bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Net-Centric and Information Wars
Authors: Fridman Ofer
Published: February 2019

This chapter analyzes two contemporary approaches towards confrontation: net-centric and information wars, developed during late 1990s early 2000s by two Russian scholars, Aleksandr Dugin and Igor Panarin. Although neither mentions Messner’s works, the essence of their concepts echo many of Messner’s ideas discussed in the previous chapter. Indeed, the core of Dugin’s net-centric war and Panarin’s information war (as well as Messner’s subversion-war, as it was interpreted by many Russian contemporary military thinkers) is quite similar. As this chapter shows, all these theories claim that with the geopolitical and technological realities of the twenty-first century, it is easier to achieve political goals by undermining the political authority of the adversary through the manipulation of political elites and the generation of political dissent, separatism and social problems, rather than by waging classic wars and military operations.
‘The Russians are Coming’
Authors: Fridman Ofer
Published: February 2019

By the beginning of the 2010s, the concept of hybrid warfare had gained as much popularity as criticism. As an outcome of both, there were different attempts to interpret Hoffman’s ideas, the most methodological of which was published by NATO in 2012. NATO’s initial enthusiasm for the idea of hybridity was not shared by its member states, yet this changed with the Ukrainian crisis, which brought the idea back to the center of academic, military and political discourse. This chapter seeks to analyze this discourse. Its first part focuses on the main criticism of the initial US concept of hybrid warfare and its later reconceptualization, which was intended to answer the disadvantages and weaknesses outlined in the critiques of the concept. The second part discusses the revival of hybrid warfare in the context of Russia’s actions in Crimea and eastern Ukraine and the rise of the narrative of Russian hybrid warfare. The final part of the chapter analyses the politicization of this narrative in the West, focusing on the ways in which the conceptual debate on contemporary warfare has been reshaped to serve different political purposes.
‘Gibridnaya Voyna against Us Is Coming’
Authors: Fridman Ofer
Published: February 2019

While Chapter 5 of the book focused on the conceptual development of the idea of the ‘Western gibridnaya voyna against Russia’, this chapter discusses how the different narratives represented by this idea influenced Russian military thought and were politicized by the Russian political establishment. The first part of the chapter examines the development of the theory of new-generation war, which many Western experts claim shares similar characteristics to the concepts of subversion, net-centric and information warfare (and, therefore, the concept of gibridnaya voyna). The second part of the chapter focuses on the politicization of these ideas, and on the ways in which the Russian military and the Russian political establishment have used the narrative of gibridnaya voyna to achieve their political aims.
Conclusions
Authors: Fridman Ofer
Published: February 2019

As promised in the introduction, this book was not about the practicalities of the contemporary information struggle between the Kremlin and the West. It did not discuss the tactics of what Western experts commonly describe as Russian hybrid, cyber or information wars with their hacks, disinformation and propaganda operations conducted by pro-Russian forces, or forces backed by Russia....
P.S. A Lesson for Russia
Authors: Fridman Ofer
Published: February 2019

The West will clearly have to make a number of difficult decisions if it wants to avoid a new Cold War. However, this book’s analysis of contemporary Russian political discourse also suggests that Russia will also need to make some difficult decisions if it wants to avoid the same scenario. The Russians, it seems, are talking themselves into a new round of unhelpful confrontations to the same extent and with the same speed as is the West....
Youth, Protest, and the New Elite
Authors: Alsharekh Alanoud
Published: February 2019

This chapter provides a critical analysis of the youth-led protests that shook Kuwaiti politics in 2011 and 2012 and threatened for a time to flare out of control. Alanoud Alsharekh analyzes the multiple roots of youth dissatisfaction with the political and economic status quo in Kuwait and explores the intersection of youth-led demands for change with the broader pressure points that led Kuwait from one political crisis to another after 2006. Alsharekh documents how both the Kuwaiti government and the established political opposition failed to capitalize on the emergence of the politically-active new youth movement. The rise of youth-led groups that break the mold of established political systems has implications for all other GCC states and Iran. Alsharekh’s concluding observations on the difficulties in assimilating the region’s youthful population into existing power-sharing mechanisms – as well as labor market structures – holds great comparative significance for future stability and sustainable growth.
Oswald Spengler and the Decline of the West
Authors: Engels David
Published: February 2019

This chapter discusses the life and work of Oswald Spengler, whose fame is based on his The Decline of the West, a monumental historical study that endeavored to show that all human civilizations live through similar phases of evolution. Spengler also dabbled with politics and attempted, in a series of essays, to promote the idea of a conservative renaissance in Germany. The rise of National Socialism put Spengler in a situation of ideological opposition and, after he criticized the regime because of its racial theory and its populism, made him a persona non grata until his death in 1937. After the Second World War, Spengler’s elitism and expectation of a German-dominated Europe dominated the reception of his work. This somewhat masked the complexity of his thought, which prefigures such modern debates as the criticism of technology, ecological issues, interreligious questions, the rise of Asia, and prehistoric human evolution.
Alain de Benoist and the New Right
Authors: Camus Jean-Yves
Published: February 2019

