Articles by Francis O Connor
This article examines the logic of civilian targeting in the Turkish-
Kurdish civil war. It analy... more This article examines the logic of civilian targeting in the Turkish-
Kurdish civil war. It analyzes two instances of PKK violence: against
pro-state Village Guards’ families in the 1980s and school-teachers in
the 1990s. Against original data, we evaluate the extent to which the
dominant conceptual tools available in civil war literature help us
make sense of these instances and argue that there is a need to go
beyond the established selective/indiscriminate distinction if we want
to capture the logic of PKK’s targeting. Consequently, we build on
and specify further recent conceptual developments in the field and
show that both cases are better understood as instances of collective
targeting. We further show, however, that the collective nature of
each differs in relevant ways: while the killing of the families of
Village Guards constitutes an instance of collective targeting in the
sense of “extended group association,” in the case of school teachers
there are indications of a secondary spatially differentiated selection
criteria accompanying the collective logic. Our analysis emphasizes
the field’s need for stronger conceptual foundations underpinning
our theories of violence against civilians, as well as the limitations of
understandings rooted in an “ontological individualism” when
applied without careful consideration to non-Western societies
This article explores the link between radicalization patterns and modes of attack planning and p... more This article explores the link between radicalization patterns and modes of attack planning and preparation among lone-actor terrorists. Building on theorized patterns of lone-actor radicalization, we discuss and compare their modes of pre-attack behavior, including target and weapon choice, observance of operational security measures, likeliness of engaging in leakage behavior, and the overall amount of time devoted to these activities. This exploratory study builds upon a dataset of thirty-three lone-actor terrorist cases in North-America and Europe between 1986 and 2015. The analysis suggests that specific patterns of radicalization are linked to systematic differences in modes of attack planning and preparation. The results provide insights into the heterogeneity of terrorist involvement and tentatively suggest the potential importance for law-enforcement agencies in using case-specific knowledge on radicalization patterns to inform forecasts of likely pre-attack behaviors.
3 This article analyses the political mobilisation of the Kurdish internal diaspora outside 4 of ... more 3 This article analyses the political mobilisation of the Kurdish internal diaspora outside 4 of the Kurdish region in Turkey. The paper engages with the long held proposition 5 that diasporas tend to support more radical political actors. It discusses the PKK's 6 mobilisation in western Turkey and the manner in which it has contributed to the 7 revival of a broader Kurdish collective identity. The paper considers historic patterns 8 of Kurdish migration before detailing the role of state repression, ethnic alienation 9 and socioeconomic marginalisation on recent Kurdish migrants. It concludes by 10 proposing that it was the specific ideological and spatial strategies deployed by the 11 PKK rather than broader contextual factors which permitted the PKK to win mass 12 support among Kurds in western Turkey. 13 14
Armed movements are usually analyzed in the context of ongoing conflict, and much of the
precedin... more Armed movements are usually analyzed in the context of ongoing conflict, and much of the
preceding mobilization and recruitment is often given far less attention. In this article, we
assert that this period can be of critical relevance to subsequent movement trajectories.
Analysis of the period antecedent to insurgency also facilitates a deeper contextualization of
movement actors and their environments. We examine the period of preconflict mobilization
for PKK and the FLN/EZLN, two movements of comparable interest due to their successful
urban-to-rural transitions. We contend that the establishment of cross-class, locally based
constituencies in both cases was critical to their consolidation as armed movements. We
discuss the cases in relation to three main parameters: their immediate social environment,
the role of the state, and the strategies adopted by the respective movements.
