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1. CTC Sentinel: February 2025 Issue

Author:
Moustafa Ayad, Paul Cruickshank, and Munira Mutaffa
Publication Date:
03-2025
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
CTC Sentinel
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
In this month’s feature article, Moustafa Ayad examines 93 unofficial Islamic State groups and outlets operating across social media platforms and messaging applications to understand how the Islamic State’s digital ecosystem is fostering teenage terrorism. He writes that an “ecosystem of unofficial Islamic State groups and their supporters are continuing to flaunt their ability to use social media platforms for recruitment and propaganda” with youngsters “interacting with and producing Islamic State content in new shapes and forms.” He adds that the unofficial Islamic State propagandists are “finding innovative, low budget hacks to the hurdles placed in their way by social media companies and messaging applications. The Islamic State’s digital ecosystem is thriving, and the outlets within it are not just flaunting an ability to game platforms, but are similarly expanding their presence onto new emerging applications, allowing them to fight off coordinated efforts and automated approaches intended to stop their spread.” Our interview is with Deputy Chief David Kowalski, the commanding officer of the Counter-Terrorism and Special Operations Bureau at the Los Angeles Police Department. His department is increasingly focused on keeping the upcoming Olympics in the city safe. He says: “We’ve been preparing for the 2028 Olympics for the past seven years. Each year, our preparation and development becomes more advanced. We work closely with all the agencies throughout the city, which includes our mayor’s office, the fire department, our federal agencies, the emergency management department of the city, and it’s a whole regional approach to making sure these games are successful.” He adds: “We’ve worked very closely with our partners in Paris this past summer. … From a counterterrorism point of view, we’ve had the opportunity to look at what worked in Paris and in lessons learned, and that’s been very beneficial to us as we move into 2028.” He further notes that “the threats to Los Angeles and the rest of the country continue to become more sophisticated. Over the past six years working in the field, the threat environment has never been so diverse and changing, and we must remain ahead of how these threats can impact our cities.” Munira Mustaffa provides a case study of the May 2024 Ulu Tiram attack in Malaysia. She writes that the attack “illuminates how an isolated familial environment, driven by a fanatical father’s extreme religious ideology, systematically groomed the attacker through a distorted theological narrative that reframed violence as a spiritual purification ritual and pathway to salvation.” She adds that the case study demonstrates “how self-imposed ideological exiles can create significant challenges for monitoring and intervention, thus underscoring the urgent need for sophisticated approaches that move beyond simplistic categorizations of terrorist sympathizers.”
Topic:
Terrorism, Counter-terrorism, Islamic State, Ideology, Recruitment, and Digital Space
Political Geography:
Malaysia, North America, Southeast Asia, Los Angeles, and United States of America

2. The ruralisation of violence and the criminalisation of conflict in Nigeria

Author:
Joseph Ochogwu
Publication Date:
04-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Conflict Trends
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
This article interrogates to what extent rural spaces are affected by criminal recruitment and the perpetuation of violent conflict and crime. It further examines the drivers of the ruralisation of violence and how it affects the nature of violent conflict in Nigeria. It identifies the impact of the ruralisation of violence and criminalisation on conflict resolution and peacebuilding efforts, as well as exploring existing security measures, law enforcement measures, and community engagement programmes to promote sustainable peace, especially in rural Nigeria. Adeleke et al.1 note that historically, rural areas, by their very nature, are known for social cohesion and rural dwellers are closely knitted such that there are shared emotions, strong family bonds, religious ties, and mutual trust, indirectly fostering effective crime control in rural areas. Ezejughu2 states that urban areas have been centres known for intense organised crime, with high levels of urban poverty, congestion, unemployment, and moral decadence contributing to violent crimes like murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, terrorism, and high rural-urban migration. This, in turn, has an impact on crime and conflict. Today, our understanding of rural communities has significantly evolved in Nigeria. They have become unsafe and contested spaces marked by limited State presence, inadequate infrastructure, and scarce resources. According to Ojo et al.,3 these conditions create fertile ground for violent conflicts and the recruitment of conflict participants. The absence of effective governance and security forces further exacerbates the situation, allowing extremist groups or criminal organisations to exploit the vacuum of state authority, thereby contributing to the cycle of instability in rural Nigeria. In 2020, Gustin and Slavic4 highlighted that rural regions, once primarily engaged in agriculture, have diversified their functions. Presently, rural areas are multifunctional and, unfortunately, have also become hotspots for criminal activities and violent conflicts in Nigeria. A typical example is the northern region of Nigeria, where there is an increased occurrence of terrorism, banditry, insurgency, and kidnapping.
Topic:
Conflict, Violence, Rural, Recruitment, and Criminalization
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

