bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How to Spot a Usurper: Clinical Ethics Consultation and (True) Moral Authority
Authors: Evans Kelly Kate , Colgrove Nicholas
Published: August 2022

Clinical ethics consultants (CECs) are not moral authorities. Standardization of CECs’ professional role does not confer upon them moral authority. Certification of particular CECs does not confer upon them moral authority (nor does it reflect such authority). Or, so we will argue. This article offers a distinctly Orthodox Christian response to those who claim that CECs—or any other academically trained bioethicist—retain moral authority (i.e., an authority to know and recommend the right course of action). This article proceeds in three parts. First, we discuss recent movements toward the certification of CECs in the United States, focusing primarily on proposals and programs put forth by the American Society for Humanities and Bioethics (ASBH). Second, we outline two secular reasons to be concerned about the relevant trends toward certification. For one thing, certification is currently being advanced via political dominance, rather than gaining authority by reliance on rigorous philosophical argument or reason. For another, the trends operate on the assumption that there exists a secular, content-full, canonical, morality. There is no such morality. Next, we argue that Orthodox Christians should resist the current trends toward certification of CECs. Specifically, we unpack ways in which the ASBH’s certification program (and those like it) conflict with Orthodox claims about moral authority and the moral life more generally. We conclude that Orthodox Christians should resist the current certification trends.
A sharp decrease of Th17, CXCR3+-Th17, and Th17.1 in peripheral blood is associated with an early anti-IL-17-mediated clinical remission in psoriasis
Authors: Tsiogkas Sotirios G , Mavropoulos Athanasios , Dardiotis Efthimios , Zafiriou Efterpi , Bogdanos Dimitrios P
Published: August 2022

Psoriasis—an immune-mediated skin disease—implicates in its pathophysiology by circulating pro-inflammatory cell populations, cytokines, and their interactions with the epidermis. The direct effect of approved anti-interleukin- (IL-)17A and anti-IL-17R biologic therapy on immunophenotyping of peripheral blood mononuclear lymphocytes’ (PBMCs) relative sub-population frequencies in psoriasis patients has not yet been described. Using multiparameter flow cytometry we examined T-cell subpopulations characterized by CCR6, CCR4, and CXCR3 chemokine receptor surface expression at baseline and after initiation of biologic therapy in PBMCs collected from 30 psoriasis patients. Increased CD3+CD4+CXCR3+, CD3+CD4+CCR6+CCR4+CXCR3+(CXCR3+-Th17), and CD3+CD4+CCR6+CCR4-CXCR3+(Th17.1) cell populations were observed in patients with psoriasis in comparison to healthy individuals (n = 10). IL-17 therapeutic blockade decreased CD3+CD4+CCR6+, CD3+CD4+CXCR3+, CD3+CD4+CCR6-CXCR3+(Th1), CD3+CD4+CCR6+CCR4+(Th17), CD3+CD4+CCR6+CCR4+CXCR3+(CXCR3+-Th17), and CD3+CD4+CCR6+CCR4-CXCR3+(Th17.1) cell populations in responding psoriasis patients. Moreover, CD3+CD4-CCR6+, CD3+CD4-CXCR3+, CD3+CD4-CCR6+CCR4+(Tc17), and CD3+CD4-CCR6-CXCR3+(Tc1) percentages were also inhibited. Modulation of the same cell sub-populations was also assessed in patients treated with methotrexate (n = 4), apremilast (n = 4), and anti-IL-23 biologic treatment (n = 4). In our study, the levels and functional capacity of peripheral pro-inflammatory Th1, Th17, and additional CCR6+T cell sub-gated populations from psoriasis patients that were treated with anti-IL-17 or anti-IL-17R targeted biologic therapy were explored for the first time. Our data clearly demonstrate that early anti-IL-17 mediated clinical remission is accompanied by a significant decrease of Th1, Th17, CXCR3+-Th17, and Th17.1 cells.
Household Transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 From Adult Index Cases With and Without Human Immunodeficiency Virus in South Africa, 2020–2021: A Case-Ascertained, Prospective, Observational Household Transmission Study
Authors: Kleynhans Jackie , Walaza Sibongile , Martinson Neil A , Neti Mzimasi , von Gottberg Anne , Bhiman Jinal N , Toi Dylan , Amoako Daniel G , Buys Amelia , Ndlangisa Kedibone , Wolter Nicole , Genade Leisha , Maloma Lucia , Chewparsad Juanita , Lebina Limakatso , de Gouveia Linda , Kotane Retshidisitswe , Tempia Stefano , Cohen Cheryl
Published: August 2022

Background

In South Africa, 19% of adults are living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; LWH). Few data on the influence of HIV on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) household transmission are available.

Methods

We performed a case-ascertained, prospective household transmission study of symptomatic adult index SARS-CoV-2 cases LWH and not living with HIV (NLWH) and their contacts from October 2020 to September 2021. Households were followed up 3 times a week for 6 weeks to collect nasal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 testing. We estimated household cumulative infection risk (HCIR) and duration of SARS-CoV-2 positivity (at a cycle threshold value <30 as proxy for high viral load).

