While there has not been a notable uptick in terrorist incidents during the Covid-19 pandemic, diverted security resources and the longer-term effects of the pandemic may result in a growing threat of terrorism, writes Markus Korhonen.
Active assailant incidents, in which the attacker targets their victims in an arbitrary manner, understandably attract high levels of media attention when they occur at schools. While several such incidents have taken place in recent years including in 2019, they continue to be relatively rare occurrences.
Over the past few months, protests triggered by a controversial bill which would allow extraditions from Hong Kong to mainland China have paralysed Hong Kong. Markus Korhonen looks at how the protests have unfolded, and what commercial impacts they are having.
Following the effective collapse of the Islamic State caliphate across Syria and Iraq in February 2019, the terrorist group appears to have extended its reach to new territories including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sri Lanka. In the space of one week, Islamic State took credit for terror attacks in both countries. Markus Korhonen places these…
Spurred by false rumours on social media, lynch mobs in India have assaulted or killed dozens of people in a number of recent incidents across the country. Markus Korhonen explores concerns over the potential for misinformation and fake news to spark communal violence in the run-up to this year’s parliamentary elections.
Runaway inflation and a failing oil industry have all but collapsed Venezuela’s economy. Citizen frustrations with the government’s inability to offer a credible way out of the economic crisis means the country remains increasingly vulnerable to outbreaks of widespread unrest, writes Markus Korhonen.