Christine Sixta Rinehart, Ph.D.
sixta@mailbox.sc.edu
Full Professor
University of South Carolina
Year of PhD: 2008
Phone: (864) 762-0025 or (803) 576-7839
Address: University of South Carolina (Palmetto College) 306C James F. Byrnes Building
City: Columbia, South Carolina - 29208
Country: United States
About Me:
CHRISTINE SIXTA RINEHART is a Professor of Political Science at the University of South Carolina in Palmetto College. She earned her PhD from the University of South Carolina in 2008. Her research interests include international terrorism, female terrorism, and security and counterterrorism. Her first book Volatile Social Movements and the Origins of Terrorism: The Radicalization of Change was published in December 2012 by Lexington Books. Her second book, Drones and Targeted Killing in the Middle East and Africa: An Appraisal of American Counterterrorism Policies was published by Lexington Books in December 2016. Her third book, Sexual Jihad: The Role of Islam in Female Terrorism was published in June 2019 by Lexington Books. She can be reached at sixta@mailbox.sc.edu
Research Interests
Terrorism
Religion & Politics
Foreign Policy
Latin American And Caribbean Politics
Middle East & North African Politics
Political Violence
Female Terrororism
Drone Warfare
The Stabbing Intifada
Targeted Killing
International Terrorism
Countries of Interest
Afghanistan
Colombia
Egypt
Israel
Mexico
Pakistan
Russia
My Research:
My research primarily focuses on terrorism and counterterrorism and naturally includes United States' Foreign Policy. I have published three books in addition to numerous articles and book chapters. I published my third book which looks at the roles of jihadist female terrorists with Lexington Books. I am currently working on a book concerning drone/UAV/RPA warfare with the University of Alabama Press that will be published in 2023 and another book on the Stabbing Intifada in Israel (with Lexington Books). My areas of expertise include the Middle East and North Africa, particularly Egypt and Israel. My other area of expertise is Latin America, particularly focusing on Colombia and Mexico. I have also published work on abortion and maternal healthcare. I am also learning Russian and have become an expert on Russian/American foreign policy.
Publications:
Journal Articles:
In the Islamic hadith corpus and Quran, the way to atone for sins is called tawba (or tawbah), which requires one to complete a series of steps to receive forgiveness from Allah (God). Jihadist terrorist organizations use primarily Quranic scripture to recruit and employ suicide bombers who may have a guilty conscience for their past sins. It is said that martyrdom, or istishadi, will automatically save Muslims from hell and grant access to paradise no matter the sin committed. One of the understudied reasons for istishadi suicide bombings in jihadist groups is the concept of atonement. This article answers the following research questions: What role does guilt in Islam play in the motivations for male and female Sunni jihadist suicide bombers, and why is tawba not utilized?
The United States has been using Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) to assassinate terrorist targets since its first RPA strike on November 3, 2002, when a U.S. Predator fired a hellfire missile at a car traveling through the Mar’ib province of Yemen. The intelligence cycle of this targeted killing process is murky at best, and the policy has changed throughout the successive administrations of U.S. presidents. Details exist but there is no defined tangible chain of analysis concerning the selection of the target, the monitoring of the target, and finally, the assassination of the target. This paper attempts to elucidate the intelligence chain of analysis concerning American targeted killing and examine how the intelligence cycle of targeted killing varies through successive presidential administrations.
Journalists and academics have frequently speculated on President Trump’s drone policy, with many surmising that he has increased drone strikes relative to the number conducted by the Obama administration. During his electoral campaign, President Trump lacked clarity in defining his drone policy. When questioned about conducting drone strikes against ISIS, he simply stated, “I would bomb the Hell out of them.” However, now that he is in office, he has rarely talked about drones, let alone drone strikes.
On March 21, 2016, in a political campaign speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump vowed “We will move the American Embassy to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem” and, true to his word, a year after the election on December 6, 2017, he announced that the American Embassy would be moved from Tel Aviv to its new location in Jerusalem. The purpose of this article is to examine the reasons for this decision and to discuss the possible foreign policy implications of the transfer, particularly concerning the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process.