Results

HCIR was 59% (220 of 373), not differing by index HIV status (60% LWH vs 58% NLWH). HCIR increased with index case age (35–59 years: adjusted OR [aOR], 3.4; 95% CI, 1.5–7.8 and ≥60 years: aOR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.0–10.1) compared with 18–34 years and with contacts’ age, 13–17 years (aOR, 7.1; 95% CI, 1.5–33.9) and 18–34 years (aOR, 4.4; 95% CI, 1.0–18.4) compared with <5 years. Mean positivity was longer in cases LWH (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.4; 95% CI, .1–.9).

Conclusions

Index HIV status was not associated with higher HCIR, but cases LWH had longer positivity duration. Adults aged >35 years were more likely to transmit and individuals aged 13–34 to be infected SARS-CoV-2 in the household. As HIV infection may increase transmission, health services must maintain HIV testing and antiretroviral therapy initiation.
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Hyperimmune Intravenous Human Immunoglobulins Neutralizes Omicron Subvariants BA.1, BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA.3, and BA.4/BA.5 for Treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019
Authors: Awasthi Mayanka , Golding Hana , Khurana Surender
Published: August 2022

Our study demonstrates that neither 2020 convalescent plasma (CP) nor 2019/2020 intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) neutralizes Omicron subvariants BA.1 to BA.5. In contrast, 2020 hyperimmune anti–severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 IVIG (hCoV-2IG) lots neutralized Omicron variants of concern, similar to results with 2022 CP from BA.1 breakthrough infections. Therefore, high-titer hCoV-2IG and CP could be evaluated for treatment of high-risk individuals infected with circulating Omicron subvariants.
Practical Attacks of Round-Reduced SIMON Based on Deep Learning
Authors: Hou Zezhou , Ren Jiongjiong , Chen Shaozhen
Published: August 2022

At CRYPTO’19, Gohr built a bridge between deep learning and cryptanalysis. Based on deep neural networks, he trained neural distinguishers of SPECK32/64. Besides, with the help of neural distinguishers, he attacked 11-round SPECK32/64 using Bayesian optimization. Compared with the traditional attack, its complexity was reduced. Although his work opened a new direction of machine learning aided cryptanalysis, there are still two research gaps that researchers are eager to fill in. (i) Can the attack using neural distinguishers be used to other block ciphers? (ii) Are there effective key recovery attacks on large-size block ciphers adopting neural distinguishers? In this paper, our core target is to propose an effective neural-aided key recovery policy to attack large-size block ciphers. For large-size block ciphers, it costs too much time in pre-computation, especially in wrong key response profile, which is the main reason why there are almost no neural aided attacks on large-size block ciphers. Fortunately, we find that there is a fatal flaw in the wrong key profile. In the some experiments of SIMON32/64 and SIMON48/96, there is a regular of change in response profiles, which implies that we can use partial response instead of the complete response. Based on this, we propose a generic key recovery attack scheme which can attack large-size block ciphers. As an application, we perform a key recovery attack on 13-round SIMON64/128, which is the first practical attack using neural distinguishers to large-size ciphers. In addition, we also attack 13-round SIMON32/64 and SIMON48/96, which also shows that the neural distinguishers can be used to other block ciphers.
Echocardiographic predictors of presence of cardiac amyloidosis in aortic stenosis
Authors: Jaiswal Vikash , Ang Song Peng , Chia Jia Ee , Abdelazem Eman Muhammad , Jaiswal Akash , Biswas Monodeep , Gimelli Alessia , Parwani Purvi , Siller-Matula Jolanta M , Mamas Mamas A
Published: August 2022

Aims

Aortic stenosis (AS) and cardiac amyloidosis (CA) frequently coexist but the diagnosis of CA in AS patients remains a diagnostic challenge. We aim to evaluate the echocardiographic parameters that may aid in the detection of the presence of CA in AS patients.

Method and results

We performed a systematic literature search of electronic databases for peer-reviewed articles from inception until 10 January 2022. Of the 1449 patients included, 160 patients had both AS–CA whereas the remaining 1289 patients had AS-only. The result of our meta-analyses showed that interventricular septal thickness [standardized mean difference (SMD): 0.74, 95% CI: 0.36–1.12, P = 0.0001), relative wall thickness (SMD: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.17–1.30, P < 0.0001), posterior wall thickness (SMD: 0.74, 95% CI 0.51 to 0.97, P = 0.0011), LV mass index (SMD: 1.62, 95% CI: 0.63–2.62, P = 0.0014), E/A ratio (SMD: 4.18, 95% CI: 1.91–6.46, P = 0.0003), and LA dimension (SMD: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.43–1.02, P < 0.0001)] were found to be significantly higher in patients with AS–CA as compared with AS-only patients. In contrast, myocardial contraction fraction (SMD: −2.88, 95% CI: −5.70 to −0.06, P = 0.045), average mitral annular S′ (SMD: −1.14, 95% CI: −1.86 to −0.43, P = 0.0017), tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (SMD: −0.36, 95% CI: −0.62 to −0.09, P = 0.0081), and tricuspid annular S′ (SMD: −0.77, 95% CI: −1.13 to −0.42, P < 0.0001) were found to be significantly lower in AS–CA patients.