This chapter discusses the life and work of Alain de Benoist, a prolific French political thinker and the leading figure of the school of thought known as the New Right, launched in 1968. De Benoist and his New Right are proponents of the right to difference (often understood as ethnopluralism or ethnodifferentialism) and a pagan European identity with roots in the Indo-European peoples who migrated in the fifth millennium BC. His main focus today is the criticism of globalization and the hegemony of capital, but there is a debate on the continuity with, or breakaway from, his former association with the radical Right.
Patrick J. Buchanan and the Death of the West
Authors: Ashbee Edward
Published: February 2019

This chapter discusses the life and work of Patrick J. Buchanan, who served in three US administrations before making quixotic bids for the US presidency. He was the principal standard-bearer for paleoconservatism, and he popularized a form of politics structured around the white working-class that anticipated the 2016 Trump campaign. Buchanan’s campaigns challenged long-established elites and stressed faith in an American nation based upon a distinct white, northern European heritage. Seen thus, the nation has primacy over the market and is based upon a shared ethnicity rather than on universal principles. This starting point led Buchanan toward the white identitarianism that underpinned The Death of the West in which he contended that the nation was threatened by mass nonwhite immigration. Nonetheless, Buchanan’s efforts to popularize paleoconservative claims were out of step with political time. It took Trump’s campaign to bring the ideas associated with paleoconservatism to the forefront of politics.
Richard B. Spencer and the Alt Right
Authors: Bar-On Tamir
Published: February 2019

This chapter discusses the life and work of Richard B. Spencer, the president of the National Policy Institute, a US white-nationalist think tank. A few weeks after the 2016 presidential election, at a National Policy Institute conference, Spencer famously called “Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!” and some of his supporters gave the Nazi salute. Spencer is self-described as an identitarian, and is the inventor of the term “Alt Right,” which he coined to differentiate his views from mainstream American conservatism. Spencer is the leading communicator of the Alt Right message rather than its leading intellectual. He has found his niche as Alt Right provocateur and media spokesman. The mass media line up to interview him, and university students are listening to his message.
Daniel Friberg and Metapolitics in Action
Authors: Teitelbaum Benjamin
Published: February 2019

This chapter discusses the life and work of Daniel Friberg, who takes a leading part in running a range of online media. Friberg’s main impact has been his implementation of metapolitics. Distinguished by his strategy and method rather than ideological inventions, Friberg advanced his career through a series of outreach, rebranding, and socialization initiatives. The products of this metapolitical activism include multiple newspapers and magazines, a publishing house, and online social media. By the 2010s these projects were replacing skinheadism as the social center of a fractious and sectarian Nordic radical nationalism. This unifying function has since been at the forefront of collaboration between American and European white activists.
The Outsourced Legal Translation Environment
Authors: Scott Juliette R.
Published: February 2019

Chapter 1 situates outsourced legal translation in its environment, examining the specific features of the market, and introduces corporate agency theory as a lens through which to research the commissioning and performance of legal translation from and by external practitioners, enriched with certain functionalist translation theories. Issues of status, cursory orders, and heterogeneous quality are discussed, together with the effects of accelerated technological developments and globalization. The complexity of interaction and power play between actors in the market and associated risk potential are discussed, and a model of the chain of supply is presented, along with profiles of key stakeholders.
A Triangulated Survey of the Outsourcing of Legal Translations to External Practitioners
Authors: Scott Juliette R.
Published: February 2019

Chapter 5 presents the results of this empirical study—a global survey of the legal translation outsourcing market, polling both principals and agents (those commissioning translation and translators), with dual focus—briefing processes and translation performance. The scope and design of the survey are described, as are data analysis methods. Quantitative and qualitative data are organized according to the components of the legal translation brief proposed and according to facets of legal translation performance. Examples from the very extensive data set illustrate the critical outcomes that have come to light, such as (i) resulting from the briefing process: lack of access to source text drafters, failure to communicate intended purpose and end-users of translated texts, and absence of reference material, and (ii) in performance of the translation: logistic dysfunctions, source text quality, linguistic and legal issues as these relate to the fitness-for-purpose of translated texts.
Keshab in the Context of Nineteenth-Century Britain and Bengal
Authors: Stevens John A.
Published: February 2019

This chapter sets out the key contexts in terms of which Keshab Chandra Sen should be understood. It begins with a discussion of London and Calcutta as global cities and explores scholarship concerning Indians in Britain. It goes on to analyze interconnections between Bengali Hinduism, Nonconformist Christianity, Unitarianism, alternative spiritualities, religious universalism and British policy in India. Keshab’s involvement in the Brahmo Samaj is discussed in detail, as is his relationship with the ideas of Ram Mohan Roy. Keshab’s family history is considered, as is his relationship with the Brahmo leader Debendranath Tagore.
Tensions and Transitions: 1870–77
Authors: Stevens John A.
Published: February 2019

