Author: Christopher C. Harmon

  • Defining Terrorism: Historical Context & Modern Challenges (Part Two)

    In this episode, Dean of Academics Jim Robbins converses with Dr. Christopher Harmon on the complexities surrounding terrorism, Islamophobia, guerrilla warfare, and the current situation in Yemen. Topics discussed: 1. The Challenge of Discussing Terrorism 2. Addressing Extremism Through Education 3. Distinguishing Terrorism and Guerrilla Warfare 4. The Situation in Yemen

  • Defining Terrorism: Historical Context & Modern Challenges (Part One)

    In this episode, Dean of Academics at the Institute of World Politics, Jim Robbins, is joined by Dr. Harmon, an expert on terrorism and counterterrorism. They discuss the topic of defining terrorism and its application to the Houthi group. The conversation covers various definitions of terrorism, including state-sponsored terrorism, and the implications of these definitions…

  • The Financing of Terrorism: the Krulak Center’s BruteCast

    Dr. Christopher Harmon joined the Krulak Center to discuss some of the ways that terrorist organizations obtain funding. He then discussed some ways that states can combat these methods. All opinions expressed here are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect those of the Krulak Center, Marine Corps University, the United States Marine…

  • HAMAS Media in Gaza: Still Audible?

    January 2, 2024 A notable gap—in all the recent coverage of Gaza—is news about HAMAS media organs of the most traditional types: radio and TV.  It seems likely that their studios in Gaza City are rubble heaps; it seems just as likely that some service airs at some times from hidden locations, mobile transmitters, webpages,…

  • A War Studies Classic

    A War Studies Classic This year we are seeing the refurbishment of a classic in war studies and military history. There is a new edition of the book Makers of Modern Strategy. As a guide through our IWP course # 628 on “Military Strategy,” I have been excited to examine the new volume of May 2023…

  • Modern Terrorist Propaganda Summer Seminar and Training

    Terrorist groups have used a fantastic variety of means to seize attention, explain themselves, and seek recruits and support: song and speech, “guerrilla theater,” leaflets, radio, cable TV, newspapers, print ads, books, videos, web sites, e-zines… Social media is only their latest endeavor. This training will cover the modern terrorist propaganda techniques being used today…

  • Maoist Revolutionary War Outside China

    Dr. Christopher C. Harmon discusses “Maoist Revolutionary War Outside China,” a topic on which he is offering a class at IWP (IWP 706) https://www.iwp.edu/courses/maoist-revolutionary-wars-outside-china **This event is part of IWP’s China Series, organized by the China/Asia Program.** About the Lecture: The ideas of Mao tse Tung had a powerful impact—whatever one may think of their…

  • 2023 WPS Symposium Elective Panel 1A: Women Waging War

    Elective Panel 1A: Women Waging War War Adele Ann Balasingham’s Tamil Tigresses in Sri Lanka Dr. Christopher C. Harmon, Institute of World Politics Women Insurgents in India’s Northeast Dr. Namrata Goswami, Independent Scholar Female Radicalization in Pakistan – A Case Study of Jamia Hafsa (virtual) Dr. Shabana Fayyaz, Quaid-i-Azam University Women on the Frontlines of…

  • Terrorism at Munich: Lessons Learned 50 Years On

    About the Lecture Not many events of the late 20th century are as important and foreboding as the seizing of 11 athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972. Black September, a Palestinian group, held the Israeli captives during a long drama observed over T.V. by as many as one billion people. Then, at a nearby…

  • The Books That Churchill Read: The self-education of a statesman

    Winston Spencer Churchill wrote with warmth and humor about his early education — and its limits. Certain passages had a touch of the tremulous, given the discipline to which he was subjected by one or two nasty schoolmasters. Biographers have shown interest in the relevant pages of My Early Life (1930), that winning autobiography. But not there,…