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11. The People of the PLA 2.0

Author:
Roy Kamphausen
Publication Date:
07-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
Abstract:
The 27th annual People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Conference—“The People in the PLA” 2.0—revisited a theme first explored at the 2006 conference but understudied since. This volume examines how the structure, education, training, and recruitment of PLA personnel have changed in the last decade and in the Xi Jinping era. Structural changes in the PLA have centered around two poles: improving the warfighting readiness of the PLA and strengthening Communist Party of China (CPC) control of the PLA. Reforms to the political work system, the evolution of the Second Artillery into the Rocket Force, and expansion of the PLA’s foreign-based force posture all indicate that the PLA is accelerating its drive to become a world-class military. To succeed in future “informatized” wars, the PLA recognizes it must improve its members’ education level. It seeks to leverage better China’s civilian education system while also addressing legacy issues that frustrate professional military education and the care of its veterans. The PLA is also reforming joint education and seeking insight from its exchanges and interactions with other nations’ militaries. The revamping of its academic institutions to support better its most technical and advanced entities for network warfare and other operations is indicative of the PLA’s fast-paced evolution.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Armed Forces, Xi Jinping, Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Recruitment, Professional Military Education, and People's Liberation Army (PLA)
Political Geography:
China and Asia

12. Seasonal Worker Programs in Europe: Promising Practices and Ongoing Challenges

Author:
Kate Hooper and Camille Le Coz
Publication Date:
02-2020
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Seasonal worker programs represent one of the few ways in which low-skilled workers can migrate legally to the European Union, enabling them to work in sectors such as agriculture, hospitality, and tourism. Countries have taken different approaches to selecting seasonal workers, with some recruiting from within the European Union and others soliciting workers from third countries. But while some of these programs are long-established, they can struggle to meet labor demands swiftly while ensuring that workers are treated fairly and will return home when their permits expire. The European Commission has aimed to create common standards for seasonal workers’ admission, residence, and rights across Europe and to address longstanding issues such as worker exploitation, visa overstays, and hiring through the informal economy. As European policymakers take stock of these Commission-driven harmonization efforts to date, this brief by MPI Europe and the Research Unit of the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration (SVR) explores some of the challenges common to these programs, drawing on examples in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. It also highlights practices that can help maximize the benefits for migrants, employers, and countries of destination and origin alike. The authors sketch a number of principles to guide future reforms. Among them: prioritizing more transparent and standardized recruitment procedures, greater monitoring and outreach to protect seasonal workers, and strategies to help deliver on the thus far limited investments to support economic and social development in sending countries.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Employment, Economy, Recruitment, and Migrant Workers
Political Geography:
Europe

13. Legal Migration for Work and Training: Mobility Options to Europe for Those Not in Need of Protection

Author:
Hanne Beirens, Camille Le Coz, Kate Hooper, Karoline Popp, Jan Schneider, and Jeanette Süss
Publication Date:
10-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
EU Member States are struggling to deliver on the European Union's call to expand channels for foreign workers as a way to meet labor market needs and potentially tackle spontaneous migration. And their focus has been more on attracting high-skilled workers, rather than filling the low- and middle-skilled jobs that are increasingly open yet for which few channels to bring in third-country nationals exist. This report, which concludes a two-year research project conducted by the Research Unit of the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration (SVR) in cooperation with MPI Europe, provides an overview of mobility options open to low- and middle-skilled foreign workers, distilling findings from an analysis of policy in the European Union and case-study countries France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden. With national governments the central gatekeepers of labor migration into the European Union, the report studies the differing selection systems used. The liberal approach that relies on employer sponsorship, exemplified by Sweden, allows businesses to quickly fill demand, but risks fueling competition with the domestic workforce or lowering labor market standards. State-run steering tools, used by the other case-study countries, allow for greater control, but risk being slower, more resource intensive, and potentially less responsive to labor market needs. The authors caution that policymakers would do well not to overestimate the potential of legal channels to reduce irregular migration. They should instead consider existing and future migration policies in light of labor market, foreign policy, and development objectives.
Topic:
Migration, Immigration, Employment, Economy, and Recruitment
Political Geography:
Europe

