are important for the centralization of operations, while the presence of natural resources guarantees that a new affiliate will be able to finance its operations even in cases when the parent organization is unable or unwilling to provide financial support. To explore the relationship between organizational survival strategy, religion and natural resources this work first compiles a dataset on all Sub-Saharan African countries and then conducts both a quantitative descriptive analysis, as well as a qualitative analysis of the case of Nigeria.