Changing the Game: The Evolving Threat of Female Terror Cells

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The threat of female terrorism is not new. In recent years, women have been amongst those caught planning bold attacks across Europe and spotted fighting for Daesh. Yet the tendency of security services to view women as victims, rather than as perpetrators, continues to hinder counterterrorism efforts, particularly in Britain. Britain’s current Prevent strategy aims to stop people becoming or supporting terrorists, but the strategy is ill-equipped to tackle the threat of female terror cells. With the fall of Daesh, the prospect of returning female radicals armed with the knowledge and ideological motivation to attack seems increasingly likely. This reality demands an urgent reassessment of the way we understand and combat female terror cells.

The Price of Solving the Macedonian Issue

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The name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has been a contentious issue for 25 years, polarising those who support the name and those who argue the state should not be called ‘Macedonia’. The Greek government has consistently fallen in the latter category. After many rounds of UN-mediated talks from the 1990s through to 2017 failed to reach a solution, the leaders of the two Balkan countries finally reached one in 2018 after months of negotiations.

Germany’s Phantom Debate: Why Germany Should Not Consider the Nuclear Option

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During the 2018 political summer break in Berlin, a debate that had already been considered buried in the dustbin of implausible ideas resurfaced. After Christian Hacke, a retired professor of political science, suggested that Germany ought to contemplate acquiring nuclear weapons in light of America’s waning reliability as a security guarantor, a phantom debate returned to Berlin’s strategic community. I will show why this debate about a German national nuclear arsenal is misguided. Acquisition of nuclear weaponry would not enhance Germany’s security – on the contrary, a German atomic bomb would compromise the country’s safety.

From a Tryst with Destiny to a Tryst with Hindutva

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In August 1947, India became a newly independent country and sought to move past the horrors of the brutal communal riots of 1946-47. Emerging from this shadow, the Indian government attempted to preserve the diverse social fabric of the nation by assuring the inclusion of all, and equity of treatment for minority groups, in the Indian Constitution. Today, however, India is on the brink of losing its secular credentials and jeopardising its security in the process.

Book Review: “Secret Victory”

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Northern Ireland and violence, whether criminal or political, remains a public issue. Dr William Matchett served with the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) for 30 years. He mainly worked in Special Branch, the RUC’s intelligence department. Matchett then became a police adviser in Afghanistan and Iraq, among other places. He adapted his doctoral thesis to write Secret Victory: The Intelligence War That Beat the IRA. It is available via the Secret Victory website as well as all good outlets.