14. LOST JOB—WILL TRAVEL: TRADE-RELATED JOB LOSSES AND MILITARY RECRUITMENT

Author:
Cullen S. Hendrix
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Political Violence @ A Glance
Abstract:
A new study shows how trade-related job losses translate into increases in military enlistment. While the study is convincing in its own right, it raises important questions and highlights one potential pitfall of political-economic analysis: focusing on partial equilibrium results in a full-equilibrium world. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA (or “NAFTA 1.1: Same Great Taste in a New Package!”), the trilateral trade, investment, and regulatory agreement that will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is still working its way through congressional approval in all three member nations. The political wrangling, which consumed most of 2018, was arduous and heated. Eventually, what emerged was a new trade deal that mostly kept NAFTA’s architecture in place and added to it many of the US-Canada-Mexico provisions included in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), to which all three countries were parties before President Trump withdrew the United States in January 2017.
Topic:
NAFTA, Trans-Pacific Partnership, Trade, USMCA, Recruitment, and Military
Political Geography:
Canada, North America, Mexico, and United States of America

15. The Mobilization and Recruitment of Foreign Fighters: The Case of Islamic State, 2012–2014

Author:
Almakan Orozobekova
Publication Date:
06-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
This article examines how foreign fighters were recruited and mobilized for Islamic State in 2012-2014. Institutional and individual approaches to this phenomenon form the basis of understanding the mechanisms used for the mobilization and recruitment of foreign fighters. The former refers to a terrorist institution that plays a key role in the recruitment of individuals (top-down/institutional), and the latter refers to the self-radicalization process that foreign fighters undergo (bottom-up/ individual). In particular, the research focuses on an analysis of Islamic State and the recruitment/mobilization of sixteen foreign fighters from Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, France, and the United Kingdom. The analysis shows that both top-down and bottom-up concepts are important but that the extent to which each is used depends on the profiles of the country in question. The study concludes by demonstrating the comparative value of top-down and bottom-up approaches in terms of understanding contemporary terrorist recruitment and providing policy recommendations.
Topic:
Terrorism, Islamic State, and Recruitment
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Europe, Middle East, France, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia

16. Counter-Narratives for Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) in South East Asia

Author:
Sara Zeiger
Publication Date:
05-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Hedayah
Abstract:
This meeting report is a summary and analysis of the preliminary results of the Expert workshop on South East Asia Collection of Counter-Narratives. Terrorism and violent extremism have been threats to South East Asia for decades, with local and international terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda historically establishing networks aligned with local conflicts. For example, Al-Qaeda has established connections with the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in the Philippines; Lashkar Jundullah in Indonesia; Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM) in Malaysia; and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The terrorist attack in Jakarta in January 2016 has served as a reminder that terrorism in South East Asia is still a current and ongoing threat. Moreover, it revealed that ad-Dawla Islamiyah fi al-Iraq wa asSham (Daesh or Islamic State of Iraq and as-Sham/ ISIS) is utilizing a similar model as Al-Qaeda has historically: establishing international networks and recruiting local actors in South East Asia to carry out their aims and objectives.
Topic:
Terrorism, Violent Extremism, Al Qaeda, Islamic State, Networks, and Recruitment
Political Geography:
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Southeast Asia

17. The Caliphate’s Global Workforce: An Inside Look at the Islamic State’s Foreign Fighter Paper Trail

Author:
Brian Dodwell, Daniel Milton, and Don Rassler
Publication Date:
04-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
This report contains an analysis of over 4,600 unique Islamic State personnel records that were produced by the group primarily between early 2013 and late 2014. The importance of this data for understanding the Islamic State and, in particular, the foreign fighter flow, cannot be overstated. To put it simply, it is the largest cache of primary source documents produced by the Islamic State available in the open-source as of this date. These particular documents were acquired by NBC News from an Islamic State defector and subsequently provided to the CTC (and other entities). This report provides a window into the organization’s global workforce, revealing information about foreign fighters’ countries of origin, citizenship, points of entry into Syria, marital status, skills and previous occupations, education levels, religious knowledge, fighting role preferences in the group, and previous jihadist experience. In addition to analyzing the data at the macro-level, the report also highlights numerous anecdotes of individual fighters. Taken together, the analysis in this report reveals an organization that is attempting to vet new members, manage talent effectively within the organization, and deal with an incredibly diverse pool of recruits.
Topic:
Terrorism, Radicalization, Islamic State, Recruitment, and Foreign Fighters
Political Geography:
Iraq, Europe, South Asia, Central Asia, Middle East, East Asia, Syria, and Southeast Asia

