Posts Categorized: June 2015

Following the unsuccessful coup attempt by elements of the armed forces, John Chisholm asks how President Nkurunziza clung to power and examines the consequences for his future   While the president is away, a disgruntled general attempts to depose him after the president made a questionable political decision. It is script that has been played… Read more »

Paul Stokes reviews the UK government’s proposed counter-extremism bill and explains how advanced crime analytics can help in tackling the recruitment of foreign fighters via social media   The recently elected UK Conservative government is to use its new unilateral power to push through anti-extremism laws. A revived counter-extremism bill was outlined in the Queen’s… Read more »

Major Terrorist Groups Matthew Henman examines the terrorist groups presenting the largest regional security threat   The Taliban The Taliban is a militant Islamist group dedicated to the implementation and enforcement of a strict Deobandi form of sharia (Islamic law) throughout Afghanistan. The group originated in the Pashtun belt of southern and eastern Afghanistan in… Read more »

Security Hotspots IHS Country Risk assesses the most volatile security hotspots in the region   South China Sea: rising tensions China has laid claims on most of the islets in the South China Sea (SCS), most of which are actively disputed by the other states in the region, including Vietnam and the Philippines. Although several… Read more »

As armoured vehicles continue to evolve, Timothy Compston finds that appropriate operator training can be as important as ballistic protection in hostile environments   The technologies used in armouring and up-armouring vehicles have moved on rapidly in recent years, and are now widely deployed by police, NGOs, VIPs and border patrol personnel across the world’s… Read more »

Anthony Tucker-Jones reports on Nato’s highly controversial missile shield that is fuelling fears of escalating confrontation with Russia   There is an old saying that history has a nasty habit of repeating itself. In the early 1960s, the US stationed missiles in Turkey; in retaliation, the Soviet Union deployed them into the Caribbean sparking the… Read more »

Patrik Anderson explores the unique challenges of securing ports and cargo, and argues that IP-based surveillance systems offer multi-layered protection from terrorist threats   Shipping ports are a vital lifeline for supplying the world’s population with the necessities of living. Between land, rail and sea, ports are the hubs of far-reaching networks that connect suppliers… Read more »

Dean La-Vey outlines the various types of counter-surveillance training available, and argues that every TSCM operator should engage in constant re-training to stay ahead of the threats   Technical surveillance countermeasure (TSCM) training can broadly be divided into two distinct areas – training specifically on the operation of TSCM equipment, and training on the procedural… Read more »