Contemporary Threats
Contemporary Threats
Insurgency and Terrorism
This chapter explores the threat of insurgency and contrasts it with how terrorism and terrorists are described. The analysis looks at the emerging threats posed by criminal insurgencies and the links between terrorism, insurgency, and crime. It is largely descriptive in nature, focusing primarily on the nature of insurgent and terrorist threats rather than on the legal issues surrounding their activities. The unique attributes of each of these overlapping security threats will be explored, including a discussion of the emerging phenomenon of “criminal insurgency.” Another issue that is explored is the political purpose of non-State actor conflict. Importantly, the chapter sets the scene for the subsequent analysis of the law governing counterinsurgency and counterterrorism. In doing so, the analysis discusses Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and other Salafi jihadist groups as the dominant transnational “terrorist” threats of this century.
Keywords: political violence, paramilitary groups, international law, armed conflict, human rights, use of force, terrorism, insurgents and insurrection, humanitarian law
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