18. Countering Foreign Terrorist Fighter (FTF) Recruitment Workshop: Counter-Messaging and the Role of Disillusioned Former Fighters

Author:
Hedayah
Publication Date:
01-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Hedayah
Abstract:
Foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) returning to their home countries from the conflict stimulated by the self-proclaimed “Islamic State” or ad-Dawlah al-Islamiyah fil-Iraq wa asSham (DA’ESH) abroad, are a growing concern for many countries—particularly those in the international counter-DA’ESH coalition. Past conferences and workshops have focused on issues related to FTF rehabilitation and reintegration back into society, but the need for effective counter-narrative communication strategies to prevent the spread of violent extremism and terrorism is now more relevant than ever. The use of interviews, testimonials, and statements of once-inspired FTFs, who now denounce the actions of DA’ESH and other terrorist groups, can be potentially powerful in countering DA’ESH recruitment. This three-day countering violent extremism (CVE) workshop—hosted by Hedayah, the Abu Dhabi-based international CVE center of excellence—convened government and nongovernment CVE practitioners to share communication approaches relevant to countering FTF radicalization and recruitment into DA’ESH, with a particular focus on the role of disillusioned FTFs in creating counter narratives/ messages. Over the course of the three days, participants were asked to apply knowledge gained from the panel sessions to create and develop the content and structure of an alternative or counter-narrative/message that involves actual case studies of individuals who have traveled to join DA’ESH.
Topic:
Terrorism, Recruitment, Foreign Fighters, and Political Extremism
Political Geography:
Middle East and Global Focus

19. Challengers from the Sidelines: Understanding America’s Violent Far-Right

Author:
Arie Perliger
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
In the last few years, and especially since 2007, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of attacks and violent plots originating from individuals and groups who self-identify with the far-right of American politics. These incidents cause many to wonder whether these are isolated attacks, an increasing trend, part of increasing societal violence, or attributable to some other condition. To date, however, there has been limited systematic documentation and analysis of incidents of American domestic violence. This study provides a conceptual foundation for understanding different far-right groups and then presents the empirical analysis of violent incidents to identify those perpetrating attacks and their associated trends. Through a comprehensive look at the data, this study addresses three core questions: (1) What are the main current characteristics of the violence produced by the far right? (2) What type of far-right groups are more prone than others to engage in violence? How are characteristics of particular far-right groups correlated with their tendency to engage in violence? (3) What are the social and political factors associated with the level of far-right violence? Are there political or social conditions that foster or discourage violence? It is important to note that this study concentrates on those individuals and groups who have actually perpetuated violence and is not a comprehensive analysis of the political causes with which some far-right extremists identify. While the ability to hold and appropriately articulate diverse political views is an American strength, extremists committing acts of violence in the name of those causes undermine the freedoms that they purport to espouse.
Topic:
Terrorism, Violent Extremism, Ideology, Far Right, and Recruitment
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

20. Bombers, Bank Accounts and Bleedout

Author:
Brian Fishman, Jacob N. Shapiro, Joseph Felter, Peter Bergen, and Vahid Brown
Publication Date:
07-2008
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
This report is the second to assess the demographics, procedures, finances, and leadership of al-Qa`ida’s foreign fighters, especially those currently fighting in Iraq. It analyzes al-Qa`ida in Iraq’s (AQI) operations from spring 2006 to summer 2007 and includes almost 600 AQI personnel records for foreign fighters crossing into Iraq, AQI contracts for suicide bombers, AQI contracts for fighters leaving Iraq, narratives written by al-Qa`ida’s Syrian smugglers, and AQI financial records.
Topic:
Radicalization, Islamic State, Recruitment, and Foreign Fighters
Political Geography:
Iraq, Middle East, and Syria