This chapter begins by discussing Keshab Chandra Sen’s attempts to replicate British models of liberal social reform in India. It goes on to examine Keshab’s changing attitudes to gender, reform and civilization, as he gradually moved away from the liberalism he had espoused in Britain. It argues that Ramakrishna exerted a considerable influence on Keshab, as he began to embrace aspects of Hindu revivalism and Indian nationalism. It argues that Keshab attempted to undermine the epistemological basis of British imperialism by arguing for the value of ‘madness’ and ‘inspiration’ as modes of thought.
The Boko Haram Reader
Authors: Cook David
Published: February 2019

Since it erupted onto the world stage in 2009, people have asked, what is Boko Haram, and what does it stand for? Is there a coherent vision or set of beliefs behind it? Despite the growing literature about the group, few if any attempts have been made to answer these questions, even though Boko Haram is but the latest in a long line of millenarian Muslim reform groups to emerge in Northern Nigeria over the last two centuries. The Boko Haram Reader offers an unprecedented collection of essential texts, documents, videos, audio, and nashids (martial hymns), translated into English from Hausa, Arabic and Kanuri, tracing the group's origins, history, and evolution. Its editors, two Nigerian scholars, reveal how Boko Haram's leaders manipulate Islamic theology for the legitimization, radicalization, indoctrination and dissemination of their ideas across West Africa. Mandatory reading for anyone wishing to grasp the underpinnings of Boko Haram's insurgency, particularly how the group strives to delegitimize its rivals and establish its beliefs as a dominant strand of Islamic thought in West Africa's religious marketplace.
Debate on the Status of Western Education and Working for the Nigerian Government Between Mallam Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami and Mallam Muhammad Yusuf Maiduguri
Authors: Cook David
Published: February 2019

25 JUNE 2006

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

During the period 2004–2008, there were several debates between Muhammad Yusuf and other Salafi scholars, but this is the first whose video is extant. His opponent, Isa Pantami is western-educated and much better prepared than Yusuf, either because the latter was not told of the subjects to be debated (part 7) or because his thoughts were not well-developed. The debate lasted for six hours, of which approximately three hours have survived on video. The full text of the extant videos is approximately forty-six pages long in ten parts...
Translation of Selections From Muhammad Yusuf
Authors: Cook David
Published: February 2019

(c. 2006/2007)

[Trans.: David Cook]

This text is 168 pages, written in Arabic, and was most likely composed in late 2006 or 2007, as it mentions the work of Abu Mus‘ab al-Zarqawi (killed 2006). It was probably composed because of Yusuf’s poor showing in the debate against Pantami (text 1), to justify his views. Much of the text is methodological in nature, and is heavily dependent upon the Saudi Salafis previously noted. The important sections concern democracy—identified as “the idol of this age”—education, the national symbols of the police and army, the Shī‘a, the Sufi orders, and the full implementation of...
Clearing the Doubts of the Scholars
Authors: Yusuf Muhammad
Published: February 2019

(C. FALL 2006/SPRING 2007)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Several Islamic scholars, mostly Salafi and scholars affiliated with the Izala movement, held a series of discussions with Yusuf both in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia where they attempted to persuade him to change his ideological leanings. Of specific interest is the discussion between Ja‘far Adam and Yusuf, which enables us to date this audio to the period prior to 13 April 2007, when Adam was murdered. The outcome of the series of discussions is usually followed up with the dissemination of different accounts about Yusuf and his group. This lecture is based on a two-part audio recording recorded in Kano where Yusuf made an attempt to clarify the following misconceptions to his followers: his relationship with the Nigerian Taliban (he referred to them as the Kanamma brothers in the recording); the report that he was sponsored by the Jews to infiltrate and destroy the Ahl al-Sunna movement in Nigeria; that he uses...
Who is the Prophet Muhammad?
Authors: Yusuf Muhammad
Published: February 2019

(c. 2007/2008)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9P5C6mdWyU

Although the Danish cartoons are not referenced, most likely this sermon should be associated with the various controversies about the Prophet Muhammad during the period 2006–2009. The primary subject of the sermon is the exegesis of Qur’ān 4:48–54. In his exegesis of these verses, Yusuf accentuated the theme of the polytheism of obedience and focused on the criticism of the constitution, democracy, and working with the secular government as well the schisms between his group and other Islamic groups, particularly the Salafis. In addition, Yusuf also demonstrated his admiration for the jihadists who fought in Tora Bora. There were some missing parts at the beginning and the end of the video...
Exegesis of Sūrat Al ‘Imrān (Qur’Ān 3:165–175)
Authors: Yusuf Muhammad
Published: February 2019

(9 SEPTEMBER 2008)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXXX5–49TtA

This selection is interesting because it demonstrates the jurisprudential side of Boko Haram, as it is preceded by a series of twelve legal (and other) questions. But the most interesting exegesis is that of Yusuf’s martyrology, which is fairly well-developed in accord with that developed by Abdallah Azzam during the Afghanistan war (1979–89). There were some missing parts at the end of the video...
Exegesis of Sūrat Al-Baqara (Qur’Ān 2:284–286)
Authors: Yusuf Muhammad
Published: February 2019

(14 FEBRUARY 2009)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD0tWMhZSkY