Conclusion

Parameters based on echocardiography showed great promise in detecting CA in patients with AS. Further studies should explore the optimal cut-offs for these echocardiographic variables for better diagnostic accuracy.
Trends in survival after cardiac arrest: a Swedish nationwide study over 30 years
Authors: Jerkeman Matilda , Sultanian Pedram , Lundgren Peter , Nielsen Niklas , Helleryd Edvin , Dworeck Christian , Omerovic Elmir , Nordberg Per , Rosengren Annika , Hollenberg Jacob , Claesson Andreas , Aune Solveig , Strömsöe Anneli , Ravn-Fischer Annica , Friberg Hans , Herlitz Johan , Rawshani Araz
Published: August 2022

Aims

Trends in characteristics, management, and survival in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) were studied in the Swedish Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Registry (SCRR).

Methods and results

The SCRR was used to study 106 296 cases of OHCA (1990–2020) and 30 032 cases of IHCA (2004–20) in whom resuscitation was attempted. In OHCA, survival increased from 5.7% in 1990 to 10.1% in 2011 and remained unchanged thereafter. Odds ratios [ORs, 95% confidence interval (CI)] for survival in 2017–20 vs. 1990–93 were 2.17 (1.93–2.43) overall, 2.36 (2.07–2.71) for men, and 1.67 (1.34–2.10) for women. Survival increased for all aetiologies, except trauma, suffocation, and drowning. OR for cardiac aetiology in 2017–20 vs. 1990–93 was 0.45 (0.42–0.48). Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation increased from 30.9% to 82.2%. Shockable rhythm decreased from 39.5% in 1990 to 17.4% in 2020. Use of targeted temperature management decreased from 42.1% (2010) to 18.2% (2020). In IHCA, OR for survival in 2017–20 vs. 2004–07 was 1.18 (1.06–1.31), showing a non-linear trend with probability of survival increasing by 46.6% during 2011–20. Myocardial ischaemia or infarction as aetiology decreased during 2004–20 from 67.4% to 28.3% [OR 0.30 (0.27–0.34)]. Shockable rhythm decreased from 37.4% to 23.0% [OR 0.57 (0.51–0.64)]. Approximately 90% of survivors (IHCA and OHCA) had no or mild neurological sequelae.

Conclusion

Survival increased 2.2-fold in OHCA during 1990–2020 but without any improvement in the final decade, and 1.2-fold in IHCA during 2004–20, with rapid improvement the last decade. Cardiac aetiology and shockable rhythms were halved. Neurological outcome has not improved.
Modulation of the cell wall protein Ecm33p in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae improves the production of small metabolites
Authors: Ramos-Viana Verónica , Møller-Hansen Iben , Kempen Paul , Borodina Irina
Published: August 2022

The cell wall is a dynamic organelle that determines the shape and provides the cell with mechanical strength. This study investigated whether modulation of cell wall composition can influence the production or secretion of small metabolites by yeast cell factories. We deleted and upregulated several cell wall-related genes KRE2, CWP1, CWP2, ECM33, PUN1, and LAS21 in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae engineered for p-coumaric acid or β-carotene production. Deletions of las21∆ and ecm33∆ impaired the yeast growth on medium with cell wall stressors, calcofluor white, and caffeine. Both overexpression and deletion of ECM33 significantly improved the specific yield of p-coumaric acid and β-carotene. We observed no change in secretion in any cell wall-altered mutants, suggesting the cell wall is not a limiting factor for small molecule secretion at the current production levels. We evaluated the cell wall morphology of the ECM33 mutant strains using transmission electron microscopy. The ecm33∆ mutants had an increased chitin deposition and a less structured cell wall, while the opposite was observed in ECM33-overexpressing strains. Our results point at the cell wall-related gene ECM33 as a potential target for improving production in engineered yeast cell factories.
The
Rat de l’Opéra
and the Social Imaginary of Labour: Dance in July Monarchy Popular Culture
Authors: Sabee Olivia
Published: August 2022

Mid-nineteenth-century literary and theatrical depictions of
rats de l’Opéra
(young girls training and performing with the Paris Opéra) emphasize their physical and material hardships, dubious morals, and shapeshifting abilities.
Physiologies
, tell-all histories of the Paris Opéra, and vaudeville livrets each underscore these qualities of the
rat
in their portrayals of her, yet they also emphasize her role as a labourer. Taken together, these representations of the
rat
connect ensemble dancers with the idea of labour in the social imaginary, crafting an image of the ensemble dancer as physical labourer, juxtaposed with the star dancer, considered to be an artist.
Genetic-interaction screens uncover novel biological roles and regulators of transcription factors in fission yeast
Authors: Chatfield-Reed Kate , Marno Jones Kurtis , Shah Farah , Chua Gordon
Published: August 2022

