Brynjar Lia Books

Focusing on the complexities of international aid, the book explores the challenges faced by donors in establishing and reforming the Palestinian police amid a tumultuous environment. It highlights the struggle to navigate domestic opposition to funding police initiatives, Israeli resistance, and internal rivalries within the Palestinian police force. The narrative sheds light on the often-overlooked aspect of police reform in the context of the Middle East peace process, revealing the difficulties in addressing both technical and practical readiness for effective law enforcement.

Drawing upon research and methods outside the traditional focus, and by taking both a theoretical approach and a practical predictive perspective, this book delivers a fresh contribution to terrorism studies. It shows us that while predicting terrorism is a highly speculative business, there are ways of identifying certain long-term causes.

The evolution of the Palestinian police and security forces is explored from their historical roots in Lebanon and the Occupied Territories to their formal establishment post-Oslo Accords, culminating before the second Intifada. The narrative centers on the challenge of forming a national police force without an independent state. It delves into the Palestinian Liberation Organization's recruitment, training, and expansion efforts, while also addressing the complexities and dilemmas faced by non-state policing in conflict zones.

With more than 35 years experience of jihadist activism, Abu Mus'ab al-Suri remains the foremost theoretician in the global jihadist movement today, despite his capture in Pakistan in late 2005. This book includes a translation of two key chapters from al-Suri's seminal work The Global Islamic Resistance Call.