The key theme in this video lecture is the phrase in Qur’ān 2:285 “we hear, and we obey.” In his explanation of this verse, Yusuf discussed the significance of obeying Allah’s commandment concerning hijra and jihād. ...
Grouping of Sermons
Authors: Kassim Abdulbasit
Published: February 2019

While the first sermon (text 15(A) above) cannot be dated according to internal evidence, the mention of the murder of Yusuf’s followers in this second sermon make it certain that it was delivered during the crisis point between March to July 2009. It was probably due to this fact that the sermon was not released until March 2015. The themes of this sermon are strikingly akin to those of texts 6 and 13 above...
Hausa Nashid “We are Not Boko Haram, We are the People of Sunna”
Authors: Li-L-Da‘Wa Wa-L-Jihād Jamā’At Ahl Al-Sunna
Published: February 2019

(c. FALL 2010)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2bEHaA0iX0

This nashīd is not dated, but from the contents, referencing Yusuf extensively, and protesting the use of the name Boko Haram—a common early theme—and mentioning the commencement of martyrdom operations, it should be dated to the fall of 2010. The...
Message to Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan
Authors: Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

(11 JANUARY 2012)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umkj50SUzck

From September 2010 to January 2012, Boko Haram stepped up the sophistication of its attacks and most of its threats became reality. Of particular interest during these periods are three suicide attacks—all claimed by Boko Haram: one on 16 June 2011 at the Abuja police headquarters, which was allegedly carried out by Muhammad Manga...
Formation of Jamā’at Anṣār Al-Muslimin Fi Bilād Al-Sūdān
Authors: Yusuf Al-Ansari Amir Abu
Published: February 2019

(9 JULY 2012)

[Trans.: David Cook]

Available at: http://azelin.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/jamc481at-ane1b9a3c481r-al-muslimc4abn-fi-bilc481d-al-sc5abdc481n-22first-statement22.pdf

On 20 January 2012, there was a mass Boko Haram attack in the main northern Muslim city of Kano, during which approximately 185 people were killed indiscriminately. In retrospect, it was most likely this event which led to a split between the largely Kanuri-dominated, Borno-centered Boko Haram under the command of Shekau, and the Hausa-dominated Ansaru. This split was later partially papered over when Boko Haram swore allegiance to the Islamic State (spring 2015), but the differences between these two groupings were very real during the period 2012–14. In the video debut of Ansaru, which emerged on YouTube on 2 June 2012, in Hausa and English, the group emphasized the inexcusability of killing Muslims (a critique of Boko Haram) and the need to protect Nigerian Muslims against violent Christian organizations...
Glad Tidings, O Soldiers of Allah
Authors: Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

(29 NOVEMBER 2012)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: https://videos.files.wordpress.com/nUniRM5n/shaykh-abc5ab-bakr-shekau-22oh-soldiers-of-god-you-are-mortals22_dvd.mp4

In this video, Shekau declared an ideological bond with other groups waging jihād. It is possible to conclude that what Shekau really wanted at this stage was for Boko Haram to be declared an al-Qaeda affiliate in West Africa. al-Qaeda has always made explicit its long-term goal of a jihadi battlefront in Nigeria, as illustrated in a tape purportedly released by bin Laden in 2003 in which Nigeria was mentioned as a country where Muslims needed to be liberated...
Hausa Nashid in the Video “The Raid on Maiduguri”1
Authors: Li-L-Da‘Wa Wa-L-Jihād Jamā‘at Ahl Al-Sunna
Published: February 2019

(26 MARCH 2014)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: https://videos.files.wordpress.com/8R0zcMXP/jamc481_at-ahl-al-sunnah-li-da_wah-wa-l-jihc481d-22the-raid-of-maiduguri-222_std.mp4

Another approach to understanding what drives Boko Haram members is by focusing on the Hausa and Arabic poetry (nashīds) that speaks of the group’s vision and the underlying theme of an apocalyptic battle or cosmic war between good and evil, most of which cannot be put in plain terms except through poetry. Since the early phase of 2014, Boko Haram videos have mostly featured Arabic...
Beheading Video by Chadian Faction of Boko Haram1
Authors: Cook David
Published: February 2019

(C. SEPTEMBER 2014)

[Summarized by Abdulbasit Kassim]

This video, which lasts about 12:27 min/sec, features approximately fifteen Chadians identifying themselves as JASDJ, most of whom have their faces covered, together with one uncovered spokesman. According to Reuters, the uncovered spokesman is Abdel Aziz, the leader of a Chadian faction of Boko Haram. Abdel Aziz gives Shekau’s standard Arabic introduction, citing the following Qur’ānic verses: “And say: ‘The truth has come and falsehood has perished. Falsehood is ever perishing’” (Q17:81); “Fight those among the People of the Book who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day, do not forbid what Allah and His Apostle have forbidden and do not profess the true religion, till they pay the poll-tax out of hand and submissively” (Q9:29); and “O you who believe, fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them see how harsh you can be” (Q9:123). He also states that the goal of the group is either to attain martyrdom or victory in establishing the Islamic state, where the testimony of faith “There is no god but Allah” will be supreme....
Boko Haram Communiques With African Media
Authors: Cook David
Published: February 2019

