Complexities of Islamic Extremism in the Balkans
A comprehensive article covering recent developments in Islamic fundamentalist activities in the Balkans, citing un- or-under-reported information and sources.
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A comprehensive article covering recent developments in Islamic fundamentalist activities in the Balkans, citing un- or-under-reported information and sources.
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ln the paper the author demonstrates that there is substantial congruity between the studies of the negotiating character of science and those of negotiations in the field of politics. The congruity exists in analyses of the emergence of conflicts, in the classification of conflicts, in the classification of solutions, in the interests leading the conflicted parties, and, in cases considered to be typical, even in the methods of conflict resolution. Although there are, in politics as well as in science, modes of concluding or terminating conflicts that are not of a "negotiating character", the author deems that such solutions (the method of a good argument or the method of force) are not the subject of negotiation. The author also discusses the models of conflict resolution created by R. Fisher, W. Ury, R. Axe/rod, L. Laudan, T. Engelhardt and others. The concluding debate, about the interests leading the conflicted parties, sets the framework in which the methodology of "peaceful resolution of conflicts" could achieve results: the reaching of a consensus.
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Terrorism has been in existence from time immemorial and has become a global phenomenonthat needed the concerted effort of all countries for the menace to be eradicated. Terrorism hasalso been evident in the African continent, especially in Nigeria where the act of terrorism is atits climax and has led to the heavy displacement of citizens in Nigeria. Despite the terrorismprevention act promulgated by the parliament in 2011, and amended in 2013, the acts of terrorismstill persist in Nigeria. It is against this backdrop that this study examined the impact ofterrorism on the indigenes of Adamawa State, also examined the causes of terrorism, and thestrategies that have been helpful in combating terrorism and the endemic human displacementravaging Adamawa State. This study adopted the hybrid methods, that is, the combination ofboth primary and the secondary source of data collection as interviews and focus group discussion (FGD) are adopted as a tool for data collection, while other data are retrieved from readymadeworks of scholars. This study after the field survey, realized that the terrorism in AdamawaState has had a great negative impact on the citizens of Adamawa State, many indigenes havebeen killed and thousands displaced. The study finds out that the causes of terrorism in AdamawaState are illiteracy and poverty, and that the strategies that have been helpful in containing thecrisis are counter-terrorism and the establishment of IDP camps across the country where IDPsfrom Adamawa State are catered for. This study, therefore, recommends that the government ofNigeria should endeavor to give the basic needs of lives especially education and massive employmentand strategize a way of economically reviving the victims of terror attacks and thosedisplaced in Adamawa State. This study also recommends that the military should be strengthenedby sending them abroad regularly for specialist training, in order for them to be able toeffectively tackle terrorism and tackle the menace of the proliferation of small arms and lightweapons in Nigeria.
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Observing the events and crises that occur around the world in schools, there is a question: Doschools in Poland, apart from the organizational, program and legal changes, consider creatingand strengthening the safety of children and young people? Especially with the exposure of newthreats that may appear, defined as terrorism. After the analysis, it can be concluded that Polishschools do not teach children how to behave in the event of a terrorist threat. Preparation dependson many factors, including mainly anti-terror awareness, which depends primarily on properlyorganized and conducted educational and legislative activity of the state. In the presented article,the authors distinguished and characterized (author's approach) a picture of contemporary schoolreality in the discussed area, especially legal - development - educational contexts in whichchanges should occur. In the legal area, the analysis included regulated provisions of the Act of10 June 2016 on anti-terrorist activities (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 796), the Act of 1 March2018 on counteracting money laundering and financing of terrorism (Journal of Laws of 2019,item 1115) and the Act of 26 April 2007 on crisis management (Journal of Laws of 2019, item139) whether they may be applicable in the discussed issues. Bearing in mind that the safety ofcitizens, and thus of children and young people, is a timeless problem, it should be postulatedthat educational institutions in Poland should as soon as possible introduce new curricula foranti-terrorism prophylaxis into their curricula.