Working Papers by Francis O Connor
: It is widely believed that Ireland has been an exception to the other
countries toiling under a... more : It is widely believed that Ireland has been an exception to the other
countries toiling under austerity because of the perceived absence of mass protest
or political turmoil in opposition to the economic policies imposed by successive
governments at the behest of the Troika since 2008. Ireland has been put forth by
the Troika as an example of responsible governance because it accepted its
collective guilt for the financial recklessness which characterised the Celtic Tiger
period. Indeed, this view is not inherently unfounded; until 2013 protest in Ireland
was of a lesser extent than could have been expected. Protest did occur but it was
geographically dispersed, fragmented and ideologically inconsistent. However,
Irish society’s relative quiescence was not derived from an internalisation of its
collective responsibility for the crisis but rather a prevailing consensual political
culture, the age old safety valve of mass emigration and the absence of credible
autonomous political actors to lead and coordinate protest. Years of “social
partnership” had created clientilistic structures which bound much of civil society
and the trade union movement to successive governments since the late 1980s. A
situation exacerbated by the ineffectiveness and marginal importance of Ireland’s
small left-wing parliamentary parties. Nonetheless, years of harsh austerity led to
an incremental groundswell of popular anger and disillusionment with existing
parties which crystallised into a massive movement against the imposition of water
charges in late 2014. The campaign has seen massive street demonstrations which,
proportionate to Ireland’s population, have been amongst the largest expressions of
popular opposition to austerity in Europe. Popular discontent has led to the
formation of a number of new political parties and led to greater political
engagement of many trade unions. This report summarises the social and
economic changes of the Celtic Tiger period, the subsequent economic collapse
and both the successful and unsuccessful efforts of Irish movements, left-wing
parties and progressive civil society actors to resist austerity
Book Reviews by Francis O Connor
Blogs/Opinion Pieces by Francis O Connor
Papers by Francis O Connor
Perspectives on terrorism, 2018
Recent research on lone-actor terrorism has emphasized that many far-right attackers are guided b... more Recent research on lone-actor terrorism has emphasized that many far-right attackers are guided by the doctrine of Leaderless Resistance, which holds that individual militants have a personal onus to autonomously carry out attacks. In this framework, Italy stands out because, despite its bloody history of right-wing political violence and terrorism, it has heretofore avoided, with one notable exception, any fatal lone actor attacks. This article presents a deviant case design: focusing on the exceptional case of Gianluca Casseri, the CasaPound sympathizer who went on a shooting spree in Florence in 2011, it questions theoretical assumptions concerning the non-occurrence of lone-actor terrorism by advancing a general proposition for why terrorists opt to act individually in settings where collective action is the norm. Based on first-hand information from CasaPound militants, and extensive primary data on the radicalization of Casseri, we argue that the choice between autonomous and ...
Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 2018
This document is the author's post-print version, incorporating any revisions agreed during the p... more This document is the author's post-print version, incorporating any revisions agreed during the peer-review process. Some differences between the published version and this version may remain and you are advised to consult the published version if you wish to cite from it.
Revista Internacional de Sociología, 2019
En este artículo desarrollamos un marco interpretativo para comprender la trayectoria de radicali... more En este artículo desarrollamos un marco interpretativo para comprender la trayectoria de radicalización en el “procés” catalán. Independientemente del estatus legal del referéndum en cuestión, las campañas de referéndum son capaces de crear, y de hecho son en sí mismas, oportunidades políticas. En contraste con las predicciones desde las teorías de los ciclos de protesta, cuando se cierran las oportunidades a nivel nacional y la represión se intensifica, no necesariamente se desarrolla un proceso de radicalización que contribuye al declive del ciclo, al menos a corto plazo. Como el caso catalán ilustra entre mediados de los años 2000 y finales de 2018, varios mecanismos pueden mediar este proceso, incluyendo la apropiación de oportunidades políticas, el cambio de escala hacia abajo y la convergencia del movimiento. Una densa red de asambleas locales de base reemplaza en el a las grandes organizaciones de la sociedad civil que hasta entonces, y especialmente durante las diadas entre ...
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Articles by Francis O Connor
Kurdish civil war. It analyzes two instances of PKK violence: against
pro-state Village Guards’ families in the 1980s and school-teachers in
the 1990s. Against original data, we evaluate the extent to which the
dominant conceptual tools available in civil war literature help us
make sense of these instances and argue that there is a need to go
beyond the established selective/indiscriminate distinction if we want
to capture the logic of PKK’s targeting. Consequently, we build on
and specify further recent conceptual developments in the field and
show that both cases are better understood as instances of collective
targeting. We further show, however, that the collective nature of
each differs in relevant ways: while the killing of the families of
Village Guards constitutes an instance of collective targeting in the
sense of “extended group association,” in the case of school teachers
there are indications of a secondary spatially differentiated selection
criteria accompanying the collective logic. Our analysis emphasizes
the field’s need for stronger conceptual foundations underpinning
our theories of violence against civilians, as well as the limitations of
understandings rooted in an “ontological individualism” when
applied without careful consideration to non-Western societies
preceding mobilization and recruitment is often given far less attention. In this article, we
assert that this period can be of critical relevance to subsequent movement trajectories.
Analysis of the period antecedent to insurgency also facilitates a deeper contextualization of
movement actors and their environments. We examine the period of preconflict mobilization
for PKK and the FLN/EZLN, two movements of comparable interest due to their successful
urban-to-rural transitions. We contend that the establishment of cross-class, locally based
constituencies in both cases was critical to their consolidation as armed movements. We
discuss the cases in relation to three main parameters: their immediate social environment,
the role of the state, and the strategies adopted by the respective movements.