(18 NOVEMBER 2014–9 FEBRUARY 2015)

[Trans. David Cook]

Available at: https://azelin.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/jamc481_at-ahl-al-sunnah-li-l-da_wah-wa-l-jihc481d-e2809cpast-messages-from-jamc481_at-ahl-al-sunnah-li-l-da_wah-wa-l-jihc481d-to-the-muslims22.pdf

These brief communiques were published by African Media, a jihadi media group administered by Abu Malik Shayba al-Hamad (see text 61). The communiques highlight the dramatic
Boko Haram conquests of late 2014
into early 2015, and the amalgamation of the group with the Islamic State. Although not devoid of Islamic slogans and citations, for the most part these are propagandistic descriptions of the collapse of Nigerian authority in large sections of Borno and Adamawa states. 1 December marks a disassociation from the Kano Mosque attack of 28 November 2014 (text 49), symbolizing the rift between Shekau who carried out the attack and Nur (see text 72), while on 3 December there was an attack on the Izala and Sufi enemies of Boko Haram. These communiques are notable for their complete lack of Qur’ānic citations...
Message to President Paul Biya of Cameroon
Authors: Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

(5 JANUARY 2015)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

In this video, Shekau addressed the government and people of Cameroon for the first time. This video was released several months after the President of Cameroon vowed to wipe out Boko Haram, following the abduction and subsequent release of ten foreigners and seventeen Cameroonian hostages, including the wife of Amadou Ali, the country’s deputy prime minister. Shekau here threatens Paul Biya with a fate like his Nigerian counterpart....
Allah is Our Master
Authors: Fi Bilād Al-Sūdān Jamā’at anṣār Al-Muslimin
Published: February 2019

(29 JANUARY 2015)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: http://jihadology.net/2015/01/29/al-hidayyah-foundationpresents-a-new-video-message-from-jamaat-an%e1%b9%a3ar-al-musliminfi-bilad-al-sudan-god-is-our-master/

Even after the declaration of the Islamic caliphate by Boko Haram, the charge against the group’s attacks on innocent civilians impeded some members of Ansaru from aligning themselves completely with the group. In this video, Ansaru members explicitly demonstrated their opposition to Boko Haram’s attacks on mosques, markets, motor parks and other public places, while simultaneously advocating for...
Proclamation Concerning the Aggression Being Led by Chad Against Jamā‘at Ahl Al-Sunna Li-L-Da‘Wa Wa-L-Jihād
Authors: Cook David
Published: February 2019

(14 FEBRUARY 2015)

[Trans.: David Cook]

Available at: https://azelin.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/jamc481_at-ahl-al-sunnah-li-l-da_wah-wa-l-jihc481d-boko-e1b8a5arc481m-22regarding-the-coalition-led-by-chad-against-jamc481_at-ahl-al-sunnah-li-l-da_wah-wa-l-jihc481d22.pdf

Text 45 proves that Boko Haram was already operating in Chad by summer 2014, and September at the latest, probably much earlier. There was a combined suicide attack against a Chadian village on 15 December 2015, although there was no official Boko Haram statement taking responsibility. After Chad began openly fighting...
Messages From the Caliphate’s Soldiers in Wilāyat Gharb Ifriqiyā
Authors: Chari Man
Published: February 2019

(7 OCTOBER 2015)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: http://jihadology.net/2015/10/07/new-video-message-from-the-islamic-state-messages-from-the-soldiers-of-the-caliphate-in-wilayat-gharb-ifriqiyyah/

Following the declaration of bay‘a (allegiance) by Shekau to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (text 62), this video is the bay‘a of the members of the group to the Islamic State, following the pattern of bay‘a of other Islamic State provinces (placing each other’s hands around the speaker and repeating the pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State after the speaker). The bilingualism of this video reflects the growing unity between Boko Haram and the Islamic State. The Arabic version cites the complete Qur’ānic verses, whereas in the Hausa version they are paraphrased...
Message from the Mujāhidin in West Africa to the Mujāhidin in Somalia
Authors: Ifriqiya Wilāyat Gharb
Published: February 2019

(14 OCTOBER 2015)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: http://jihadology.net/2015/10/14/new-video-message-from-the-islamic-state-message-from-the-mujāhidīn-in-west-africa-to-the-mujāhidīn-in-somalia-wilayat-gharb-ifriqiyyah/

Swearing allegiance to the Islamic State meant that to some extent Boko Haram began to be utilized by Islamic State as a proxy to obtain the allegiance of other African Salafijihadi groups. Although elements of AQIM and other West African groups had proved to be open to swearing, al-Shabab in Somalia thus far have proved to be resistant (for the most part—several sections of al-Shabab have declared allegiance). Boko Haram in this video is trying to exert its influence on behalf of ISIS. The influence of this video will later yield a result for the Islamic State as Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir Mu‘min, Abu Nu‘man al-Yentari and other members of al-Shabab pledged allegiance on 22 October 2015 to the leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, thus switching their allegiance from al-Shabab to the Islamic State...
Message from the Soldiers
Authors: Chari Man , Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

