grey dynamics

Super-Empowered Individuals: Interview with Calibre Obscura

August 21, 2019

Ahmed Hassan

      Much of my research and fascination is driven by the rise of the “citizen journalist”, “Homo Digitalis” or the “super-empowered individual”. These are individuals or groups who have maximised their impact in the domains of warfare, journalism, intelligence, and statecraft, by leveraging the democratisation of technology and its disruptive effects.   While, most of these technologies and tactics used to be only available to states. Today, however, it is possible for protestors in Hong Kong to communicate…

Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea

August 13, 2019

Jacob O'Hare

    The Gulf of Guinea led the world in piracy in 2018. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) recorded 201 incidents in 2018, up from 180 in 2017. The gulf accounted for,   6 hijackings 13 of the 18 ships took fire 130 of the 141 hostages 78 of 83 seafarers taken for ransom worldwide   The statistics above are the ones reported, but the IMB believes half of attacks go unreported. Piracy should be a concern for corporations that…

The Threat of Hezbollah in Latin America: Smoking gun or False Red Flag?

August 8, 2019

Dylan Ramshaw

  While an Iranian and U.S. standoff heats up, a lower intensity effort against the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah in Latin America is underway. This month, Argentina became the first country in the region to designate Hezbollah as a "terrorist" organization and froze the known Hezbollah assets in the country.    The decision coincided with the 25th anniversary of a Jewish community centre bombing in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people. Argentina also blames Hezbollah for a 1992 attack on the…

The Paraguayan People’s Army: Latin America’s Enduring Insurgency

August 7, 2019

Dylan Ramshaw

    The Paraguayan People’s Army (EPP) is one of the first violent organizations to appear after the Cold War in Latin America and one of the last ideologically-based, non-state armed groups in the region. In a continent suffering from widespread drug-trafficking and cartels, this group is something of a unique phenomenon.    The emergence of the EPP has been relatively recent and, although a small group, it has been a thorn in the side to the Paraguayan government and…

Niger Delta Avengers

July 29, 2019

Jacob O'Hare

  In 2016 Nigeria was rocked by attacks on their oil fields, totaling up to 4.6 billion dollars lost in revenue by militants. This loss of income for the country contributed to the recession in Nigeria that year, and the same time the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) came to existence. Exactly who are the Niger Delta Avengers, and what do they seek to accomplish?       About Niger Delta Avengers   A militant group that attacks Nigeria’s oil &…

The Alliance of Democratic Forces (ADF) fuels violence and the spread of Ebola

July 26, 2019

Dylan Ramshaw

    More than a dozen armed groups are suspected to operate in the volatile North Kivu province of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  The region has seen an upsurge in violence over the last months. It has coincided with the ongoing Ebola crisis that was recently declared a global threat by the World Health Organization (WHO). This month President Felix Tshisekedi of DRC ordered the army to launch a "large-scale" operation against the militias in the region.   The…