African Development Surge Could Play into AQIM Narrative
by Nathaniel Greenberg The Inter-University Center for Terrorism Studies at the Potomac Institute recently released a report entitled “Terrorism in North Africa and the Sahel in 2012: Global Reach and Implications.” It contains important proposals for addressing some...
Toppling Assad in Syria: A Western Plot?
By Chris Lundry Indonesian Islamist site syabab.com featured a story on Syria’s embattled leader Bashar al-Assad which states that his looming demise is the culmination of a “Western Plot.” This “news” is fascinating for those who have paid even just a little...
CSC’s Steve Corman Receives ASU Founder’s Day Award
Professor Steven R. Corman, the Director of the Center for Strategic Communication and the Herberger Professor at the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University, received the ASU Alumni Association Founder's Day Faculty Achievement Service...
Extremist Opposition to Indonesia’s Densus 88
by Chris Lundry It’s been an active 2013 so far for anti-terrorism efforts in Indonesia, but actions of the authorities continue to spur debate. On December 20, 2012, armed civilians shot and killed four members of the Indonesian Police Mobile Brigades and injured...
Smith-Mundt Has Been Modernized
by Steven R. Corman I was shocked to see in a post at bbgstrategy.com that the 2013 Defense Authorization Act had passed and was signed into law over the holidays with Smith-Mundt modernization provisions intact. I say shocked because of the sh#*tstorm that erupted...
Public Diplomacy: Books, Articles, Websites #63
by Bruce Gregory* "Amb. Ryan Crocker in Conversation with NPR's Steve Inskeep," 2012 Annual Banquet Keynote Address, Middle East Institute, November 13, 2012. Inskeep, the host of National Public Radio's Morning Edition, interviews retired US Ambassador Ryan Crocker. ...
The Arab Constitutions 2012: Chaos and Strategy
by Nathaniel Greenberg The sudden vote on a new Constitution in Egypt has done little to stem tension in Egypt following the decree of President Mohamed Morsi to grant himself unilateral powers in driving the legislative agenda. In a live appearance on Egyptian...
Another Twist to the South China Sea Dispute
By Chris Lundry Various news organizations reported this week that both Vietnam and the Philippines are refusing to stamp new Chinese passports with a map of China’s claim to the entire South China Sea (VOA report here). India has joined the fray as well, angered...
U.S. Asia Policy: From Pivot to Pirouette to Pivot
by Norman Vasu* While the United States (US) government attempts to pivot towards Asia, China’s recent diplomatic and military moves suggests it is China who has the more robust and thoroughgoing strategy in the region. In effect, China’s latest moves leave the...
New White Paper on Rhetoric of Domestic Extremist Groups
by Steven R. Corman The CSC has released a new white paper by Bennett Furlow entitled Extremism and Victimhood in the U.S. Context. The Executive Summary appears below, and the full white paper can be downloaded here. Political extremism is not a new phenomenon. From...
Indonesia’s President, Commander of the Crusaders!
By Chris Lundry Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) has been branded a commander of the crusaders following the announcement that Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain will be awarding him the Honorary Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of Bath. The...
CSC Search for Assistant Professor in Strategic Communication
by Steven R. Corman We at CSC currently have a search open for a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Strategic Communication starting Fall 2013. The intial closing date is November 26. If you are interested and think you might be qualified please see the job...
Is the Ansar al-Shariah Crackdown a True About Face?
by Nathaniel Greenberg The Libyan consulate bombing has drifted into the twilight world of murder mystery and conspiracy theory, a talking point for American political pundits, and major source of frustration for leaders in the region. In Cairo a militant from Libya...
The Missing Narrative on al-Qaeda
by Karina Sandhu Beginning September 11, 2001 and ending on May 2, 2011, in the eyes of many Americans, the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, was born, raised, lived, and died. Despite the fact that al-Qaeda was founded in 1989 and continues to exist today, many...
The Extremist-Narco Nexus Unexplored
by Nathaniel Greenberg Counterterrorism officials indicated this week that JSOC, in coordination with the CIA and the Pentagon, had begun to narrow its search for the culprits behind the attack on the American Consulate in Libya. From their investigations, articulated...
New Book: Muslim Nonviolence and the Future of Islam
by Steven R. Corman CSC researcher Jeffry Halverson has published a new book on Muslim nonviolence. Titled Searching for a King: Muslim Nonviolence and the Future of Islam, the book is available through the publisher, Potomac Press and at Amazon. At a time when...
Film Protests Strengthen Extremists’ Hand
by Nathaniel Greenberg The Innocence of Muslims is not the first, nor will it be the last offensive depiction of Islam. Just today the French journal Charlie Hebdo released its new edition with an image of Mohamed in a wheel-chair being pushed by a farcical looking...
CSC Welcomes Dr. Nathaniel Greenberg
by Steven R. Corman The CSC welcomes Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Nathaniel Greenberg to our team. Nathaniel completed his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at the University of Washington and was the recipient of the 2012 Dean’s Medal for the Humanities, the University’s...
Egyptians Protest Islamophobic Video
by Jeffry Halverson With all the very serious problems facing Egypt, the region, and indeed the world today, what brought out thousands of Egyptian protestors in Cairo on September 11, 2012? A thirteen-minute Islamophobic online video produced by a group of US-based...
New White Paper: Hate Speech and the Indonesian Islamic Defenders Front
The CSC has released a new white paper entitled Hate Speech and the Indonesian Islamic Defenders Front by Mark Woodward, Mariani Yahya, Inayah Rohmaniyah, Diana Murtaugh Coleman, Ali Amin and Chris Lundry. The paper looks at hate speech tactics used by the terrorist...