Defeating groups such as al-Qaeda (AQ) and Daesh cannot be done through military means alone, but will require a much more detailed understanding of the ideology and theology driving them and encouraging their recruits. A …
Articles by: "Isaac Kfir"
In a new ASPI report, Terrorism in the Indo-Pacific: glocalism comes of age, I assess al‑Qaeda and Daesh’s commitment to establishing a presence in the Indo-Pacific from which they intend to promote their destructive ideology. …
Bruce Hoffman, a premier terrorism scholar, has suggested that there are around 3,000 al-Qaeda members in Indonesia. The number of Daesh supporters, sympathisers and followers remains unknown. That estimate—it’s unclear how Hoffman arrived at his figure—should …
After the deaths of Osama bin Laden and several other leaders in 2011 and 2012, followed by the rise of Islamic State, many considered al-Qaeda ‘a spent force’. But in an important brief, (with an …
This weekend Malcolm Turnbull will host the leaders of the ASEAN countries attending the ASEAN–Australia Special Summit. The summit draws from the 2016 Defence White Paper and the 2017 foreign policy white paper, both which …
Iraq is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections in May. At least 28 Iraqi political parties associated with paramilitaries that fought Islamic State (IS) have registered to run candidates. Many of these parties, like their ‘parent’ …
In early September 2017, several practitioners, policymakers and academics travelled from Australia to the Academy of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) to participate in the 3rd ASPI–KAS Australia–Europe Counterterrorism Dialogue, entitled ‘Transforming the New Threat …
On 10 February, the world woke up to the news that Israeli fighter jets had hit Iranian targets in Syria. The altercation highlights the dangerous game that Russia is now playing in the eastern Mediterranean. …
President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is driven by two main considerations. First, Xi recognises that the Chinese Communist Party’s survival is dependent on China’s ability to continue to serve as the world’s …
On 20 January, the Turkish armed forces began Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, an area of Syria controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), one of the key opposition groups to the regime of …
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has redefined Turkey’s foreign policy, making it more independent and nationalist. The key to the new policy is a shift in Turkey’s security concerns, as the country has become less fearful of …
On 4 December, Houthi rebels in Yemen killed former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. A few days earlier, Saleh had ended his three-year-old alliance with the Houthis and sought to re-establish relations with Saudi Arabia. Saleh’s …