Suchergebnisse

This comparative case study investigated the financing typologies of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Turkey. PKK is a Marxist- Leninist organization that pursues ethnic separationist policies in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. ISIL is a radical Wahhabi network that aspires to re-establish the Caliphate and restore the "glory" of Sharia by defeating the "near" and "far" enemies. These networks are chosen for this case study as they operate in close proximity along Turkish, Iraqi and Syrian borders. In addition to primary and secondary interviews, the research has been based on content analysis of unclassified documents and media coverage on counter PKK/ISIL investigations. This study indicated that both organizations have been highly skillful in exploiting the regional licit and illicit enterprises. Financing methods of PKK and ISIL were similar in complex regional underground economic infrastructure. However, PKK has been able to develop much more sophisticated financial infrastructure than ISIL due to a longer life span and existence of specialized cadres in the Middle East and Europe. Ideology had a significant impact on differences in state sponsorship and exploitation of non-profit organizations. Both the Marxists and radical İslamists encouraged illicit trade schemes not only to generate funds but also to avoid taxation by the "hostile" regimes. ISIL has failed to develop advanced financing infrastructure mainly due to a shorter life span, loss of territorial control and the UN-US sponsored international sanctions.

This report describes the creation of the United States International Intelligence Behavior dataset (USIIB). The USIIB represents the first collection of event data specifically intended for exploring in a quantifiable manner the international intelligence cooperation behaviors of the United States. A total of 293,615 events are recorded in the USIIB, covering the years 2000–09. The report first provides a detailed description of the steps involved in building such a dataset, including the development of search terms, the use of a machine coding program (TABARI – Text Analysis by Augmenting Replacement Instructions) to extract data from wire news releases, and the extension of an existing coding scheme (CAMEO) to include intelligence behaviors. Following a discussion of issues related to the reliability and validity of event datasets in general and the USIIB in particular, the report then includes suggestions and examples for how the data in the current USIIB dataset may be used in order to add to our understandings of patterns and anomalies in international intelligence cooperation behavior. As a specific example, it offers results from an empirical test exploring variation in intelligence cooperation behaviors among democracies and non-democracies, asking specifically whether the United States has been more likely in the early 21st century to cooperate on intelligence matters with democratic states, and finding this not to have been the case. Finally, it aims to provide a guide for others who would like to extend this dataset to explore intelligence cooperation activity of other countries or regions.