In Schizosaccharomyces pombe, systematic analyses of single transcription factor deletion or overexpression strains have made substantial advances in determining the biological roles and target genes of transcription factors, yet these characteristics are still relatively unknown for over a quarter of them. Moreover, the comprehensive list of proteins that regulate transcription factors remains incomplete. To further characterize Schizosaccharomyces pombe transcription factors, we performed synthetic sick/lethality and synthetic dosage lethality screens by synthetic genetic array. Examination of 2,672 transcription factor double deletion strains revealed a sick/lethality interaction frequency of 1.72%. Phenotypic analysis of these sick/lethality strains revealed potential cell cycle roles for several poorly characterized transcription factors, including SPBC56F2.05, SPCC320.03, and SPAC3C7.04. In addition, we examined synthetic dosage lethality interactions between 14 transcription factors and a miniarray of 279 deletion strains, observing a synthetic dosage lethality frequency of 4.99%, which consisted of known and novel transcription factor regulators. The miniarray contained deletions of genes that encode primarily posttranslational-modifying enzymes to identify putative upstream regulators of the transcription factor query strains. We discovered that ubiquitin ligase Ubr1 and its E2/E3-interacting protein, Mub1, degrade the glucose-responsive transcriptional repressor Scr1. Loss of ubr1+ or mub1+ increased Scr1 protein expression, which resulted in enhanced repression of flocculation through Scr1. The synthetic dosage lethality screen also captured interactions between Scr1 and 2 of its known repressors, Sds23 and Amk2, each affecting flocculation through Scr1 by influencing its nuclear localization. Our study demonstrates that sick/lethality and synthetic dosage lethality screens can be effective in uncovering novel functions and regulators of Schizosaccharomyces pombe transcription factors.
Multitrait Bayesian shrinkage and variable selection models with the BGLR-R package
Authors: Pérez-Rodríguez Paulino , de los Campos Gustavo
Published: August 2022

The BGLR-R package implements various types of single-trait shrinkage/variable selection Bayesian regressions. The package was first released in 2014, since then it has become a software very often used in genomic studies. We recently develop functionality for multitrait models. The implementation allows users to include an arbitrary number of random-effects terms. For each set of predictors, users can choose diffuse, Gaussian, and Gaussian–spike–slab multivariate priors. Unlike other software packages for multitrait genomic regressions, BGLR offers many specifications for (co)variance parameters (unstructured, diagonal, factor analytic, and recursive). Samples from the posterior distribution of the models implemented in the multitrait function are generated using a Gibbs sampler, which is implemented by combining code written in the R and C programming languages. In this article, we provide an overview of the models and methods implemented BGLR’s multitrait function, present examples that illustrate the use of the package, and benchmark the performance of the software.
1. Introduction
Authors: Baylis John , Wirtz James J. , Johnson Jeannie L.
Published: August 2022

This book examines strategy in the contemporary world. Part I considers the enduring issues that animate the study of strategy and tackles topics ranging from the causes of war to questions about culture, morality, and war. Part II deals with issues that fuel strategic debates, with chapters on terrorism and irregular warfare, nuclear weapons, arms control, weapons of mass destruction, conventional military power, peacekeeping and humanitarian intervention, and cyberwar. Part III discusses critical and non-Western approaches to the study of strategy and security that have emerged in recent years, and concludes by reflecting on future prospects for strategic studies. This introduction provides an overview of strategic studies, criticisms that are made of strategic studies, and how strategic studies relates to security studies.
4. Strategic Theory
Authors: Mahnken Thomas G.
Published: August 2022

This chapter examines strategic theory and how it provides a conceptual understanding of the nature of war. It begins with a discussion of the logic of strategy and how it applies not only in wartime, but also in peace. It then considers some of the most valuable concepts in strategic theory as articulated by Carl von Clausewitz in On War and compares them with Sun Tzu’s ideas found in The Art of War as well as in the military writings of Mao Zedong and jihadist writers. Clausewitz’s views on war as a ‘paradoxical trinity’—composed of violence, hatred, and enmity—and his understanding of the nature of a war, limited versus unlimited warfare, the rational calculus of war, and friction are explored. The chapter concludes with a commentary on the debate over whether classical strategic theory is obsolete.
6. Strategic Culture
Authors: Adamsky Dmitry (Dima)
Published: August 2022

Strategic culture shapes national security concepts, military doctrines, organizational structures of the armed forces, weapon systems, styles of war, and almost every other aspect of a state’s defence policy and strategic behaviour. Nevertheless, it is challenging to define and identify strategic culture in a systematic way and multiple definitions of the concept are debated by scholars. It can also be difficult to isolate its impact on national strategy. The strategic culture paradigm has evolved to explore the ways in which multiple cultures—national culture, military culture, and the organizational cultures of key institutions—exist within security communities. While most scholars explore the strategic culture of states, others have examined whether a cohesive strategic culture can exist within non-state actors (e.g. the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)) and supranational actors (e.g. North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the European Union) as well.
12. Nuclear Weapons in the Twenty-First Century
Authors: Walton C. Dale
Published: August 2022