3. Ensuring Excellence: A Guide for Cultivating Healthy High-Performing Agencies

Author:
Lisa Coleman, Nicholas Hart, Peter Hutchinson, Kathryn Newcomer, and Sean O'Keefe
Publication Date:
09-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)
Abstract:
Many public agencies have long struggled to build their workforce given laborious and time-consuming hiring practices, limited salary flexibilities, and promotion rules that value longevity over expertise and performance. Effective recruitment and retention practices are especially critical with the current wave of public service retirements. This report is a playbook for agency leaders and managers with practical strategies and evidence-based practices to improve their agency’s organizational health in order to achieve meaningful and measurable results. The report underscores how important a strong internal culture focused on high performance is to the delivery of essential public services. Among other things, the playbook includes: Guidance on how to continually assess and adapt to evolving work environments, Practices to enhance organizational health to achieve results, and Resource links and case examples to support implementation of these strategies and actions.
Topic:
Recruitment, Implementation, Public Administration, and Organizational Assessment
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

4. What Role Can Immigration Play in Addressing Current and Future Labor Shortages?

Author:
Kate Hooper
Publication Date:
04-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Labor shortages are a pressing concern for policymakers and employers alike in many countries around the world. As pandemic-era economic disruptions have collided with longer-running workforce trends, these shortages have become more acute but also hard to predict. Immigration can play an important role in addressing labor shortages—and in some economies and sectors, already does. But there is a robust debate about the extent to which countries should rely on admitting immigrants to address these shortages, and how this should be balanced against other, more far-reaching policy interventions in education and training, labor, and social policy that would boost the labor market participation of resident native- and foreign-born workers. This policy brief examines how immigration can help address labor shortages, the trade-offs that governments must navigate, and current and potential approaches to factoring labor shortages into economic immigration policies. The brief is part of a series of policy analyses and blueprints being generated under MPI’s Global Skills and Talent Initiative, which is exploring the role that immigration can play in addressing workforce needs and skills gaps in rapidly evolving labor markets.
Topic:
Education, Immigration, Employment, Vocational Training, COVID-19, Recruitment, and Labor Market
Political Geography:
Global Focus

5. Consolidating Gains: Lessons and Priorities for Promoting Fair and Ethical Recruitment

Author:
Kate Hooper
Publication Date:
12-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Moving to another country for work is far from a new phenomenon, but questions of how and under what conditions workers are recruited across international borders have attracted increased scrutiny in the last decade and a half. This attention has been spurred by the rising number of people on the move in search of employment and growing awareness of the risks involved, including the potential for exploitation, human trafficking, and forced labor. Considerable progress has been made in developing a consensus about what fair and ethical recruitment could and should look like. This has involved, among other things, defining recruitment fees and other related costs; pushing for the principle that employers, not workers, should bear the costs of recruitment; establishing guidance for different industries and stakeholders; and developing recommendations on how governments can better regulate recruitment. The next, formidable challenge will be building on this significant progress and more fully implementing recruitment standards so that more migrant workers benefit from them. This policy brief explores progress toward fair and ethical recruitment to date and priorities for future work by governments, employers, and recruiters. The brief results from a multiyear research partnership between MPI and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation’s Thematic Section Migration and Forced Displacement to support the development of global solutions for migration-related challenges.
Topic:
Development, Migration, Employment, Ethics, Economy, and Recruitment
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6. Russian Spring 2022 Recruitment Cycle

Author:
Joris Van Bladel
Publication Date:
07-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
EGMONT - The Royal Institute for International Relations
Abstract:
In May 2022, we published our Egmont Paper 116 entitled The Russian Soldiers’ Question Revisited, in which we suggested, “The current spring recruitment cycle (1 April-15 July 2022) may be considered a more accurate indication of popular support for Putin’s war in Ukraine than the results of public opinion research as we know it. Therefore, the 2022 spring recruitment cycle may be regarded as a referendum on Russia’s war in Ukraine with the voenkomati as its voting stations.” Near the end of this recruitment period, it is time to return to this statement. How did the spring recruitment cycle go, and which conclusion can we draw from it? A critical review.
Topic:
Military Strategy, Civil-Military Relations, Recruitment, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Russia and Europe