(7 AUGUST 2016)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: http://jihadology.net/2016/08/07/new-video-message-from-jamaat-ahl-al-sunnah-li-l-dawah-wa-l-jihads-abu-bakr-shekau-message-from-the-soldiers/

This video continued to express resentment against Abu Mus’ab al-Barnawi’s promotion as the governor of ISWAP by the Islamic State. In this video, the masked speaker, who had previously featured in several Boko Haram videos, spoke about his displeasure over Shekau’s replacement by al-Barnawi, whom he accused of following an inauthentic Salafism. The speaker (later identified as Man Chari) declared that they would continue to follow Shekau, and threatened the Nigerian Chief of the Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, the spokesperson of the Nigerian army, Colonel Sani Kukasheka, as well as Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. In addition, the speaker said the group’s adversaries should not rejoice over their internal differences because sooner or later they will be resolved and unified. In the second half of the video, Abubakar Shekau appeared, and challenged reports of his death. He also reiterated some parts of his audio speech (text 68), and vowed that they would defeat America and Nigeria...
Shekau Responds to his Critics1
Authors: Cook David
Published: February 2019

(18 DECEMBER 2016)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

In this audio lecture, Shekau reiterated the ideological differences that led to the factionalization of Boko Haram (see texts 70–72). Although this audio could be seen as a response to some of the allegations by Mamman Nur concerning him, specifically the allegation that he murders his close associates for trivial offenses, Shekau ends up more or less proving Nur’s general accusation. Much of the audio concerns the plot of one Abu Ammar (or Baba Ammar) to undermine Shekau’s leadership, and turns on the issue of the killing of Taasi’u, who supported Abu Ammar. Shekau defended himself by saying that the close associates he had killed attempted to undermine his authority, thereby violating the law they all pledged to follow. He stressed that no member of the group is killed without committing an offence. This lecture shows that Shekau is facing a crisis of legitimacy with other top echelons of Boko Haram, and there seems to be a competition by factional leaders to win the support of the mid-level and foot soldiers...
Boko Haram State (2013–2015)
Authors: Nwankpa Michael , Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

This chapter provides a detailed account of Boko Haram’s ambitious attempt at establishing an Islamic caliphate in captured territories across the northern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. It shows Boko Haram at its glorious peak of insurgency scoring some relative amount of success against the surprisingly helpless and under-motivated Nigerian military. The chapter reveals Boko Haram’s guerrilla and terrorist tactics and brazen attacks during this period: 2013-2015, including its infamous kidnap of nearly 300 boarding school girls in Chibok local government area of Borno state, the successful raiding and suspension of the strongly fortified military post at Baga town in Borno state that enabled one of its highest number of recorded killings- up to 2000 people in three days. The chapter provides textual evidence that relays a graphic portrayal of Boko Haram’s extra-territorial ambition that involves verbal threats to Western interests, denunciation of attacks on Muslims across the globe and actual terrorist attacks in neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
The Curse of Realism
Authors: Kukkonen Karin
Published: February 2019

This chapter challenges the assumption that throughout history the novel gets progressively better at realism and at matching its language in cognitive processes. It characterises this assumption as “the curse of realism,” which retroactively imposes standards from the nineteenth-century novel onto texts from earlier periods and evaluates them as lacking stylistic and narrative achievements that they never aimed for. A counter-model, based on embodied cognition and predictive, probabilistic cognition, is proposed. This allows cognitive approaches to literature to move away from a teleological perspective (where the novel improves its match with cognition) and towards a dialectic perspective (where literary texts can relate to cognition in ways that are not inherently more accurate than others). This chapter lays the overall theoretical foundations for the case studies in the following chapters.
China and the Islamic World
Authors: Bianchi Robert R.
Published: February 2019

China is building a New Silk Road that runs through the heartland of the Muslim world. Its leaders promise to bring about change through improved economies and greater communications across the Eurasian and African continents. While China has the financial and technical resources to accomplish its infrastructure goals, it is sorely unprepared to deal with the social and political demands of the people in the partner countries. This book addresses how China’s leaders and citizens—in their relationships with Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesian, Iran, Nigeria, and Egypt—are learning that they have to respect and adjust to the aspirations of ordinary people throughout the Islamic world, not just cater to the narrow band of government and business elites. In addition, it is becoming increasingly clear that turbulent countries along the New Silk Road are likely to transform Chinese society at least as much as China is changing them. This is a deeply unsettling realization for China’s authoritarian rulers who desperately want to monopolize power domestically. The party and state bosses have responded with a contradictory blend of flexibility abroad and rigidity at home—compromising with popular demands in one country after another while refusing to negotiate many of the same issues with their own citizens. Maintaining such a split-minded statecraft will become ever more difficult as people in China and across the New Silk Road share their aspirations and grievances in wider networks.
Pakistan
Authors: Bianchi Robert R.
Published: February 2019