This chapter examines the role played by nuclear weapons in international politics during and after the cold war, making a distinction between the First Nuclear Age and the ongoing Second Nuclear Age. After providing a background on the First Nuclear Age, the chapter considers the various risks present in the Second Nuclear Age, focusing on issues related to nuclear deterrence, nuclear proliferation networks, strategic culture, and ballistic missile defences. It then discusses the assumption that arms control and disarmament treaties are the best means to further counterproliferation efforts. It also assesses the future of nuclear weapons and whether the world is facing a Third Nuclear Age before concluding with an analysis of the relevance of deterrence in the face of changing political and technological circumstances.
14. Conventional Power and Contemporary Warfare
Authors: Ferris John
Published: August 2022

This chapter examines how conventional power shapes warfare in the contemporary world. It considers the present and emerging state of conventional military power, how conventional forces function in areas such as distant strike and urban warfare, and how their role differs from that of other forms of force, including terrorism and weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The chapter first provides a historical background to demonstrate the important role played by conventional power in war before discussing the rise of new world orders in 1945, 1989, and 2001. It then describes states possessing power and hyperpower, along with the revolution in military affairs and how developing countries may trump it through various strategies. It also shows how the distribution of conventional power is changing, noting that Western countries are in decline and new world powers are emerging, especially China and India.
22. The Practice of Strategy
Authors: Gray Colin S. , Johnson Jeannie L.
Published: August 2022

This chapter focuses on the requirements of what a good practice of strategy should be. It first provides an overview of the importance of strategic expertise and the reasons why good strategists are hard to find. It then highlights the qualities a good strategist needs to be effective, along with the obstacles to competent strategic performance and the flaws of contemporary strategic education, including insufficient attention to strategic classics and strategic history. The chapter also offers a remedy called the General Theory of Strategy, the core components of which are: understanding the nature and character of strategy, making strategies based on seven contexts (political, sociocultural, economic, technological, military, geographical, historical), and executing strategies. The chapter concludes by calling for a regular reassessment of strategic plans and engagements, driven by questions that examine the extent to which strategy has enabled, and will continue to enable, achievement of political objectives.
3. Critical Terrorism Studies
Authors: Toros Harmonie
Published: August 2022

This chapter focuses on critical terrorism studies (CTS), which is an investigation into whether terrorism exists at all. These sorts of studies look into the different actors who play a part in different practices and consequences. CTS considers how the construction of the terrorist threat serves specific political, economic, and social functions. Additionally, CTS hopes for a political project aimed at changing the world's policies and practices of security and terrorism. The chapter lists the theoretical foundations of CTS, which derive from post-structuralism and constructivism, and the Frankfurt School's ideas on critical theory. Finally, the chapter shows that terrorism is primarily seen as a political issue under the stance of CTS.
5. Terrorism in Context
Authors: Guelke Adrian
Published: August 2022

This chapter explores terrorism in context. It is difficult to make generalizations about terrorism and outline exactly what causes it. Terrorism as a term is most commonly used to describe violence which comes from below and is directed at the power of the state. That has indeed been the dominant usage during the last century and a half as we have seen successive waves of terrorism. But the form that such violence takes has varied widely so that terrorism has developed to have multiple meanings across time and in different contexts. Context remains crucial to the development of an understanding of terrorism in its many manifestations. The chapter considers a number of types of terrorism as defined by studies including lone wolf terrorism, transnational terrorism, and international terrorism.
7. Terrorism Open Source Databases
Authors: LaFree Gary
Published: August 2022

This chapter explores open source databases on terrorism. These are created from unclassified, publicly available information retrieved from both print and digital media. The unit of analysis for these databases are events, organizations, or individuals. The advantage of event- and group-level databases is that they are worldwide in scope. In contrast, individual-level databases are more focused on perpetrators in a single country. However, open-source databases can be susceptible to media inaccuracies and government censorship. There is also the issue of a lack of systematic empirical validation. The chapter notes possible improvements that can be made to open-source databases such as better coverage of domestic terrorism, automated coding, use of geo-spatial information, and more detailed data on the effectiveness of countermeasures.
10. When Do Individuals Radicalize?
Authors: Coolsaet Rik
Published: August 2022

This chapter examines issues related to the radicalization of individuals. It explores the advent of terrorism studies. Early scholars laid the foundations for current thinking on terrorism. The chapter defines radicalization as the process wherein participants are drawn into a protest with the likelihood of a terrorist act taking place. The classic definition of radicalization has been much contested from its very beginning. The 9/11 attacks of Al-Qaeda gave terrorism studies a renewed boost. The chapter looks into various models which depict the steps of radicalization. It also looks at the factors which make an individual become a terrorist: conductive environment, opportunity, local mobilization hubs, and ideology. In most cases, the process of socialization into extremism and terrorism transpires gradually.
12. Target Selection
Authors: Braithwaite Alex , Orringer Ian
Published: August 2022

