The Defence Academy Journal
Through exploitation of its intellectual capital, the Academy aims to act as a powerful force in developing thinking about defence and security, not only within MOD but across Government, and to influence wider debate about defence and security issues.
The Defence Academy’s on-line Journal provides a forum for the discussion of the most topical issues of Defence, development, and security.
As with all the Defence Academy’s publications, its functions are: to help keep the educational curricula of the Academy’s colleges at the cutting edge; to reinforce operational capability; and, to provide material to assist policymakers and decision takers working in the various fields pertaining to national security. Emphasis will be placed on rapid response and early publication of papers submitted.
A Note for Potential Authors
If you have a topic which you think it would be useful to discuss in print, either in the Journal or as a Shrivenham Paper, do please email Vicky Houghton (E-mail: publications.hq@da.mod.uk) the Publications Manager. She will be happy either to discuss the scope and direction of your paper and help you frame it for us to publish, or she will put you in contact with one of our team qualified in your topic for an expert discussion of the issue and how to develop it best into a paper. In this way we hope to be able to ensure the high quality and above all the relevance of the items before they go before our editorial board to evaluate for publication.
Featured Journal
Home-Grown Nihilism: The Clash within Civilisations
by Bill Durodié
Countering terrorism in the UK requires an understanding of the forces that drive individuals to become involved. Without objective understanding, wrong lessons may be learned. The absence of a definitive official position has left the field clear for individual commentators to advance their personal views. Common explanations are that terrorists act in retribution for British involvement in Iraq, or as part of a global Islamic conspiracy. Without hard information, such speculation comes to shape public opinion and official policy.
The truth may be very different. Identified terrorists in the UK do not appear to operate under direction from any organisation. The picture is more of individuals disillusioned with what society has to offer finding their own way into terrorist groups. The key consideration may be why mainstream society and culture fail to provide such people with a clear sense of purpose and direction. There may be a link between ‘Islamic terrorists’ and those driven to other acts of nihilistic terrorism, such as the Columbine school massacre.
Nihilism among the young reflects the distaste for the values of Western society prevalent among opinion-formers in the developed world. Without the markers that provided identity and direction in the last century, a sense of alienation and confusion afflicts the modern world, the young in particular. A recasting of our culture is needed if we are to defeat terrorism.
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