The spread of false, misleading, or manipulated information is one of the most complex and dangerous challenges of the digital age, with significant repercussions on social, political, and cultural balance. The phenomena known as misinformation, disinformation, malinformation, and hate speech—collectively summarized under the acronym MDHM—represent distinct yet closely interconnected manifestations of this issue. A thorough understanding of their specificities is essential for developing effective strategies to contain and counter the threats these phenomena pose to social cohesion and institutional stability.
The rise to power of the Islamists led by al-Jolani, previously affiliated with al-Qaeda, sets the country on the path to becoming an “Islamic State” destined to reshape regional dynamics. Once again, the jihadist factor emerges as a destabilizing element with potentially global repercussions.
While the Russian Army’s offensive in the east continues, it is likely in the short term that they will reach the limit of their offensive capability. As such, Author explores what transitioning to a defensive strategy might mean for the Russians in Ukraine.
Although Switzerland has not experienced a large-scale attack of the kind experienced in other European countries in the last decade, the phenomenon of politico-ideological violence in the jihadist spectrum is nevertheless present. Since 2004 and until 2021, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court has tried a total of seventeen criminal proceedings related to jihadist terrorism cases. Most of these proceedings took place after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war. The most physical acts were attempts to travel to combat zones or activities related to foreign fighting.
The tactical level is worrisome, but it is not the priority of terrorism. The real success is at operational level: it is the “functional blockade”
Even when it fails, terrorism gains, in terms of the costs inflicted upon its target: it is successful as it can still impose economic and social costs on the community and influence the latter’s behaviour over time as a consequence of new security measures aimed at safeguarding the community: this effect is what we call the “functional blockade”, able to reach the average of 82% of the cases. The cost-benefit ratio is, no doubt, in favour of terrorism.