This chapter provides an overview of theoretical and empirical models of terrorist target selection. It references case studies on white nationalism in the USA, Spain, and the UK. A soft target is one which has minimally security, whereas a hard target will make use of police or an armed presence to provide security. An example of a hard target is an embassy. Empirical studies have found that terrorist attacks are most likely to occur in areas where there are higher levels of population density. Moreover, the location and timing of violent terrorist attacks are often highly symbolic and intentional and very rarely random. Terrorism, in this case, is regarded as a tool of the weak employed to help perpetrators to overcome power imbalance against a wealthier or militarily capable government.
16. Terrorism by Insurgents and Rebels
Authors: Thomas Jakana
Published: August 2022

This chapter explains the terrorism of insurgents and rebels. Despite the magnitude of transnational terror attacks, most acts of terrorism around the globe are actually perpetrated by assailants that reside in the same country they target. Rebel organizations primarily use violence against civilians to help them achieve their war aims. These can be either political or social. Asymmetric insurgencies or guerrilla wars often use terror to keep members active, civil compliance, maintain territorial control, and demonstrate a state's inability to govern. Violent actors make strategic decisions about the types of violence they utilize during conflicts.
18. Social Media and Terrorism
Authors: Holbrook Donald
Published: August 2022

This chapter tackles the role of social media in the evolution of terrorism. It dissects the key components of social media, using Twitter as a case study. It then highlights ways in which the emergence of social media has impacted modern terrorism. These ways relate to notions of asymmetry where terrorists seek to maximize their impact against materially stronger adversaries, the networked aspect of terrorism, and the importance of communication for terrorists. Communication here is defined very broadly. The chapter looks at how terrorists have adopted social media techniques in various parts of the world and considers some of the pitfalls, in addition to the benefits, this adoption can bring. The final part of the chapter delves into the relationship between online habits and behaviours on the one hand and their implications in the real world on the other.
22. Counterterrorism and Human Rights
Authors: Foley Frank
Published: August 2022

This chapter cites how counterterrorism policies and operations have impacted human rights in liberal democracies. It highlights how detention without trial, torture, and extra-judicial killings impact negatively human rights. Human rights are defined as the fundamental moral rights of a person necessary for a life with human dignity. Additionally, counterterrorism, in the chapter, refers to policies formulated and actions taken to reduce, mitigate, or prevent terrorism. The chapter presents key factors and mechanisms at play through case studies of Northern Ireland in the 1970s and the United States ‘war’ against jihadist terrorism. It also looks at theories of international relations as they relate to how human rights impacts policies for counterterrorism.
24. International Organizations and Counter-Terrorism
Authors: Kaunert Christian , Wertman Ori
Published: August 2022

This chapter outlines the role of international organizations in battling terrorism. Cross-border cooperation became vital when transnational and global terrorist threats increased. Additionally, the range of legal powers between different international organizations is substantial. The chapter then looks at the counterterrorism efforts, challenges, and success within the United Nations (UN), Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN), European Union (EU), and the North-Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). It then notes the modalities of counterterrorism cooperation amongst international organizations. The European Court of Justice has shown its willingness to prioritize European interests over global interests, the chapter argues. Meanwhile, NATO-EU counter-terrorism cooperation has mainly improved with respect to areas such as maritime security and cybersecurity.
27. Disengagement and Deradicalization Programmes
Authors: Marsden Sarah
Published: August 2022

This chapter explores the increasing significance of disengagement and de-radicalization programmes in countering terrorism. It looks at initiatives supporting a transition away from militancy. Deradicalization can be defined as the psychological and sociological attitude change wherein an individual no longer feels personally responsible for progressing a political agenda through violence. Meanwhile, disengagement is the behavioural process that sees an individual cease involvement in political violence. The chapter discusses the history and evolution of deradicalization interventions before tackling the empirical evidence on deradicalization. Deradicalization programmes have become an important part of many states' counter-terrorism efforts. Examples here include Norway and Sweden.
29. The End of Terrorist Campaigns
Authors: Kurth Cronin Audrey
Published: August 2022

This chapter examines the end of terrorist campaigns. Thinking about how terrorism ends is the best way to use a group's weaknesses against it. Based on studies of hundreds of cases, it has been shown that terrorist campaigns end following six classic patterns. These are capturing or killing the leader, negotiations, achievement of the objective, failure, state repression, and reorientation to another type of violence. Without long-term thinking, counterterrorism gets caught in the action–reaction dynamic of terrorist campaigns. After all, reactive, tactical counterterrorism prolongs the struggle and extends terrorist campaigns, sweeping up outraged policymakers and public members. The chapter also references Al-Qaeda and ISIS as case studies.
1. Introduction: What is Security Studies?
Authors: Collins Alan
Published: August 2022

