. CÉRIUM Summer School UNDERSTANDING AND PREVENTING

.
CÉRIUM Summer School
UNDERSTANDING AND PREVENTING
TERRORISM
Montreal, July 6th to 11th
2009
Seminar CRI 6233 B
Interdisciplinary seminar on Terrorism
École de criminologie
Syllabus
Director
Stéphane Leman-Langlois
Professor
School of Criminology, Université de Montréal
Director, Terrorism and Counter-terrorism Research Group
(TCRG)
[email protected]
Co-director
Azzédine Rakkah
Visiting Professor
Political Science, Université de Montréal
Research Director, FNSP and CERI, Paris
[email protected]
Coordinator
Tara Felicia Browne
Masters candidate in criminology (M.Sc.)
[email protected]
Place
3744, rue Jean-Brillant
Université de Montréal
Montréal, Quebec, Canada
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Participants
The conferences are designed for graduate students as well as for external participants interested in the
topics covered in the course. Undergraduates can register if they obtain both the approval of their
academic director and of the Université de Montréal department offering the Summer School. The
aim of this seminar is to encourage students, NGOs, government representatives, business people and
the general public to actively share and engage in dynamic discussions. This course can be credited as
a 3-credit graduate seminar for Master's degree students. Undergraduate students wishing to register as
credited students will need to get a special authorization from the academic authority of their
department.
Course structure
The speaker(s) will give a lecture during the first part of each conference (for approximately an hour
and a half). Following a short break, the session will conclude with an open discussion.
Description
Terrorism is one of the most complex phenomena in modern societies. Yet in many respects it presents
a deceivingly simple, obvious face, with spectacular attacks, mass murder and horrific destruction. To
the more attentive observer, however, the multiple nuances and varieties of “terrorisms” have made it
impossible to produce an authoritative definition. Still, “mega crimes” continue to make victims
worldwide and if we want to rely on more than luck in order to prevent or at least reduce their
frequency and severity, it is necessary to gain an understanding of their methods: is the targeting of
civilians a deliberate tactic? Is violence a means used to support a political or religious message, and
what is the difference? How do terrorist organisations recruit and train their members? Understanding
terrorism means understanding the contexts of terrorism. While some parts of the world seem like
natural incubators of terrorism (e.g. Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan), why has Europe also
had its share of so-called “home-grown” terrorists? This series of courses will also consider one
important and often overlooked facet of terrorism: the action of governments. This includes the
prevention and repression of terrorism, of course, both when the rule of law is respected and when it is
not, and also instances of governments using terrorists to their ends or simply sliding into state
terrorism. This is important since terrorism is a constructed reality, fluid and dynamic and heavily
contingent on the context in which it takes place.
Readings
Selected readings for each of the conferences will be made available on the seminar’s website. An
access code will be attributed to each student.
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Evaluation
Students will be graded based on the following requirements:
For all students
1. Participation in debates
2. Report on one of the readings
20%
30%
For undergraduate students
3A. Final report on a seminar topic
50%
For graduate students
3B. Case study applying knowledge acquired
50%
Participation in debates (20%)
Students must attend all courses and do the required readings before each class. Based on their
understanding of the readings and of information presented by the lecturer, students are expected to
take part in discussions after the workshops by formulating pertinent, structured questions and
observations.
Report on one of the readings (30%)
Students must prepare a report based on the mandatory and suggested readings for one of the
scheduled lectures (to be chosen by the student). This report must focus on the various authors'
reasoning, arguments and conclusions. Students must succeed in synthesizing what they have read
and not simply summarize readings one after the other.
Length of report: maximum 5 pages
Deadline for submission: Monday, July 14, 11:59 p.m.; the report must be submitted
electronically to the academic supervisor ([email protected]). All late submissions will
be penalized.
Final Report – Undergraduate students (50%)
Undergraduate students must choose a research subject linked to one of the topics of the course. This
choice must be submitted to the academic supervisor for approval by Saturday, July 11, at the latest.
The report to be submitted should analyze the chosen topic in light of the presentations given during
the week-long course.
The final report must absolutely be sent electronically to the academic supervisor
([email protected]) by August 15, 2009, at 11:59 p.m. at the latest. All late submissions
will be penalized.
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Length of work: 10 pages maximum with one and a half spaces between lines in Arial 10 or Times
12. Must include complete references.
Case study – Graduate students (50%)
Graduate students must submit a case study whose subject must first be submitted for approval by
Saturday, July 11, at the latest. The study will focus on a single case of terrorism or anti-terrorism
and develop a deeper understanding of it based on the pertinent notions presented during the lectures
and readings.
The case study must absolutely be sent electronically to the academic supervisor
([email protected]) by August 15, 2009, at 11:59 p.m. at the latest. All late submissions
will be penalized.
Length of case study: 10 pages maximum, with one and a half line spacing, Arial 10 or Times 12
typeface. Must include complete references.
