Suchergebnisse

Online civil society is vulnerable to various malicious actors who conduct cyberattacks against individuals, companies, and governments. Victims of these attacks are using strike backs, hack backs, and defensive cyber actions as a means to send a message to the attacker, we are not a victim (Neal, 2019). My research presents one model of "revenge attacks" whereby the individual defends themselves online without the assistance of government.

The purpose of this briefing note is to examine the escalation to violence of Violent Transnational Social Movements (VTSM), specifically the Black Hebrew Israelites (BHI). The BHI is a more than 100-year-old group that has arguably been in the political background for the past two decades and appears to have escalated from using soft violence tactics to kinetic violence after the Jersey City Deli Shooting. This briefing note primarily focuses on the BHI and their role as a VTSM that uses soft violence and symbolic power as a means to deliver their message. For further information on VTSMs, please visit the Canadian Centre for Identity-Based Conflict.

On October 15th, 2020, the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies (CASIS) Vancouver hosted its sixth Digital Roundtable event of the year, Intrastate Warfare. The presentation was conducted by guest speaker Dr. Arjun Chowdhury, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Chowdhury's presentation delivered a historical overview of types of conflicts, and a brief analysis on the patterns of conflicts and whether they have changed over a period of approximately 200 years, with a particular focus on the last 50 years. He described two types of war, interstate and intrastate, mentioning trends in intrastate war and the contrast to interstate war, as well as the consequences to life expectancy and infrastructure in the regions affected by intrastate wars. Subsequently, Dr. Chowdhury answered questions submitted by the attendees, which elaborated on the concepts of interstate and intrastate wars, using current examples such as, COVID-19, right-wing extremism, cybercrimes, and foreign aid. APA Citation CASIS Vancouver. (2020). Intrastate warfare. The Journal of Intelligence, Conflict, and Warfare, 3(2), 66-71. https://journals.lib.sfu.ca/index.php/jicw/article/view/2411/1814.

On August 15th 2019, the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies hosted its monthly roundtable focusing on "Water Security as an Emergent Opportunity for Canada". The presentation was delivered by Dr. Zafar Adeel, a serving member on the editorial boards of Sustainability Science (Springer) and New Water Policy and Practice Journal (PSO). Dr. Adeel highlighted various emerging and continuing water security threats in British Columbia, emphasizing their similarities to other global issues. He directed his talk to addressing the impacts of climate change on water insecurity and its ability to create new threats to Canada's coastal cities. The following roundtable discussion centered around a dialogue on the persistent insecurity in Canada's indigenous communities as a security concern describing the matter as a play off between policy and security affairs. Audience members then brought into question the suitability of using the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine to intervene where a nation's water security is at risk and addressed the complexities of the 'react' pillar in intervening militarily.

On May 16th 2019, the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies (CASIS) Vancouver hosted Dr. Heidi Tworek at its roundtable meeting titled "Hate Speech in Canada: A New Democratic Threat Requiring Policy Incentives." Dr. Tworek is an Assistant Professor of International History at the University of British Columbia. She is also a non-resident Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, and the Joint Centre for History and Economics at Harvard University. She works on the history of news and of international organizations. Alongside academic publications, she also writes about German and transatlantic politics and media for a wide variety of venues including Foreign Affairs and Wired magazine.

Misinformation in the form of "fake news" can potentially be weaponized by malicious actors to undermine Canada's national security and government infrastructure. Developing a comprehensive database to track and understand potential threat actors and their use of fake news can potentially provide actionable intel, thereby exposing and publicly challenging fake news items. Fake news has been used to negatively influence the reputation of government officials and to incite violence between ethnic groups. Fake news utilizes confirmation bias (the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories) through disseminating meticulously crafted messages to targeted audiences, who are selected based on their online activities.

On August 15th 2019, the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies hosted its monthly roundtable focusing on "Water Security as an Emergent Opportunity for Canada". The presentation was delivered by Dr. Zafar Adeel, a serving member on the editorial boards of Sustainability Science (Springer) and New Water Policy and Practice Journal (PSO). Dr. Adeel highlighted various emerging and continuing water security threats in British Columbia, emphasizing their similarities to other global issues. He directed his talk to addressing the impacts of climate change on water insecurity and its ability to create new threats to Canada's coastal cities. The following roundtable discussion centered around a dialogue on the persistent insecurity in Canada's indigenous communities as a security concern describing the matter as a play off between policy and security affairs. Audience members then brought into question the suitability of using the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine to intervene where a nation's water security is at risk and addressed the complexities of the 'react' pillar in intervening militarily.

