Jihadists’ use and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction : a comparative study of Al-Qaeda and Islamic state’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons programs
This article compares and contrasts the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) weapons programs of Al-Qaeda and Islamic State through the framework of organizational structure, typology, ideology and CBRN incidents (selected case studies). A three-step CBRN model explaining the use of...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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2022
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/155761 |
| _version_ | 1811691339308335104 |
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| author | Dass, Rueben Ananthan Santhana |
| author2 | S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies |
| author_facet | S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Dass, Rueben Ananthan Santhana |
| author_sort | Dass, Rueben Ananthan Santhana |
| collection | NTU |
| description | This article compares and contrasts the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) weapons programs of Al-Qaeda and Islamic State through the framework of organizational structure, typology, ideology and CBRN incidents (selected case studies). A three-step CBRN model explaining the use of CBRN weapons by both groups is proposed. This model suggests that the use of CBRN weapons is predicated on three factors: leadership at the strategic level; acquisition of material at the operational level and technical capabilities at the tactical level. It is found that the failure of both groups in developing and carrying out large-scale CBRN attacks boils down primarily to the lack of technical capabilities and the difficulties associated with acquisition of materials. It is argued that the future CBRN threat landscape will likely be dominated by the threat of small-scale, localized attacks using crude chemical or biological agents by lone actors or autonomous cells as opposed to larger-scale centrally directed attacks. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T06:18:19Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/155761 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T06:18:19Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1557612023-03-05T17:23:54Z Jihadists’ use and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction : a comparative study of Al-Qaeda and Islamic state’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons programs Dass, Rueben Ananthan Santhana S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Humanities::Religions Islamic State Jihadists This article compares and contrasts the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) weapons programs of Al-Qaeda and Islamic State through the framework of organizational structure, typology, ideology and CBRN incidents (selected case studies). A three-step CBRN model explaining the use of CBRN weapons by both groups is proposed. This model suggests that the use of CBRN weapons is predicated on three factors: leadership at the strategic level; acquisition of material at the operational level and technical capabilities at the tactical level. It is found that the failure of both groups in developing and carrying out large-scale CBRN attacks boils down primarily to the lack of technical capabilities and the difficulties associated with acquisition of materials. It is argued that the future CBRN threat landscape will likely be dominated by the threat of small-scale, localized attacks using crude chemical or biological agents by lone actors or autonomous cells as opposed to larger-scale centrally directed attacks. Submitted/Accepted version 2022-03-18T07:20:02Z 2022-03-18T07:20:02Z 2021 Journal Article Dass, R. A. S. (2021). Jihadists’ use and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction : a comparative study of Al-Qaeda and Islamic state’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons programs. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2021.1981203 1057-610X https://hdl.handle.net/10356/155761 10.1080/1057610X.2021.1981203 2-s2.0-85118308069 en Studies in Conflict & Terrorism This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Studies in Conflict and Terrorism on 27 Oct 2021, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/1057610X.2021.1981203. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Humanities::Religions Islamic State Jihadists Dass, Rueben Ananthan Santhana Jihadists’ use and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction : a comparative study of Al-Qaeda and Islamic state’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons programs |
| title | Jihadists’ use and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction : a comparative study of Al-Qaeda and Islamic state’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons programs |
| title_full | Jihadists’ use and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction : a comparative study of Al-Qaeda and Islamic state’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons programs |
| title_fullStr | Jihadists’ use and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction : a comparative study of Al-Qaeda and Islamic state’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons programs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Jihadists’ use and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction : a comparative study of Al-Qaeda and Islamic state’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons programs |
| title_short | Jihadists’ use and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction : a comparative study of Al-Qaeda and Islamic state’s chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons programs |
| title_sort | jihadists use and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction a comparative study of al qaeda and islamic state s chemical biological radiological and nuclear cbrn weapons programs |
| topic | Humanities::Religions Islamic State Jihadists |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/155761 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dassruebenananthansanthana jihadistsuseandpursuitofweaponsofmassdestructionacomparativestudyofalqaedaandislamicstateschemicalbiologicalradiologicalandnuclearcbrnweaponsprograms |