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is the initial showcase for the New Silk Road as a whole. Its implementation has triggered a cascade of conflicts among Pakistan’s ethnic groups, provinces, and civic organizations. It has also sharpened tensions between civilian politicians and military leaders that test Pakistan’s constitutional and democratic principles. Chinese officials were stunned by these challenges and responded with an improvised blend of denial, self-contradiction, and constructive learning. China became more and more involved in direct bargaining with a host of Pakistani actors because several security concerns raised the stakes, making failure seem unacceptable. Common worries about Kashmir, Afghanistan, hydropolitics, and U.S.-Indian cooperation pushed Beijing and Islamabad closer together while drawing China more deeply into Pakistan’s domestic affairs. Many of the lessons that Chinese officials learned and failed to learn from these experiences are also relevant in dealing with other would-be partners along the New Silk Road.
The Cauldron
Authors: Weighill Rob , Gaub Florence
Published: February 2019

NATO’s Libya Operation was a first in several ways: the first time the alliance operated in an Arab and African country, the first time Arab partners participated in kinetic missions, the first time it executed a UN mandate designed to protect civilians and the first time the United States were not in the lead. This book is the first one to tell the operation’s story from all sides concerned: spanning the hallways of the United Nations in New York, NATO Headquarters in Brussels and, crucially, the two operational epicenters: the Libyan battlefield, and Joint Force Command Naples, which was in charge of the mission. Weighill and Gaub offer a comprehensive exploration of both the war's progression and the many challenges NATO faced, from its extremely rapid planning and limited understanding of Libya and its forces, to training shortfalls and the absence of post-conflict planning.
JFC Naples Takes Over
Authors: Weighill Rob , Gaub Florence
Published: February 2019

As the political process ceded prominence to military operations, this chapter illustrates how NATO transitioned from peace to war, dealing with a myriad of operational challenges as it took command of all national forces in a very short space of time. In particular it describes the difficulty of targeting in poor weather, the lack of surveillance capabilities, the absence of accurate and timely intelligence, and how Gaddafi’s forces adapted to the threat posed by NATO’s air and maritime forces. It offers insights into the complexities of conducting maritime embargo operations with competing priorities to grapple with dual use cargo, delivery of humanitarian aid (sometimes accompanied by weapons, explosives and associated materiel) and the preservation of life (SOLAS), principally refugees escaping Libya in small boats. Public expectation indicated a rapid end to combat operations and not long after the operation started, talk of a stalemate emerged. A number of peace initiatives were pursued, all ending in failure and merely confirming Gaddafi’s intention to retain power and avoid any notion of a ceasefire or capitulation.
Cyrenaica
Authors: Ahram Ariel I.
Published: February 2019

Chapter 3 examines the separatist conflict in Cyrenaica, eastern Libya. With the central government effectively moribund, federalists sought to take over ports and oil facilities in the east. Federalists in Libya made direct reference to the emirate of Cyrenaica and demand the restitution of autonomies enjoyed prior to the Qaddafi era. Libyan federalists faced opposition not only from the central government, which deemed federalists’ seizure of power illegal, but also from Islamist factions that took root in many eastern cities. Federalist forces fought against these groups and gained control over oil resources. The federalists, therefore, appealed to the international community for support on the basis of their potential to stabilize a country in disarray.
Do We Owe What Our Country Asks of Us?
Authors: Kekes John
Published: February 2019

The comparison is between a Kamikaze pilot in World War II Japan, who answered yes, and an American Draftee in the middle of the war in Vietnam, who answered no. Their evaluations were intelligent and thoughtful. They had reasons for them, but both ignored reasons they could and should have had against their evaluations. The chapter probes what led to their failure to take into account surely relevant reasons. It prompts us to ask what we can do to avoid making the same kind of all too likely mistake of claiming to have reasons for doing what we want, while ignoring the reasons we could and should consider against doing it. The key to a reasonable answer is to become aware of the conflicts between the beliefs, emotions, and desires that motivate us, question them, and know why we act on one rather than on the conflicting ones.
Does Shame Make Life Better or Worse?
Authors: Kekes John
Published: February 2019

This chapter is a comparison between two women who were shamed by their society. One, drawn from Herodotus, accepts the shaming, and feels ashamed. The other, one of Hawthorne’s characters, rejects her society’s evaluation that shames her, and she does not feel ashamed. In one society, there was no distinction made between social shaming and private feeling of shame. In the other, the distinction could be made. In this respect, the two societies were different. Each woman evaluated the reasons for and against feeling shame, but the evaluations of one were more reasonable than that of the other. Whether shame is good is a hard question because it is difficult to weigh the reasons for and against living in a way that is contrary to the evaluations of one’s society. Different people with different strengths in different circumstances have different reasons for or against feeling shame, and their reasons may or may not be good, depending on their social and personal circumstances. So we can ask about the shame we might feel: whether it makes us less likely to act badly in the future, whether fear of shame weakens our confidence in our own evaluations, and how far we are willing to go to alienate ourselves from our society.
Introduction
Authors: Fichter Stephen J. , Gaunt Thomas P. , Hoegeman Catherine , Perl Paul M.
Published: February 2019