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‘’Terrorism that is seen as an organized violent attack on a target with the aim of undermining alawfully constituted authority and to cause fear among the populace in furthering of some socialpoliticalobjectives’’. It’s an act that has been bedeviling Nigerian state since 2003, and theadverse effect of these act on Nigeria has been a heavy humanitarian crisis on one hand, andchallenges of insecurity on the other hand. Despite the enactment of the terrorism provision Act2011, which was enacted to prosecute, punish those citizens that will be engaging in the Act ofterrorism in Nigeria, and finally prevent such Act, quite a number of Nigerian citizens still engagedin the Act of terrorism. This paper examined the causes and the impact of terrorism onthe Nigerian state, and proffer sustainable solution to the act of terrorism bedeviling Nigerianstate. This paper adopted the hybrid method of data collection, that is both primary and secondarymethod of data collection was applied. The paper conducted interviews, while other datawas gathered from the readymade works of scholars and was used in the analyses of fact. Afterexamining terrorism and its impact on Nigeria, the paper analyzed options that may serve as away out of the menace of terrorism in Nigeria and recommended that government of Nigeriashould adopt the strategy and possible panacea put forward by this paper, as it will help to agreat extends in eradicating terrorism in Nigeria.
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Forced migration and displacement are two well-known results of internal armed conflicts of nations. A fundamental relationship associated with these humanitarian movements is the one entailing the link between the geographical distance travelled by migrants and their economic well-being. As such a link remains unstudied in previous works, its empirical scrutiny is timely for migration studies. In this paper, we take the Colombian conflict as a case study to analyze this relationship empirically. Using data from the Longitudinal Social Protection Survey (ELPS) - 2012, we estimated a regression model, in which we tested different welfare measures and blocks of control variables. Contrary to what we expected, the results show that the elasticity of distance is positive and that it does not determine welfare outcomes for the displaced population.
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Recognising the continued importance and relevance of rule of law promotion in transitional justice processes and for sustainable peace and development in countries emerging out of conflict and widespread human rights violations, this paper looks at some of the issues that have been hindering international support to justice sector reform from advancing beyond its so-called ‘orthodoxy’. It examines how conceptual ambiguity has affected the ways in which rule of law programmes are conceived, planned, implemented and evaluated, and thus, how it has contributed to a so-called rule of law impasse. It also looks at some of the programmatic shortcomings as a consequence of this impasse and concludes, by identifying some steps taken in a different direction, that there’s an eagerness to move beyond the orthodox rule of law paradigm.
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The aim of this study is to show that Turkey’s experience in the operations of Syria in the hybrid environment is more than a lot of states’, and increased its political influence in the region as well, and thus would have a say in the process of reconstruction of Syria after the civil war. The US, for the time being, wants to create an autonomous Kurdish region in northern Syria, and despite Turkey’s all objections, it makes an alliance with PKK’s Syrian branch PYD/YPG or so called as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for fighting DAESH. The US has provided all kinds of assistance to the PYD/YPG, including arms and money. Seeing this as a threat to its survival, Turkey first conducted the Euphrates Shield Operation with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) on August 24, 2016, and then the Operation of the Olive Branch on January 20, 2018, and finally the Peace Spring Operation on October 9, 2019. The main purpose of these three operations was to clear the area from the PYD/YPG and DAESH terrorists and to contribute to the reconstruction of stability in Syria by considering the territorial integrity of the country.
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Depending on the inclination of the authors and the focus of their security research, we recognize two most common approaches: the first focuses on the stability of national governance structures and territorial integrity (state and/or national security); while the second approach focuses on security as a civil right in daily life, the availability of necessary resources and the quality of life. The latter approach is known in theory as the concept of human security. Considering the fact that a comprehensive analysis of the security situation involves elements of both approaches, in the paper we consider the complex relationship between state and non-state security actors through the hybridization of the political system. The mismatch between the level of the national strategy and its operationalization at the level of meeting the needs of citizens requires the introduction of new elements in the space between the strategic and operational levels. The outlined approach can be called the Hybrid Security System because of its potential contribution to raising the level of Human Security (HS) in local communities. We will present the hybrid security system conceptually in the form of a decentralized computer network. The presented diagram of System Dynamics and the proposed model of HS operationalization through the hybridization of security systems using the potential of Information and Communications Technologies are a good basis for the analysis and raising the level of citizens’ security in relation to current threats.