This chapter provides an introduction to Security Studies, the sub-discipline of International Relations that deals with the study of security. War and the threat to use force are part of the security equation, but the prevalence of threats is far-reaching for Security Studies. They encompass dangers ranging from pandemic and environmental degradation to terrorism and inter-state armed conflict. The latter is actually a sub-field of Security Studies and is known as Strategic Studies. This edition examines differing approaches to the study of security, such as realism, liberalism, social constructivism, and postcolonialism. It also investigates the deepening and broadening of security to include military security, regime security, societal security, environmental security, and economic security. Finally, it discusses a range of traditional and non-traditional issues that have emerged on the security agenda, including weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, energy security, and health.
5. Peace Studies
Authors: Rogers Paul
Published: August 2022

This chapter examines the origins and development of the field of peace studies after the Second World War, initially in relation to the East–West confrontation and the nuclear arms race. It analyses how peace studies responded to the issues of socio-economic disparities and environmental constraints as they became apparent in the 1970s, and explores its development as an interdisciplinary and problem-oriented field of study, often in the midst of controversy. The chapter then assesses the state of peace studies now, before concluding by examining how it is especially relevant to the new security challenges facing the world.
8. Critical Security Studies II —Narratives of Security: Other Stories, Other Actors
Authors: Beier J. Marshall
Published: August 2022

Taking its main cues from Critical Security Studies, this chapter asks some unconventional questions about somewhat unconventional subjects for a field that has traditionally been more inclined to centre states in its investigations. In so doing, it brings to light the concealed political commitments that are a part of any attempt to theorize security and which fix arbitrary limits on whom and what gets foregrounded in the security stories told. Placing particular emphasis on recovering agency and political subjecthood, one can see the crucial part played by other actors in both the everyday practices of security and it has come to be defined. One can better appreciate both the problems and promise of one’s own roles in producing security—and insecurity—in the ways it is approached, as students and scholars.
11. Gender and Security
Authors: Kennedy-Pipe Caroline , Dingli Sophia
Published: August 2022

This chapter examines issues of gender and security. It begins with an explanation of what we mean by gender and explains why issues of gender are central to understanding security. International Relations specialists have over the last three decades explored and interpreted the ways in which men and women have responded to the national and international policies which have governed conflict, terrorism, and war. The chapter demonstrates that through understanding and placing notions of gender at the centre of any debate on security one can unleash a series of interlocking understandings of the way men and women relate to insecurity, violence, and war.
14. Military Security
Authors: Michael Sheehan
Published: August 2022

This chapter examines the continuing importance of military security. It notes that International Relations has historically seen security almost entirely in terms of the military dimension, before going on to review the impact of the broadening of the concept of security on approaches to the study of its military dimension. It then analyses the key aspects of the traditional approach to military security and some of the most common ways in which states have sought to acquire it historically, such as war, alliances, and, more recently, nuclear deterrence. The chapter then reflects on some of the difficulties in acquiring military security, and ways in which its pursuit can sometimes reduce, rather than increase, security, before concluding with a reminder of the continuing centrality of military security, even within a significantly broadened understanding of security as a multifaceted concept.
16. Societal Security
Authors: Roe Paul
Published: August 2022

This chapter explores the concept of societal security. It starts by looking at how society came to be conceived as a referent object of security in its own right. It then goes on to discuss the so-called Copenhagen School’s understanding of both society and societal identity, showing how societal security is tied most of all to the maintenance of ethno-national identities. In looking at threats to societal security, through examples, such as the former Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland, the chapter discusses a number of those means that can prevent or hinder the reproduction of collective identity, and, in turn, how societies may react to such perceived threats. The chapter concludes by considering some of the main critiques of the concept as an analytical tool.
19. Globalization, Development, and Security
Authors: Poku Nana K. , Therkelsen Jacqueline
Published: August 2022

This chapter proposes that globalization is a neoliberal ideology for development, consolidated and promoted by key international financial institutions (the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund), which deepens inequality between and within nations on a global scale, resulting in increased global insecurity through a growing sense of injustice and grievance that may lead to rebellion and radicalization. It is argued that, ultimately, the globalization ideology for development services the interest of its advocates, the elites of the core capitalist economies that dominate the international financial institutions, at the expense and immiseration of the majority of people in developing economies and the weaker segments of their own societies. The chapter is set out in three stages: first, it presents the case for conceptualizing globalization as a neoliberal ideology for development; second, it provides evidence to demonstrate the harmful effects of the ideology on societies, particularly across the developing world; and third, it explores the connection between uneven globalization and global insecurity through two case studies: the uprising in Egypt in 2011, and the collapse of the Greek economy in 2010.
20. Coercive Diplomacy: Countering War-Threatening Crises and Armed Conflicts
Authors: Jakobsen Peter Viggo
Published: August 2022

Nowadays states rarely resort to war to defeat each other or to address war-threatening crises and armed conflicts. Instead, coercive diplomacy has emerged as their strategy of choice when persuasion and other non-military instruments fall short. Coercive diplomacy involves the use of military threats and/or limited force (sticks) coupled with inducements and assurances (carrots) in order to influence the opponent to do something it would prefer not to. States use coercive diplomacy in the hope of achieving their objectives without having to resort to full-scale war. This chapter presents the strategy of coercive diplomacy and its requirements for success and shows how states have employed it to manage crises and conflicts during the three strategic eras that the world has passed through since the end of the Cold War.
23. Humanitarian Intervention
Authors: Bellamy Alex J. , McLoughlin Stephen
Published: August 2022

