Editorial Welcome
Welcome to the second issue of our fifth edition ! Global Security and Intelligence Studies ( GSIS ) exists at the crossroads between academia and practitioners . We serve a diverse audience ranging from policymakers to operators . Across this spectrum of readers , GSIS strives to provide work pertaining to the most current and relevant topics so that security and intelligence can advance as rapidly as the threat ( s ) is / are able to adapt . This edition is no exception ; we are pleased to offer insights into the COVID-19 pandemic and cyber operations on several levels , the security and social impacts of ecology shifts , the role of religion in NGOs targeted by terror , and how framing can influence public perception of refugee protection policies . We close this edition with five book reviews covering psychological operations to cyber security . This issue covers a lot of ground in the security and intelligence industry !
We open this issue with a policy-oriented piece by Margaret Marangione on the COVID-19 pandemic , which openly addresses interagency shortfalls and the need for greater intelligence in the biosecurity and biothreat fields . Drawing parallels to the intelligence and policy failures leading up to the 9 / 11 attacks , this insightful article highlights similar failures combined with poor policy , not specific to any administration , that failed to provide protection and preparedness . Although not a common term or discipline today , MEDINT ( medical intelligence ) should be commonplace in the intelligence community .
Al Lewis explores the concepts of Just War Theory and how cyber capabilities are being employed in a jus ad vim ( just short of war ) framework , while achieving effects generally seen during wartime conflicts . The author highlights the lack of an ethical framework to guide cyber warfare similar to Just War Theory , which offers the foundational bedrock describing the ethical use of traditional warmaking power .
Resembling the 2014 Flint River pollution in Flint , Michigan , the New River Report , by Kristin Drexler , mirrors similar socio-ecological system impacts . Through Drexler ’ s interviews with residents in riverside communities , the same lack of trust for industry and government , feelings of powerlessness , and uncertain futures echo from those in the Flint communities . From the interviews , the author identifies areas within our socio-ecological system where anthropogenic pollutants pose a long-term and detrimental threat to human health , livelihoods , the environment , culture , and social justice . The author offers potential solutions to this nationwide issue to comprise discussions among industry , government , agriculture , and citizens of the community .
In the article International NGOs Targeted by Terror : The Impact of Religiosity on Independence , Neutrality , and Impartiality , author Dr . Kathryn Lambert
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