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When considering the military power of the United States, it is necessary to distinguish military force and military power. Military force represents an organization that is equipped and trained to use force. America is clearly the largest military power in the world, and that is a fact. However, the term military power is significantly wider than that of the military force. It also includes elements related to the threat of using force and many other activities related to the involvement of military force in contemporary international relations, including international defense cooperation, military-technical cooperation, the purchase and sale of weapons and military equipment, and more. The paper focuses on this exact segment of military power, understood as a willingness to engage the US military force outside their national territory. The aim of the paper is to describe the evolution of the United States’ strategic thought regarding military power as a foreign policy instrument by analyzing the key processes in specific historical conditions from their independence to modern times. The results of this analysis will represent valuable indicators for a future role of military power in the US foreign policy in terms of potential conflicts for the preservation of global hegemony.
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The authors seek to highlight the modernity of studying various issues in criminology and their inter-relatedness to the fields of social sciences and humanities in general, such as sociology, criminology, security, and all deal-related, often opportunistic, "Interlaced" phenomena. Related issues have been studying the relevant safety facts and science that are incorporated in them, not mutually exclusive items related observation, rather than grouping them in one goal - preventing social negative social phenomena. The authors give special attention to the determining of the concept of a political crime, and terrorism. Crime, delinquency - occurs whenever a gain of three quintessential elements of their existence: the victim, the offender and the place of execution. Accordingly, the basis for the philosophy of prevention consists in disrupting or disabling synergies of these three elements. While the idea of crime prevention may be an unattainable ideal, a lot can still be done in an efficient process minimizing the occurrence of crime.
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Despite prevailing perceptions, the Balkans has been a region with the longest periods of peace and prosperity in recorded history. For centuries, the Balkans has been a crossroad of civilizations paved by empires, commerce, culture and religion, where civilizations did not clash, but communicated, interacted, and merged, producing fertile ground for dialogue and exchange. This great potential was overshadowed by developments in recent history. The first and last armed conflicts in Europe during the short 20th century (1914-1991) took place in the Balkans. The bloodshed gave birth to a new term – Balkanization that became a synonym for a reversion to the tribal, backward, primitive and even barbarian habits and practices. This term echoed some earlier metaphors that tried to capture the innate instability of the region. These metaphors are a part of a Balkanophobe paradigm that consists of oversimplified and shallow interpretations and conceptual frames about the Balkans. At the beginning of the third millennia, marked by geopolitical shifts, migrations, and multiple global and regional crises, we need a fresh, authentic understanding of the Balkans, its role, position, capacity and potentials. We need a shift from a Balkanophobe to a Balkanophile paradigm. In a complex and contradictory world, the Balkan region should not be seen as a buffer zone, but an open, inclusive and connected region, capable of creating conditions that would benefit its countries and peoples, providing them with opportunities to share its positive experiences with one another and the rest of Europe.
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To undertake military intervention or not, is a question that affects all countries in the world in situations of mass violations of human rights and the rules of international humanitarian law, especially the states that have resources and means for direct engagement in the resolution of such situations. For many countries, the answer is simply negative. Their justification is that these crimes do not occur on their territory and it is not worthy that their soldiers die trying to restore peace and security in other countries. The most powerful countries should actively be involved in the prevention and ending of situations of gross human rights violations, which at the same time represent a shame for the whole civilized world. The most powerful countries should intervene because they have the necessary capacity to maintain the peace and security in the world.