This chapter charts the debate between those who believe that the protection of civilians from genocide and mass atrocities ought to trump the principle of non-intervention in certain circumstances and those who oppose this proposition. This has become a particular problem in the post-Cold War world where atrocities in places like Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur prompted calls, in the West especially, for international society to step in to protect the victims with military force if necessary. While intervening to protect populations from mass atrocities does have moral appeal, humanitarian intervention causes problems for international security by potentially compromising the rules governing the use of force in world politics. Since the end of the Cold War, a broad international consensus has emerged around a principle called the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P). The R2P holds that states have a responsibility to protect their populations from genocide and mass atrocities and that the international community has a duty to help states fulfil their responsibilities and use various measures to protect populations when their own states are manifestly failing to do so. In 2011, the principle helped the UN Security Council authorize the use of force against a sovereign state for human protection purposes for the first time in its history.
24. Energy Security
Authors: Raphael Sam , Stokes Doug
Published: August 2022

This chapter examines growing concerns over global energy security, as continuing demand for fossil fuels by industrialized economies is matched by increasing uncertainties over future energy reserves. With a particular focus on the politics of oil (which remains the key global energy source), it will assess the ways in which increasing energy insecurity amongst the world’s major powers will impact upon international security more broadly, and will discuss different understandings of the likelihood of future ‘resource wars’ and a new era of geo-political rivalry. The chapter will also examine the impact that the search for energy security by states in the Global North has upon the human security of communities in the oil-rich Global South. Finally, the chapter will examine the central role played by the USA in underpinning global energy security in the post-war era, and the impact that this has had for oil-rich regions.
25. The Weapons Trade
Authors: Grillot Suzette R.
Published: August 2022

This chapter provides an overview of the international weapons trade. A history of the global arms trade is offered, highlighting the various ways in which the trade in defence and military equipment has shifted throughout the years until the present day. The chapter outlines the ways in which weapons are illicitly traded and addresses the connections between legal and illicit arms markets. Finally, the chapter addresses the many attempts that have been made in recent years to control the international arms trade, as well as prospects for its future regulation. What emerges is a rather complex picture of the global arms trade that requires attention to numerous facets involving both weapons supply and demand.
27. Transnational Crime
Authors: Jones Nathan P.
Published: August 2022

This chapter defines transnational crime and other key concepts. It first defines transnational crime and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs). It covers the rise of transnational crime with a focus on TCOs, their ‘new’ (networks) and ‘old’ (markets and hierarchies) organizational forms, and other useful concepts in the study of transnational crime. Second, it discusses the crime–terror debates, as criminal groups often utilize political violence for their profit-seeking ends, and terror groups use criminal activities for fundraising. It then moves on to explore the relationship between transnational organized crime (TOC) and the state, and the implications for global and national security of states. It provides a case study of TCOs in Mexico that illustrates many of the trends in organized crime since the end of the Cold War to the present. Finally, the chapter addresses how the international community has combatted transnational criminal actors as they become more powerful and increasingly diversify their revenue streams.
28. Cyber-Security
Authors: Cavelty Myriam Dunn
Published: August 2022

This chapter looks at what makes cyber-security a key national security issue. Section 28.2 provides background information to understand why cyberspace is insecure and what it takes to hack a system. Section 28.3 looks at different types of politically relevant cyber-operations, describing hacktivism, cyber-crime, cyber-espionage, cyber-terrorism, and cyber-war, among others. Section 28.4 puts the threat into perspective, exploring the realities of cyber-conflict. The debate has shifted from scenarios of imminent cyber-doom to the observable reality of often stealthy, sometimes disruptive operations under the threshold of war. Section 28.5 details selected protection concepts that help to reduce cyber-risks.
5. Intergovernmentalism
Authors: Cini Michelle
Published: August 2022

This chapter provides an overview of intergovernmentalist integration theory, focusing on classical, liberal, and ‘newer’ variants. It first introduces the basic premises and assumptions of intergovernmentalism, identifying its realist origins and the state-centrism that provides the core of the approach, before examining in more detail the specific characteristics of the classical approach associated with the work of Stanley Hoffmann. The subsequent section also examines some of the ways in which intergovernmentalist thinking has contributed to different explanations of European integration. The topics covered in this section are: confederalism; the domestic politics approach; and institutional analyses that emphasize the ‘locked-in’ nature of nation states within the integration process. Next, the chapter introduces liberal intergovernmentalism, an approach developed by Andrew Moravcsik, which, since the mid-1990s, has become a focal point for intergovernmentalist research and addresses. This section also identifies some of the criticisms directed at the liberal intergovernmentalist approach. The chapter ends by introducing new intergovernmentalism, the most recent intergovernmentalist approach.