The Journal of Strategic Studies has just published a paper by Gilbert Ramsay and myself. Entitled Leaderless Global Jihad: The paradox of discriminate violence, the paper looks at the different profiles of attacks by those affiliated to wider militant networks and grassroots actors without such ties. In the paper we argue there are quite distinct targeting profiles between the different types of actor, prompting some interesting and important questions about how targets are selected, challenging the commentary that suggests jihadist violence is indiscriminate.

The Standing Group on Political Violence has got some really terrific panels lined up for the ECPR General Conference in Montreal. We've put together four panels under the broad heading of ideology and identity.

Diversity is one of the features of the section. We've got sociologists, scholars of religion, political scientists and communications specialists speaking on a range of areas from the new left in Japan to new religious movements, ISIS and loyalism in Northern Ireland. It should be a really great event, I'm looking forward to chairing the section, and my own panel on The Role of Ideology in Violent Politics.