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This paper examines in detail the major themes that have emerged in the academic study of external relations of substate entities. It begins by exploring definitions of the external relations and international activities of federated units and regions and presents a brief history of when and how sub-state units emerged at the international scene; in other words, it considers the groundwork for their international presence and displays how changes in international relations create room for new actors. The paper then considers why federated units and regions engage in external relations, including their motivations, incentives, and strategies. The paper also examines the role of nationalism and separatism in the international activities of federated units and regions, how central authorities react, and what measures they may take against their sub-state units. The participation of regions and federated units in international organisations is also analysed here.
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The culture of remembrance that dominates national communities and states that emerged after the civil war and disintegration of the former Yugoslavia is an area of daily conflict, and different and mutually exclusive interpretations of events from the past testify that Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks and other ethnic groups that share a common history remember and interpret it in completely different ways. Selective recollection, relativisation and fabrication of the past, reversal and forgetting, and falsification of facts about individual and group roles in contemporary history result in political conflicts in the present and could potentially lead to future misunderstandings and conflicts, making the Balkans even more unstable and without any perspective
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Social work is oriented towards improving the quality of life and developing the potentials of individuals, especially of vulnerable social groups, as well as adressing societal problems, risks, injustices and inequalities. Human rights and social justice constitute the fundamental principles of social work. In the terrorism securitization era, i.e. from the beginning of 21st century, due to the growing multidimensionality of terrorism by which various policies, processes and actors overlap and network, boundaries between social and security policies have been gradually dissappearing. Departure from the professional care for vulnerable populations function towards the "surveillance" function, by which individuals are controled in the interest of preserving social order and security, puts social work in all its meanings in a different role. In counterterrorist action, social services and social work are becoming subordinated to the security logic. By analyzing the framework for introducing social work into counterterrorist status and the role of social services in counterterrorism it becomes clear that social work performs the function of a national security policy intelligence instrument in the counterterrorist strategies of Western democracies.
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Contrary to the common understanding that collective memory functions as a driver for fostering domestic peace, stability, a common national identity, and serves as a cornerstone for the realisation of specific national goals, our aim is to show how collective memory is understood as a constitutive element of foreign policy narratives and how memory can influence foreign policy choices (Anderson, 1983; Gillis, 199 4; Hobsbawm and Ranger, 1983; Bodnar, 1992; Schudson, 1993; Dian, 2017). Building on the work of Müller (2002), Bell (2010), Langenbacher and Shain (2010), Resende and Budryte (2014), Dian (2017) and Bachleitner (2018), we will argue that Serbia’s foreign policy choice in 2013 to sign the agreement with Kosovo is best understood with the help of an interpretative approach to foreign policy, as this issue de facto reflected the continuation of the role of sacrifice within Serbian collective memory. A narrative of victimisation was used to efficiently bridge the ‘guilt’ and tie it to the notion of great powers’ intervention. This article also examines the paradox of Serbia’s endeavours to hold on to Kosovo by looking into how the struggle over the nation’s past provides the fundamental ideational background for contemporary foreign policy choices.
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The paper will show the results of several research on the role of religion and nation in the reconciliation process in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2013 to 2018. The first part of the paper will show the views of the general population, with particular reference to the relationship between minority and majority status at different localities. Respondents repeatedly and overwhelmingly indicated that the process of reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina was either important or very important. Religious leaders will contribute to the process of reconciliation if they do not exclude minorities in places where their religious community is in majority and if they do not incite extremism in their community in those places where they are minority. It is important to promote respect for others both in public and private discourse. The second part of the paper will deal with the analysis of the content of attitudes of political and religious elites. The interview was conducted in the summer of 2018 with 76 people who are prominent in their public role in society in the educational, political, religious and non-governmental sector. In this paper, I analyze the results of interviews with religious and political leaders as well as religious leaders as professors of religious universities, religious school directors and religious teachers who were part of this sample, patrons of Orthodox, Islamic, Roman Catholic, Judaism and Protestant theologians.
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