Lawrence Peter Ampofo
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Terrorism 3.0: Understanding Perceptions of Technology, Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Spain Lawrence Peter Ampofo Royal Holloway University of London Department of Politics and International Relations Thesis submitted for the degree:
A thesis submitted by Lawrence Peter Ampofo who claims sole and original authorship, for the University of London Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Date
AbstractThis thesis tests whether the availability of new technologies increases the capacities of terrorist and counter-terrorist agencies to achieve their communication objectives. It focuses on the ways narratives affected the behaviour of Spanish-language audiences through an analysis of policy documents, elite interviews, and internet research methods adapted by the author. The data illuminate shifting understandings of communities of policymakers, journalists, and publics during 2004 to 2011 and is the first such study undertaken in Spain. Five themes are examined: the relation of terrorism in Spain to immigration, the formation of narratives in relation to understandings of terrorism, terrorism and cybercrime within Spain, the nature of communities in relation to understandings of terrorism in Spain and online reaction to the death of Osama bin Laden. The hypothesis is derived from: the theses of Bobbitt (2008) and Barnett (2005) concerning technology’s role in the changing character of the state and terrorist organisations; terrorism studies literature concerning the role of technology in recruitment and communication; and public diplomacy studies suggesting political organisations can communicate effectively to publics through digital campaigns. The main findings are: (i) the availability of technologies has not brought success for government or terrorist organisations; (ii) government narratives were not considered persuasive by online users, refuting top-down communication models; (iii) online communities wish to engage and may contain key influencers to be conduits for government or terrorist narratives; (iv) terrorist organisations now have greater capacity to operationalise visibility and invisibility within their strategies; and (v) partly independent phenomena have been ‘commensurated’ into one ‘nexus’ of concern. The thesis considers how Web 3.0 is likely to bear upon these relationships, recommending that counter-terrorist practitioners conduct further internet research into the attitudes and behaviours of online users to explore ways they can be co-opted into future counter-terrorism strategies. Table of ContentsAbstract 3 Figures and Tables 6 List of Figures 6 List of Tables 8 Acknowledgements 9 Chapter One: The Socio-Technical Development of the Internet and the World Wide Web 11 Introduction 11 Thesis Outline 16 The Internet, the Web and Society 29 Theoretical Framework Underpinning the Development of the Internet and the Web 34 Evolution of the Internet and the World Wide Web 46 i.The Internet 46 ii.The World Wide Web 47 iii.Iterations of the World Wide Web 48 What Inspires the Development of the internet and the World Wide Web? 52 i.Social and Political Contexts 52 ii.Government 57 iii.Technical Developers 60 iv.Civil Society 64 v.Corporations 68 Conclusion 71 Chapter Two: Terrorism, Counter-terrorism and Public Diplomacy in Spain 73 Introduction 73 Theoretical Approaches to Terrorism in Spain 74 i.Strengths and Weaknesses of the Theses of Barnett and Bobbitt 92 ii.Terrorism in Contemporary Spain 98 iii.Counter-terrorism Policies in Contemporary Spain 107 Terrorist Organisations in France 112 i.Counter-terrorism Policies in Contemporary France 116 Challenges to Counter-terrorism Policies in France and Spain 119 Public Diplomacy as Counter-Terrorism Strategy 123 i.Spain’s Use of Public Diplomacy 127 Conclusion 130 Chapter Three: The Ethics and Practices of Internet and Social Media Research 133 Introduction 133 The Methodological Issues of Terrorism Research 135 Ethics and Practices of Online Research: Comparing Traditional and Contemporary Methodologies 138 i.A History and Definition of Social Media 138 ii.Privacy and Trust in Social Media Analysis 141 iii.Specific Internet Research Methodologies and Practices 146 a. Content Analysis 147 b. Network Analysis 151 c. Web Metrics 155 d. Web Analytics 158 e. Netnography 158 f. Mobile Research Methods 160
a. Volume of Content Over Time (2004-2010) 263 b. Most Frequent Narratives, Sentiment Analysis and Narrative Source (2004-2010) 265 c. Results from 11 March 2004 to 11 August 2004 274 d. Results from 11 March 2005 to 11 August 2005 280 e. Results from 11 March 2006 to 11 August 2007 285 f. Results from 11 March 2008 to 11 August 2009 287 g. Results from 11 March 2010 to 11 August 2010 290 h. Network Analysis of Online Communities by Core Narratives (2004-2010) 291
a. Results from 11 March 2004 to 11 August 2004 365 b. Results from 11 March 2005 to 11 August 2005 368 c. Results from 11 March 2006 to 11 August 2007 370 d. Results from 11 March 2008 to 11 August 2009 373 e. Results from 11 March 2010 to 11 August 2010 376 f. Analysis of Negative Sentiment Over Time (2004-2010) 378 Conclusion 383 Chapter Eight: Online Life Online Death: Terrorism 3.0, Recommendations and the Death of Osama Bin Laden 387 The Concept of Terrorism 3.0 387 Main Conclusions from the Thesis 397 Internet Research on the 11-M Attacks: Spanish Reaction to the Death of Osama Bin Laden 408 i.Volume of Content 410 ii.Key Narrative Analysis 410 iii.Narrative Source 412 iv.Sentiment Analysis 414 v.Key Narrative Analysis by Sentiment 417 vi.Network Analysis 420 Final Analysis 423 Appendix One: List of Interviewees 428 Appendix Two: Detailed Methodology for Semi-Structured Interviews 431 Questionnaires Used 432 i.Government 432 ii.Academia 432 iii.Business 433 Challenges to the Conduct of the Semi-structured Interviews 433 Appendix Three: Glossary of Terms 436 Bibliography 445 Directory: portal -> files -> 4733003 files -> Impact case study (ref3b) files -> Ethics and Factual Television: a short history files -> P. O. Box 27, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland tel. 358-9-191 58080 / 22216; fax 358-9-191 58096 / 23008 files -> The impact of a pledge campaign and the promise of publicity: a randomized controlled trial of charitable donations files -> Diversity and Voice: the Political Participation of Young People in the European Union files -> Chapter 15 a voice in Decision Making: young children in Denmark Stig Broström Introduction Download 1.29 Mb. Share with your friends:
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