Catholic bishops have captured the imagination of novelists, who have fashioned them into unforgettable, larger-than-life characters. These include the saintly Bishop Myriel of Les Misérables, the treacherous Cardinal Richelieu of The Three Musketeers, the quietly perseverant Bishop Latour of Death Comes for the Archbishop, and the scheming Bishop Angri of the popular The Da Vinci Code. These portrayals are caricatures, but they probably reflect a real historical tendency for people, lay Catholics included, to view the bishops on a simplistic spectrum that ranges from haloed hero to biretta’d bad guy. This introductory book chapter provides an overview of Roman Catholic bishops and their responsibilities. The chapter discusses the three primary roles of bishops, defined by Church documents as “sanctifying, governing, and teaching.” Types of bishops are distinguished (auxiliaries, ordinaries, and cardinals) as well as their differing positions within the Church hierarchy. The chapter summarizes the secretive process by which priests are chosen by the pope to become bishops. It also explains the symbols of their ministry (e.g., mitre, crozier, and cathedra).
Satisfactions in Episcopal Life and Ministry
Authors: Fichter Stephen J. , Gaunt Thomas P. , Hoegeman Catherine , Perl Paul M.
Published: February 2019

Bishops take seriously their vocations as “successors to the Apostles” and they feel the weight of the responsibilities placed upon their shoulders in an increasingly secularized and seemingly post-Christian era. However, as this chapter demonstrates, they do not allow those daily burdens and their concomitant frustrations to stifle their contentment. This chapter presents the overall very high levels of satisfaction among bishops, even higher than those reported by Catholic priests in the most recent national study of priests. We discovered that their burnout rates are very low even in the midst of such long and intense workdays. Their number one source of satisfaction is linked to their liturgical role. High satisfaction is also derived from their community leadership role. While they embrace their administrative work willingly, they do not report deriving great satisfaction from it.
Introduction
Authors: Hardiman David
Published: February 2019

This chapter begins with a discussion of how the book combines a longstanding interest of the author, namely the Indian nationalist movement and Gandhi’s role in it, with a more recent engagement with the theory and practice of nonviolent resistance. The ways in which Indian nationalism has been understood by historians over the past fifty years is considered critically, and the ways that this can be related to theories of strategic nonviolent resistance – particularly those of Gene Sharp –is reviewed. While the importance of this theory is acknowledged, its shortcomings are also examined, for example its neglect of Gandhi’s constructive program. The main themes of the following chapters are summarized.
‘Passive Resistance’ in South Africa, 1906–14
Authors: Hardiman David
Published: February 2019

The method of ‘passive resistance’ was taken up and expanded by Gandhi during his years in South Africa. As this provides a critical element of the history, the second chapter focuses on this movement against racial discrimination against Indians, bringing out how it gave rise to Gandhi’s novel notion of ‘satyagraha’ and the production of his well-known manifesto, Hind Swaraj. Initially involving mainly Indian traders, the campaign of ‘passive resistance’ escalated in 2013 into strikes by Indian mineworkers and plantation workers, leading to a significant step-down by the South African government in early 1914. This success saw Gandhi becoming a well-known figure in India. He then left South Africa and settled back in India.
Exposing State Terror
Authors: Hardiman David
Published: February 2019

The subject of the fifth chapter is the first major all-India campaign led by Gandhi, the Rowlatt Satyagraha of 1919. This was in reaction to oppressive legislation being introduced by the British to counter a supposed threat from violent extremist nationalists. The nonviolent protest met with a draconian reaction in Punjab, which included the notorious Amritsar massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, creating what is described in the literature on nonviolent resistance as ‘backfire’ – where terror by the state serves to alienate moderates and thus create the conditions for even more powerful resistance. This led into the major anti-British campaign of 1920-22, the Noncooperation Movement, which is the subject of the next volume.
Conclusion
Authors: Hardiman David
Published: February 2019

The themes of the book are summarized and there is a discussion of the two main forms of nonviolent protest developed by Indian nationalists during this period: the pragmatic use of it as a political tacticin particular circumstances, as theorized by Aurobindo Ghose, and the Gandhian emphasis on nonviolence as an absolute moral principle, as seen in his concepts of satyagraha and ahimsa. The way that Gandhi promoted a secular, rather than Hindu form of nationalism, is discussed. Notions of national honor and levels of leadership of the movement are also examined.
Shocks, States, and Sustainability
Authors: Rudel Thomas K.
Published: February 2019

For the past three decades scientists have urged us to abandon fossil fuels as rapidly as possible. Despite these pleas, the global energy sector has retained a familiar profile, dominated by the use of oil and natural gas. Only states have powers that are commensurate with rapidly reshaping societies in sustainable ways, but how do their politics enable these surges in sustainability? Shocks, States, and Sustainability answers this question through a comparative historical study of four radical environmental reforms: in the Dust Bowl during the New Deal, in Britain after World War II, in Cuba after the Soviet collapse, and in the Gulf of Maine after the Depression. This analysis suggests that states reform environmental practices in the aftermath of focusing events that draw popular attention to environmental degradation and suggest sharp limits in the availability of natural resources. These crises prompt the creation of encompassing coalitions of diverse peoples who push through laws and regulations that conserve natural resources.