NB: Considering that the quality of writing is indispensable to a clear understanding of ideas,
students are asked to pay particular attention to the quality of their written English. Spelling, syntax
and grammatical errors will be noted and can account for a loss of up to 10 per cent of marks for the
assignment.
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Conference details
Day 1 – July 6, 2009
8 a.m. - 9 a.m.
Registrations
9 a.m. - 12 noon
Government accounts of terrorist disasters
Lecturer
Stéphane Roussel
Professor
Political Science, UQAM
Holder of the Chaire de recherche du Canada en politiques
étrangères et de défenses canadiennes
Suggested readings
1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
What can we know, and what do we know about terrorism
This introductory presentation will examine the definitions of terrorism, the exportability of the
subject known as terrorism, the reliability of statistics on terrorism and the various theories that have
been developed to explain the phenomenon.
Lecturer
Stéphane Leman-Langlois
Professor
School of Criminology, Universite de Montréal
Director, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Research Group (TCRG)
Mandatory readings
Ì Hamilton, Dwight et Kostas Rimsa (2007), Terror Threat: International and Homegrown
Terrorists and their Threat to Canada, ch. 4, "Homefront," 57-75.
Suggested readings
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Ì
Noël, André (2007), « Terrorisme et journalisme : un témoignage », Charles-Philippe
David et Benoît Gagnon, Repenser le terrorisme, concepts, acteurs et réponses, Québec,
Presses de l’Université Laval, 111-138.
4:45 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Opening cocktail
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Day 2 – July 7, 2009
9 a.m. - 12 noon
Judicial responses to terrorism
The aim of this lecture is to present the social, political and judicial dynamics that underpin the
development and use of legal anti-terrorism measures adopted in Europe and North America after
September 11, 2001. The result of a unique political context, the judicial responses to terrorism
have had as a direct consequence the redefinition of relations between states and individuals,
notably concerning recourse to "legitimate violence." Through a call for the harmonization of
regional and international rules, European and North American states have introduced new
infractions and procedures into their penal codes which raise forceful questions concerning respect
for civil liberties. Preventive arrests, prisoner transfers and unlimited detention of foreigners
suspected of terrorism have become judicially and politically legitimized practices. In these
conditions, understanding the judicial response to terrorism requires a consideration in the same
analysis of the way in which judicial authorities (courts of first and last instance) tend to legitimize
or reformulate these new judicial measures.
Lecturer
Antoine Mégie
Temporary Professor
Université de Versailles
Postdoctoral (2008), Centre international de criminologie comparée
Ph.D. Political Science (2007), Institut d’Études politiques de Paris
(Science Po Paris), France
Suggested readings
Ì Dimitroulias, Sophie, « L’humanisme juridique européen à l’épreuve du terrorisme : le
crépuscule de la clémence ? », L’Homme et la société, n°159, 2006, p 111-132
Ì Guild, Elspeth, « Agamben face aux juges. Souveraineté, exception et antiterrorisme »,
Cultures et Conflits, n°51, 2003, p 127-156.
Ì Guiraudon, Virginie, « La coopération transatlantique après le 11 septembre : l’enjeu de la
sécurité intérieure », Critique internationale, n° 28, 2005, p. 21-35.
Ì Lavorel, Sabine, « Les États-Unis, la guerre contre le terrorisme et l’argument de
nécessité », dans David, Charles Philippe, GAGNON, Benoît (dir.), Repenser le
terrorisme: concept, acteurs et réponses, Québec, Presses de l’Université Laval, 2007.
Ì Michaelsen, Christopher, « Derogating from International Human Rights Obligations in
the « War Against Terrorism » ? A British-Australian Perspective », Terrorism and
Political Violence, vol. 17 (1-2), 2005, p. 131-155.
Ì Mégie, Antoine, « Le 11 septembre: élément accélérateur de la coopération judiciaire
européenne? Le cas du mandat d’arrêt européen », Cahiers de la sécurité intérieure, n°55,
2004, p. 91-120.
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Ì
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Mégie, Antoine, « La lutte antiterroriste et les libertés publiques : les ambigüités
européennes », Revue Questions Internationales, Paris, La Documentation française, n°34,
novembre 2008.
Tsoukala, Anastassia, « La légitimation des mesures d’exception dans la lutte antiterroriste
en Europe », Cultures & Conflits, Paris, l’Harmattan, n° 61, p. 35-50, 2006.
Ronald, Daniels, Macklem, Patrick, Roach Kent (dir), The security of freedom essays on
Canada’s anti-terrorism bill, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2001.
Scheppelle, Kim Lane, « Le droit de la sécurité internationale. Le terrorisme et l’empire
sécuritaire de l’après-11 septembre », Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales, n° 173,
2008, p 28-43.
1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Sociology of networks
In this lecture, anti-terrorism policies and in particular the way in which they deal with "Islamist
networks," especially since September 11, 2002, will be discussed. Based on the French, British and
Spanish contexts, the goal will be to identify the networks in question, the national public-security
traditions and the cultural and religious definitions of risk and threat, to identify concepts with which
to grasp what is at stake in Islamization and radicalization, and finally to compare the effects of these
policies on Muslim populations as a whole.
