Bruce A. McMenomy, Ph.D. and Christe A. McMenomy, Ph.D. for Scholars Online
2019-20: Mondays and Wednesdays, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time
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59: Wed, Apr 15, 2020
Please post in the forum for the day a short essay in response to this question:
Especially in the Islamic world of the Middle East, but also elsewhere, political action — ranging from peaceful protest to terrorism — is often conducted by unofficial groups of people. Hard to track, and harder still to confront, these very real communities recruit people to their purposes by a variety of means, and while many of them may seem merely political voices from the outside, they have a complex internal dynamic and culture, and they exploit means such as social media and cell phones to sharpen their focus. They sometimes commit warlike acts against states and populations, but the conventions of war for most of human history have been understood as having to do with one state confronting another.
Other more centrally controlling countries like China have taken steps to put a lid on the growth of such para-state organizations, even when it means curtailing what we might consider basic freedoms.
Learn something about the following groups and movements. I've linked a number of Wikipedia articles, since they're relatively standard in format, but there are other sources as well. How do they differ from one another? What are their purposes? Have their goals changed materially since their founding? Who contributed to their formation? What steps have different states and other groups taken to stop them? Do they seem to be growing in frequency and intensity, or going away?
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