ESSAYS
Barbara Lucini, Critica della radicalizzazione pura. Forme ibride di radicalizzazione estremista
This paper focuses on the analysis of the concepts and forms of radicalisation which lead peo¬ple to join or adhere to a specific extremist group.
The analysis has been carried out according to a secondary data analysis, providing interesting insights on the way the concept of radicalization can be understood.
Specifically, the analysis considers three forms of radicalization: organized terrorism and polit¬ical extremisms; hate crime and alternative movements.
All these three sociological groups cannot be considered such as a single social phenomenon without interconnection with other types of groups, but there is the possibility that many of them could be interrelated, making possible what has been defined “hybrid radicalization”. The findings of this preliminary research lead to a new scenario and approaches in understand¬ing the current extremist backdrops.
Key-Words:
Radicalisation, political extremisms, terrorism, hate crime.
Luca Bregantini, Graffiti warfare of the Islamic State in the Western urban places
The jihadist propaganda of the Islamic State takes advantage of many creative solutions, ranging from social networks and other web strategies to more traditional media. Sociologists, psychologists and most analysts investigating this matter have focused their attention on the Internet, neglecting the role of informal visual communication in urban context. The main goal of this contribution is to offer a scenario of ISIS graffiti role, focused in the western countries and to test the hypothesis that ISIS graffiti represent a weak signal of dangerous radicalization. I present a wide open ISIS graffiti inventory in western urban places. I analyze graffiti localization – from a geographical and a territorial point of view – graffiti language, and graffiti content, both textual and iconic. The analysis of almost eighty cases of western ISIS graffiti presents many interesting findings. Shortly the ISIS graffiti scenario presents mostly spray-vandalic writings and show aggressive messages against the western democracies and communities. Intriguingly, regression analysis suggests that the appearance of ISIS is a warning indicator of dangerous radicalization and a weak predictor of possible terrorist attacks under specific conditions.
Key-Words:
Graffiti warfare, Islamic State, ISIS graffiti, propaganda, weak signals
In recent years some of the most visited destinations in South Mediterranean such as Egypt and Tunisia have been targeted by a series of terrorist incidents that attacked symbolic spots of tourism industry such as museums, resorts, heritage sites and airports. As a consequence of the attacks the number of visitors have drastically fallen and tourism sector plunged into crisis. In order to cope with the loss of tourism demand, the authorities of those countries have taken a series of security measures in order to ensure the visitors’ safety in the most visited spots. Such security measures have been accompanied by a series of marketing campaigns aimed at reducing the risk perception by promoting a sort of “vicarious” resilience.
Through the sociological and semiotic analysis of the elements that characterize the main marketing campaigns lead by Tunisia affected by terrorism attacks in recent years, the present article highlights the communication strategies adopted for restoring the image of the safe destination and by doing so attract new flows.
Key-words:
Tourism, Terrorism, Communication, Travel safety, Resilience
ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES
Laris Gaiser, Critical infrastructures and cyber security: a fundamental economic intelligence issue
Global competition based on economic intelligence must be aware that critical infrastruc¬tures are the prerequisite for a state’s stability and competitiveness. In Italy, in spite of the openings of Law 124/2007, the implementation of an economic intelligence policy that can help the country to regain international competitiveness, has not yet been implement¬ed. However – despite the lack of a systemic approach – the decision makers have shown interest for cyber security sector. This article seeks to emphasize how the defense of critical infrastructures is connected to cyber security and how it should always be drawn on national priorities given the lack of a standard definitions of critical infrastructures at international level. Cyber threats are multifaceted and each state must handle it according to its own pri¬orities and according to its own institutional framework. With the Gentiloni Decree dated February 2017, the government has entrusted Security Intelligence Department (DIS) with the task of managing vulnerabilities and establishing the necessary collaboration for greater country-system resilience.
Key-words:
economic intelligence, critical infrastructure, cybersecurity
In the last few years a growing attention on illicit antiquities has risen from the white towers of the academic world to the wide public. The Islamic State (IS), as well as other terroris¬tic and insurgent groups, exploited the cultural heritage at their disposal both as a tool of propaganda and a source of income. However, they could count on a solid network in the region that has been in the business for decades now. This leads to the question: how do such networks work?
The aim of this article is to shed light on the illicit market of art and specifically antiquities, with particular focus on the structures, agents and techniques of the various criminal orga¬nizations and dealers in the field. This will be done by giving practical examples for each dimension analyzed, from low-level so called “tombaroli” (grave robbers and alike) to power¬ful international dealers, from the trenches of war-thorn countries to the highest skyscrapers of the industrialized world.
Moreover, since the “great raid” against MENA region antiquities is facing one of the most brutal pages of its history, an analysis of the Islamic State “department of antiquities” and modus operandi will be given. Finally, the study will provide indicators for a better under¬standing of this complex phenomenon and the menaces that threat our society.
Key-words:
patrimonio culturale, traffico illecito, antichità, Stato Islamico
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