Lecturer
Valérie Amiraux
Professor
Sociology, Université de Montréal
Holder of Canada’s Research Chair in Religious Pluralism and Ethnicity
Studies, reseacher for the CNRS
Suggested readings
Ì Olivier Roy, “Al Qaeda in the West as a Youth Movement: the Power of a Narrative”, in
Michael Emerson (ed) Ethno religious conflict in Europe. Typologies of radicalisation in
Europe’s Muslim Communities, Brussels, CEPS, 2009.
Ì Luis Martinez, « Structures, environnement et basculement dans le jihadisme », Cultures &
Conflits, 69, printemps 2008, [En ligne], mis en ligne le 17 juin 2008. URL :
http://www.conflits.org/index10912.html. Consulté le 20 mai 2009.
Ì Valérie Amiraux « Suspicion publique et gouvernance de l’intime : Contrôle et
surveillance des populations musulmanes dans l’Union européenne », in Bigo, D, Guillet,
E et Scherrer, A (dir), Mobilités sous surveillance. Perspectives croisées Union
européenne-Canada, Paris, 2009.
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Day 3 – July 8, 2009
9 a.m. -12 noon
A history of counter-violence in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is one of the most important countries in the Middle East today, and its history provides
key elements for the understanding of contemporary radical networks. This lecture will present the
history of the complex relationship in Saudi Arabia between structural violence and counter-violence,
economics and politics, globalization and activism. We will demonstrate how Saudi Arabia, which
was a marginal force in the world at the beginning of the 20th Century, has progressively become a
major crossroads between the current global order and its opponents.
Lecturer
Pascal Ménoret
Lecturer
Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University
Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Institute for the Transregional Study of
the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia (Princeton University)
Suggested readings
Ì Robert Vitalis. America’s Kingdom. Mythmaking on the Saudi Oil Frontier. Stanford :
Stanford University Press, 2007.
Ì Madawi Al-Rasheed. Contesting the Saudi State. Islamic Voices from a New Generation.
Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Ì Pascal Ménoret. L’Enigme Saoudienne. Les Saoudiens et le monde, 1744-2003. Paris : La
Découverte, 2003 (trad. anglaise 2005).
Ì Pascal Ménoret. “Fighting for the Holy Mosque : The 1979 Mecca Insurgency.” In Fair
and Ganguly (eds.). Treading on Hallowed Ground. Counterinsurgency Operations in
Sacred Spaces. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2008, p. 117-139.
1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Sociology of armed organizations
Lecturer
Azzédine Rakkah
Visiting professor
Political Science, Université de Montréal
Research Director, FNSP and CERI, Paris
Suggested readings
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Day 4 – July 9, 2009
9 a.m. - 12 noon
Policing terrorism
Lecturer
Harold O’Connell
RCMP
Mandatory readings
Ì Murray, John (2005), "Policing Terrorism: A Threat to Community Policing or Just a Shift in
Priorities?" Police Practice and Research, 6 (4), 347–361
1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Tactics, strategies, successes and failures of security intelligence
Lecturer
Confidential
Member of the intelligence community
Mandatory readings
Ì Herman, Michael (2003), Intelligence Power in Peace and War, ch. 3, "Resources, Stages and
Subjects," 36-60.
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Day 5 – July 10, 2009
9 a.m. - 12 noon
Counterterrorism and hybrid organizations: CATSA
Lecturer
Jacques Duchesneau
Retired director
Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA)
Suggested readings
1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Cyberterrorism and “netwars”
The rise of information and communications technologies has profoundly transformed the face of
society. It has, among other things, permitted the redistribution of some social power; it is now
easier for a handful of individuals to organize and amplify the impact of their acts vis-à-vis larger
organizations such as the state, for example. September 11, 2001, is, moreover, the archetypal
example of this kind of redistribution of power; some 20 individuals succeeded in changing the face
of international security. Since the attacks, many security analysts predict that exploitation of
information technologies by terrorist organizations will only grow. Some even foresee cyberterrorist
attacks. How do terrorists exploit information technologies? What is meant by cyberterrorism?
Should we fear this new type of terrorism?
Lecturer
Benoit Gagnon
Lecturer
School of Criminology, Université de Montréal / University of Sherbrooke
Associate Researcher
Mandatory readings
Ì Dishman, Chris (2005), « The Leaderless Nexus: When Crime and Terror Converge »
Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 28(3): 237-252
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Day 6 – July 11, 2009
9 a.m. - 12 noon
The media: information and disinformation
Lecturer
James Der Derian
Professor
Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University
Mandatory readings
Ì Der Derian, James (2005), "Before, After and In Between," D. Slocum, Terrorism, Media,
Liberation, 321-336.
12:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Journalism and terrorism (joint session)
Lecturer
Kim Bolan
Journalist
Vancouver Sun
Suggested readings
4 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Closing Cocktail and Certificate Ceremony
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