7. Risks, Recruits, and Plots: Understanding and Mitigating the Influence of the Islamic State in Malaysia

Author:
Amira Jadoon, Nakissa Jahanbani, Elina Noor, Marley Carroll, and William Frangia
Publication Date:
08-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
This report traces the evolution of the Islamic State’s influence in Malaysia between January 2014 and December 2019, shedding light on the various local and international factors that facilitated the rise of the Islamic State’s influence in the country. In addition to considering underlying historical and current sociopolitical factors, the report draws on original data on Islamic State-affiliated arrests and plots to uncover new insights about the men and women who were arrested due to their involvement with the Islamic State’s brand of militancy in Malaysia. The overall findings of the report indicate a few macroscopic trends about the Islamic State’s activities in Malaysia over six years. First, the Syrian civil war played a major role in shaping Malaysia’s militant landscape with respect to the Islamic State threat—both as a destination and as a source of radicalization and recruitment for the Islamic State—which is largely characterized by disparate cells and social media platforms. Second, between 2014 and 2019, there were a total of 23 reported plots in six Malaysian states or federal territories, with only one resulting in casualties—indicative of the Islamic State’s limited operational capacity in the country. Third, with regard to tactics, compared to the Philippines and Indonesia, Malaysian plotters did not turn to suicide attacks to the same extent: Per the authors’ data, there was only a single report of a planned suicide attack. However, Malaysian fighters were involved in planning or conducting suicide attacks in Iraq, Syria, and the Philippines. Finally, the report also yields interesting findings about the profiles of the arrests of Islamic State-affiliated individuals in Malaysia, which totaled 319 people between 2014 and 2019 across 15 provinces. The majority of the individuals arrested were Malaysian men, although the arrests also included women, with limited numbers of Indonesians and Filipinos. For men, the largest number of arrests was in the “planning/threatening attack” category while for women, the largest category across the six years was “attempted/planned travel.” Overall, the findings of this report suggest that one of the most dangerous characteristics associated with the Islamic State’s influence in Malaysia is its potential to radicalize and mobilize both men and women inspired by its extreme ideology without the existence of a formal Islamic State affiliate. The report concludes with a discussion of the need and potential pathways to strengthen community resilience to violent extremism within Malaysia.
Topic:
Non State Actors, Violent Extremism, Counter-terrorism, Islamic State, and Recruitment
Political Geography:
Malaysia and Southeast Asia

8. Reassessing Recruitment Costs in a Changing World of Labor Migration

Author:
Kate Hooper
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Recent years have seen national governments, multilateral organizations, civil society, and private-sector groups take steps to promote the fair and ethical recruitment of migrant workers, including efforts to reduce or eliminate recruitment costs. High recruitment costs can result in workers taking on a financial burden that can only be serviced through high-interest loans or debt bondage, placing them in a more vulnerable position and curtailing the income they can then save or send to loved ones via remittances. Still, progress to address recruitment costs has been uneven to date, and the pandemic has been a major setback. The public-health crisis has seen some existing costs rise or fluctuate wildly and new ones emerge (e.g., fees associated with COVID-19 testing and quarantine), with particularly pronounced effects in low- and middle-skilled sectors and informal employment. This has put working abroad out of reach for some would-be migrants while exposing others who travel abroad for work to new risks. This policy brief explores how the pandemic has affected costs for migrant workers at every stage of their journey, with a focus on new public-health measures and other additional expenses. It also reflects on what these developments mean for future efforts to promote fair and ethical recruitment. The brief is the first publication resulting from a multiyear research partnership between MPI and the SDC’s Thematic Section Migration and Forced Displacement to support the development of global solutions for migration-related challenges.
Topic:
International Cooperation, International Organization, Labor Issues, Governance, Employment, Economy, COVID-19, Recruitment, Immigration Policy, and Recession
Political Geography:
Global Focus

9. Building genuine trust: A framework and strategy for Indigenous STEM and cyber pathways

Author:
Huon Curtis, Dion Devow, Khwezi Nkwanyana, Matthew Page, and Meg Thompson
Publication Date:
04-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI)
Abstract:
Indigenous recruitment and retention in the Australian Defence organisation is defined by a high target of 5% participation in the armed services and 3% in the Australian Public Service component of the Defence Department by 2025. The participation target is a point of pride and a source of clear goodwill and has provided momentum in several areas of Defence for Indigenous employment and pathways. However, the individual areas of success and effort are yet to translate into an effective whole-of-Defence framework with cohesive lines of effort. This policy report suggests how that can change. It provides a framework and strategy for Defence to support science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) recruitment and retention and cybersecurity careers, particularly through engagement with the vocational education and training system and through targeted relationship building with university- and school-based Indigenous STEM initiatives. We propose that Defence should enact a wider set of supporting measures—particularly in data and reporting to track professional development—that’s more likely to create more sustainable success that delivers organisational improvements and outcomes for Defence. That should include mechanisms to enhance the achievements of the Indigenous Procurement Policy. Defence must ensure that it meets its immediate skills shortfalls as well as its long-term obligations under the Closing the Gap initiative and the Defence Reconciliation Action Plan to foster genuine and meaningful relationships built upon trust with Indigenous peoples. We suggest how that’s possible through a framework and 56 recommendations focusing on 12 areas of activity: data, reporting and user-experience web design; career pathways; defence and technology contractors; community engagement; procurement and business development; veterans’ employment and procurement; the vocational education sector; universities; recruitment; retention; coordination with other public agencies; and international partnerships. Action on those recommendations will ensure that Defence is an employer of choice and fosters genuine and meaningful trust with Australia’s Indigenous peoples. And it will also build Defence’s capability to keep our nation safe and secure in a more dangerous world.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Armed Forces, Cybersecurity, Indigenous, Recruitment, and STEM
Political Geography:
Australia

