Provides an overview of the evolution of political Islam in South-east Asia. Analyses the sources of relgious radicalism and assesses the regional terrorist and radical networks. Describes how secular democratic institutions can be strengthened, and how moderate and tolerant tendencies can be promoted.

Political Islam in Southeast Asia (Adelphi series)

Rabasa, Angel

Reference

Routledge

U.S. policy towards Iran since the 1979 revolution has swung pendulum-like between engagement via negotiation and dialogue, and an approach marked by stronger sanctions and threats of military force. The overall picture is that of oscillation, with policy shifts driven by changes in American administrations and ideological tides, and by periods when a seemingly more moderate Iranian president takes center stage. Outplayed on the strategic chessboard more than once, America has seen its Iran policy produce little in terms of reducing the regime's threat to stability in the region and on the globe. In other stalemated settings or in situations where the U.S. wants to take action without a direct presence, a common method has been to engage the indigenous opposition. This, however, is a risky undertaking, especially when there is insufficient knowledge about the true abilities, values and goals of opposition groups. This study argues that whatever the outcome of current nuclear negotiations with Iran, seeking a better understanding of the Iranian opposition is likely to be key. Currently, real knowledge of this opposition among U.S. policymakers and analysts is vague, containing at least as many assumptions and stereotypes as actual data and information. This diligently researched book steps into the gap. It reviews the full spectrum of the Iranian opposition, describing key groups from the standpoints of their ideologies and capabilities. Noting that forcing opposition groups into an often false "unification" can backfire, it develops a new "additive opposition" approach that identifies and employs each group's specific strengths towards a shared purpose. The book concludes by offering recommendations for how Washington could work with the opposition to achieve U.S. foreign policy objectives and to improve the outlook for Iran's people and the region.

Breaking the Stalemate: The Case for Engaging the Iranian Opposition

History

Benard, Cheryl

Long, Austin

Middle East

Metis Analytics

U.S. policy toward Colombia has been driven to a large extent by counternarcotics considerations, but the evolving situation in that South American country confronts the United States with as much of a national security as a drug policy problem. Colombia is a geostrategically important country, whose trajectory will influence broader trends in the Andean region and beyond. Colombian Labyrinth examines the sources of instability in the country; the objectives, strategy, strengths, and weaknesses of the government, guerrillas, and paramilitaries and the balances among them; and the effects of the current U.S. assistance program. Possible scenarios and futures for Colombia are laid out, with implicaitons for both the United States and neighboring countries. The authors find that instability in Colombia stems from the interaction and synergies of the underground drug economy and armed challenges to the state's authority.

Colombian Labyrinth: The Synergy of Drugs and Insugency and Its Implications for Regional Stability

Americas

RAND Corporation

Examines al-Qaeda's evolution and the emergence of the broader global jihadist movement―groups affiliated, associated, or inspired by al-Qaeda―and the threat that they pose to the United States and U.S. allies and interests. The authors conclude by setting out a four-pronged strategy to counter the jihadist threat.

Beyond al-Qaeda: Part 1: The Global Jihadist Movement

Military

Examines violent terrorist groups that, while not formally allied with al-Qaeda, could pose a threat to Americans now or in the future and to the security of our friends and allies. The authors show how terrorists use criminal organizations and connections to finance their activities, and they identify distinct strategies to neutralize or mitigate these threats.

Beyond al-Qaeda: Part 2: The Outer Rings of the Terrorist Universe

Gregg, Heather S.

Cragin, Kim

Chalk, Peter

Daly, Sara A.

Radical Islamists spread their message using extensive networks spanning the Muslim world, but moderates have not created similar networks. The authors derive lessons from U.S. and allied Cold War experience fostering democratic networks, determine their applicability to current conditions in the Muslim world, evaluate U.S. programs of engagement with the Muslim world, and develop a road map to foster the construction of moderate Muslim networks.

Building Moderate Muslim Networks

Religion & Spirituality

Islam

Ungoverned territories-failed or failing states or ungoverned areas within otherwise viable states-generate a myriad of security problems and often become terrorist sanctuaries. Using a two-tiered framework applied to eight cases from around the globe, the authors illustrate the conditions that give rise to ungoverned territories, contributing to our understanding of what makes some ungoverned territories more conducive to a terrorist or insurgent presence than others. On the basis of this ground-breaking work, the authors identify three types of ungoverned territories and their effects on U.S. security interests, while presenting strategies designed to improve our ability to mitigate these effects.

Ungoverned Territories: Understanding and Reducing Terrorism Risks

Boraz, Steven

Karasik, Theodore W.

Turkey, a Muslim-majority country, is pivotal to Western security interests in the Middle East. Its ruling party, the AKP, has Islamic roots but operates within a framework of strict secular democracy, which has generated controversy over the boundaries between secularism and religion. This monograph describes the politico-religious landscape in Turkey and evaluates how the balance between secular and religious forces has changed over the past decade.

The Rise of Political Islam in Turkey

Larrabee, Stephen F.

American geopolitical interests and the potential threats to those interests are both on the rise in East Africa. The author places the spread of militant Islamism and the development of radical Islamist networks in East Africa in the broader context of the social, economic, and political factors that have shaped the region's security environment.

Radical Islam in East Africa (Project Air Force)

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Measures to prevent vulnerable individuals from radicalizing and to rehabilitate those who have already embraced Islamist extremism have been implemented in several Middle Eastern, Southeast Asian, and European countries. This monograph describes and assesses the strengths and weaknesses of these programs and proposes steps that can be taken to promote and accelerate deradicalization processes.

Deradicalizing Islamist Extremists

Pettyjohn, Stacie

Ghez, Jeremy J.

Boucek, Christopher

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