Working Papers by Francis O Connor
countries toiling under austerity because of the perceived absence of mass protest
or political turmoil in opposition to the economic policies imposed by successive
governments at the behest of the Troika since 2008. Ireland has been put forth by
the Troika as an example of responsible governance because it accepted its
collective guilt for the financial recklessness which characterised the Celtic Tiger
period. Indeed, this view is not inherently unfounded; until 2013 protest in Ireland
was of a lesser extent than could have been expected. Protest did occur but it was
geographically dispersed, fragmented and ideologically inconsistent. However,
Irish society’s relative quiescence was not derived from an internalisation of its
collective responsibility for the crisis but rather a prevailing consensual political
culture, the age old safety valve of mass emigration and the absence of credible
autonomous political actors to lead and coordinate protest. Years of “social
partnership” had created clientilistic structures which bound much of civil society
and the trade union movement to successive governments since the late 1980s. A
situation exacerbated by the ineffectiveness and marginal importance of Ireland’s
small left-wing parliamentary parties. Nonetheless, years of harsh austerity led to
an incremental groundswell of popular anger and disillusionment with existing
parties which crystallised into a massive movement against the imposition of water
charges in late 2014. The campaign has seen massive street demonstrations which,
proportionate to Ireland’s population, have been amongst the largest expressions of
popular opposition to austerity in Europe. Popular discontent has led to the
formation of a number of new political parties and led to greater political
engagement of many trade unions. This report summarises the social and
economic changes of the Celtic Tiger period, the subsequent economic collapse
and both the successful and unsuccessful efforts of Irish movements, left-wing
parties and progressive civil society actors to resist austerity
Book Reviews by Francis O Connor
Blogs/Opinion Pieces by Francis O Connor
Papers by Francis O Connor
Kurdish civil war. It analyzes two instances of PKK violence: against
pro-state Village Guards’ families in the 1980s and school-teachers in
the 1990s. Against original data, we evaluate the extent to which the
dominant conceptual tools available in civil war literature help us
make sense of these instances and argue that there is a need to go
beyond the established selective/indiscriminate distinction if we want
to capture the logic of PKK’s targeting. Consequently, we build on
and specify further recent conceptual developments in the field and
show that both cases are better understood as instances of collective
targeting. We further show, however, that the collective nature of
each differs in relevant ways: while the killing of the families of
Village Guards constitutes an instance of collective targeting in the
sense of “extended group association,” in the case of school teachers
there are indications of a secondary spatially differentiated selection
criteria accompanying the collective logic. Our analysis emphasizes
the field’s need for stronger conceptual foundations underpinning
our theories of violence against civilians, as well as the limitations of
understandings rooted in an “ontological individualism” when
applied without careful consideration to non-Western societies
preceding mobilization and recruitment is often given far less attention. In this article, we
assert that this period can be of critical relevance to subsequent movement trajectories.
Analysis of the period antecedent to insurgency also facilitates a deeper contextualization of
movement actors and their environments. We examine the period of preconflict mobilization
for PKK and the FLN/EZLN, two movements of comparable interest due to their successful
urban-to-rural transitions. We contend that the establishment of cross-class, locally based
constituencies in both cases was critical to their consolidation as armed movements. We
discuss the cases in relation to three main parameters: their immediate social environment,
the role of the state, and the strategies adopted by the respective movements.
countries toiling under austerity because of the perceived absence of mass protest
or political turmoil in opposition to the economic policies imposed by successive
governments at the behest of the Troika since 2008. Ireland has been put forth by
the Troika as an example of responsible governance because it accepted its
collective guilt for the financial recklessness which characterised the Celtic Tiger
period. Indeed, this view is not inherently unfounded; until 2013 protest in Ireland
was of a lesser extent than could have been expected. Protest did occur but it was
geographically dispersed, fragmented and ideologically inconsistent. However,
Irish society’s relative quiescence was not derived from an internalisation of its
collective responsibility for the crisis but rather a prevailing consensual political
culture, the age old safety valve of mass emigration and the absence of credible
autonomous political actors to lead and coordinate protest. Years of “social
partnership” had created clientilistic structures which bound much of civil society
and the trade union movement to successive governments since the late 1980s. A
situation exacerbated by the ineffectiveness and marginal importance of Ireland’s
small left-wing parliamentary parties. Nonetheless, years of harsh austerity led to
an incremental groundswell of popular anger and disillusionment with existing
parties which crystallised into a massive movement against the imposition of water
charges in late 2014. The campaign has seen massive street demonstrations which,
proportionate to Ireland’s population, have been amongst the largest expressions of
popular opposition to austerity in Europe. Popular discontent has led to the
formation of a number of new political parties and led to greater political
engagement of many trade unions. This report summarises the social and
economic changes of the Celtic Tiger period, the subsequent economic collapse
and both the successful and unsuccessful efforts of Irish movements, left-wing
parties and progressive civil society actors to resist austerity