10. Debates on Administrative Reform in India: Examinations and Recruitment

Author:
Archana Sivasubramanian
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Policy Research, India
Abstract:
Over the last 50 years, norms for recruitment in the Indian Civil Services have undergone several changes to reflect the needs of the administration, the aspirations of a democratic society and the changes in the country’s political economy. There were two developments that led to these changes. The first development is domestic in nature—reform committees were set up to examine the different features of the examination and the recruitment system for entry into the All India Civil Services. A reform committee setup under A.D. Gorwala in 1951, published independent India’s first report on public administration. Subsequent reform committees addressed several other aspects of the Civil Services examination system including educational qualifications, age for entry into the services, number of attempts and service allocation rules. The second, and a connected development is international in its scope and nature. Other Westminster democracies across the world were implementing new theories of public management—such as market-oriented reform of the Civil Services—and these developments advanced India’s thinking on reforms for its own Civil Services. Every reform committee has highlighted the importance of the recruitment exercise as a channel to draw people with merit into the services. Reforms were proposed to “weed out the dead wood” and professionalise the Civil Services in order to realise an efficient, incorrupt and a result-oriented bureaucracy (Alagh Committee, 2001, p. 35). This, the committees suggested, must be routed through the recruitment funnel by finding the ‘right type of persons’—candidates who can combine intellectual competence with a strong ethical value system and a positive public service orientation. An important objective of the recruitment system has been to also ensure that the Civil Services is more equal and representative and guarantees representation to historically underrepresented groups through recruitment quotas. However, some studies have argued that the recruitment pattern reveals a distinct upper caste, urban bias, stressing the need for corrective measures to democratise the Civil Services (Barik, 2004). Keeping this backdrop in mind, many debates pertinent to the recruitment and examination architecture have been held. On the surface, these debates appear to be procedural as they concern themselves with questions about age limits and number of attempts that applicants are eligible for. But a closer examination of the debates reveals that they are also fundamentally about questions of meritocracy and representation in the Civil Services. The Civil Services Examination (CSE ) is expected to allow for equal opportunity and representation of all castes and classes in the Services. In addition, meritocracy plays an important role in the design of this system, but there are discussions on the validity of this idea of merit itself. Examining some of these debates will serve as entry points for us to understand the examination and recruitment apparatus, a small but critical cog in the machinery of India’s bureaucracy. The main objective of this working paper on examinations and recruitment in the Civil Services is to trace the origins of these debates in order to contextualise the present through an understanding of the past. The focus of this working paper is only on the All India Civil Services, although equally interesting and meaningful, reforms in the State Civil Services institutions—like the Punjab government’s decision to mandate 33 percent reservation for women in direct recruitment for the Punjab Civil Services—have not been touched upon. There is a large volume of material to explore on the State Civil Services and we hope that this working paper lays the foundation for further studies in this regard. This working paper analyses various committee reports that were set up to reform the Civil Services. Most of the analyses are drawn from the Kothari Commission Report (1977), the Satish Chandra Committee Report (1989), the Alagh Committee Report (2001), the P. C. Hota Committee Report (2004) and the Second Administrative Reforms Commission Report (Second ARC) (2009). Figure 1 outlines a timeline of committees that have made important observations on the debates on examinations and selection. The committee reports reveal a discernible pattern—three key debates that have been found to recur over and over again: eligibility status, examination process and service allocation. These debates may not cover the entire gamut of arguments but have been addressed in this paper because of the importance given to them in the committee reports and their relevance to contemporary India. Overall, this working paper does three things: first, it synthesises the main ideas from the reform committee reports; second, through a discussion section, it highlights the normative principles that underpin the selection processes and third, it asks a few open-ended questions that warrant careful analysis, stakeholder conversations, and reflection.
Topic:
Reform, Recruitment, and Civil Services
Political Geography:
South Asia and India