On June 20th 2019, the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies (CASIS) Vancouver hosted Dr. Edward Akuffo at its roundtable meeting titled "Why is Canada involved in Mali?" Dr. Akuffo is an Assistant Professor of International Relations in the Department of Political Science at the University of the Fraser Valley. He holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Alberta, MA in International Relations from Brock University, and BA Political Science from the University of Ghana, Legon. His research is focused on Canada's security and development policy in Africa, interregional security cooperation, human security and humanitarian law in Africa, and BRIC-Canada relations. His work has been in Global Change, Peace & Security, and African Security Review. He is also the author of the recent book, Canadian Foreign Policy in Africa: Regional Approaches to Peace, Security, and Development (Ashgate). Dr. Akuffo was a fellow of the Canadian Consortium on Human Security (CCHS).

On May 16th 2019, the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies (CASIS) Vancouver hosted Dr. Heidi Tworek at its roundtable meeting titled "Hate Speech in Canada: A New Democratic Threat Requiring Policy Incentives." Dr. Tworek is an Assistant Professor of International History at the University of British Columbia. She is also a non-resident Fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, and the Joint Centre for History and Economics at Harvard University. She works on the history of news and of international organizations. Alongside academic publications, she also writes about German and transatlantic politics and media for a wide variety of venues including Foreign Affairs and Wired magazine.

On September 19th 2019, the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies (CASIS) Vancouver hosted its roundtable meeting which covered "The Nature of Contemporary Terrorism." The following presentation featured Dr. Robert Farkasch, a faculty lecturer in the Political Science Department at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Farkasch offers instruction in international political economy, international relations and terrorism studies. In his presentation, Dr. Farkasch appears to argue that religiously defined terrorism is the most dangerous ideological variant of terrorism and that the cause of terrorism is entrenched in our fear of death. The subsequent roundtable discussion centred around a case study of Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year- old Australian man that opened fire upon two Mosques in Christchurch New Zealand earlier this year, killing 51 people. Many called the attacks Islamophobic due to his targets and the content within a 74-page manifesto that Tarrant authored and released beforehand. Audience members at the roundtable discussed the nature of Tarrant's attacks and how social media platforms could address radical positions within online spaces.

On July 26th, 2019, the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies (CASIS) Vancouver, and the Vancouver Branch of the Canadian International Council (CIC) hosted the delegates of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) of the European Union (EU). The purpose of the event was to discuss the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada in the context of preserving digital civil society.

The purpose of this analysis is to differentiate social movements. In this instance, we will be using the hippie/counterculture movements during the 1960s and 1970s in Canada, and those that are occurring in the second decade of the twenty-first century. In particular, this analysis distinguishes right-wing extremist movements in 2016 from groups like the Hippie Movement and the Black Panther Party Movement. Specific reference will be made to contrast the social movements of the twenty-first century that are non-political in nature but are identity-based, versus movements during the 60s and 70s that were political by design and intent. Due to the non-political nature of twenty-first century Violent Transnational Social Movements, they might be characterized as fifth generation warfare, which we identify as identity-based social movements in violent conflict with other identity based social movements, this violence may be soft or hard. 'Soft violence damages the fabric of relationships between communities as entrenches or highlights the superiority of one group over another without kinetic impact. Soft violence is harmful activities to others which stops short of physical violence'. (Kelshall, 2019) Hard violence is then recognized as when soft violence tactics result in physical violence. Insurgencies are groups that challenge and/or resist the authority of the state. There are different levels of insurgencies; and on the extreme end, there is the resistance of systemic authority.

On March 21, 2019, the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies hosted a roundtable focusing on "Canadian Intelligence Operations Overseas". This presentation was given by Captain Duane Kempton, member of the Canadian Armed Forces and member of the Sixth Intelligence Company. Captain Kempton highlighted military intelligence in warfighting, peacekeeping, and established the differences between the two by discussing OP SOPRANO. The following roundtable discussion centred on the value of intelligence gathering in peacekeeping when you lack the military capacity while warfighting. Audience members then discussed the repatriation of ISIS fighters and the status of their families.

This briefing note explores the argument that the alleged July 22nd, 2019 attacks on protesters in Hong Kong were perpetrated by a group that can be classified as a Violent Transnational Social Movement (VTSM). When scrutinized, the alleged acts of violence and observed motivations of the United Bamboo triad, plus their transnational and identity-based nature of the operation, suggest that the United Bamboo triad may be a VTSM.

Misinformation in the form of "fake news" can potentially be weaponized by malicious actors to undermine Canada's national security and government infrastructure. Developing a comprehensive database to track and understand potential threat actors and their use of fake news can potentially provide actionable intel, thereby exposing and publicly challenging fake news items. Fake news has been used to negatively influence the reputation of government officials and to incite violence between ethnic groups. Fake news utilizes confirmation bias (the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories) through disseminating meticulously crafted messages to targeted audiences, who are selected based on their online activities.