The United States’ Air Force (USAF) has developed and used unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology to monitor and assassinate dangerous terrorists in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen. Currently, there are few countries that possess armed UAV and since the US created much of this technology, the USAF is usually part of the training that automatically accompanies the purchase of its UAVs. The research question this article attempts to answer is, “What is the extent of the United States’ Air Force assistance in the training and proliferation of UAV technology to foreign militaries?”
President Obama's foreign policy grand strategy can be described by the terms shadowboxing or shadowboxer. Shadowboxing is a technique that boxers use to practice, sparring with imaginary opponents or attacking shadows in preparation for the real fight. Similarly, President Obama attacks covert threats but rarely responds to visible or viable threats. Like a practicing boxer, President Obama is fighting the murky shadows while refusing to engage the main stage in the international arena. Obama's foreign policy grand strategy consists of the following five tenets. (1) Modest Retrenchment in Foreign Policy Spending. (2) Rebuilding America's Reputation: The Anti-Thesis of George W. Bush. (3) Multilateralism. (4) Nonintervention and Avoiding “Boots on the Ground.” (5) Assertive Counterterrorism.
We examine regulations in thirteen Southern states regarding access to legal abortion, procedures for juveniles and minors seeking birth control or abortions, clinic regulations, and the dynamics of public funding of birth control and abortion. Southern state legislatures play an important strategic role in national anti-legal abortion politics. We analyze the paradox of the Southern population utilizing legal abortion and birth control at comparable levels to other regions of the country, while Southern legislatures consistently restrict access to these options. Our paper integrates gender, social class, race, and sexuality into our analysis of this aspect of Southern and national politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
The writer examines the factors that contributed to the radicalization of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. First, the social movement resorted to the use of terrorist tactics under the command of its charismatic leader and founder, Hasan al-Banna. Second, the Brotherhood underwent radicalization because Hasan al-Banna himself was radicalized throughout time. Third, the use of terrorist tactics eventuated from the movement's increasing frustration at the successive failures of its attempts to reform the Egyptian population.
Are terrorist women the new “new women” in developing societies? Comparative cross‐national and longitudinal case studies of female terrorists ascertain that female terrorists in developing societies are similar to early feminists from the First and Second Waves of feminism. Although feminism is inherently a Western word and many female terrorists do not identify with this terminology, female terrorists are often fighting for political equality and the betterment of their gender. Female terrorists face what is called a triple bind of oppression: societal gender inequalities, oppression within their terrorist groups, and Western oppression from imperialist nations. These three kinds of oppression, or the triple bind, often hold female terrorists back from gaining political equality. However, the triple bind is also what makes these female terrorists militant in the first place.
Books Written:
Female terrorists are a rare phenomenon. Less than ten terrorist organizations throughout the world have women. These terrorist groups are either Marxist (atheist) or Jihadist in their ideologies. This book ascertains, “What is the role of Islam in female terrorism?” It explores the roles of women in eight jihadist case studies including: Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the Chechen Separatists, Boko Haram, HAMAS, Hezbollah, ISIS, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, and Al Qaeda. Secondary sources and primary sources are used including research conducted on Palestinian women in Israeli prisons who have been convicted of terrorism. It is argued that are three roles for women in Jihadist terrorism: the disposable, the domestic, and the secretary. The theory posited in this book is that the role of women in terrorist groups is similar to their cultural/religious roles in society
The United States has repeatedly used drones to kill terrorists in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen in an effort to decrease terrorism and the vitality of terrorist groups. Targeted killing through the use of drones has become a foreign policy weapon to keep the United States safe from further terrorist attacks. However, it is suspected that these killings has actually led to an increase in terrorist group recruitment, terrorist attacks, and empathy for the terrorist group from the local population in addition to several other unwanted repercussions. The two part research question this book attempts to answer is, “What is the effect of drone targeted killing on Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen? And is it a successful method in the War on Terror?”
Although many scholars have studied terrorism, few scholars have ever studied terrorism from the aspect of its initial origins in social movements. Not only is research concerning this phenomenon outdated, but there has also been no consensus as to what causes terrorism. Many contemporary terrorist organizations were once social movements that formed for a specific purpose using nonviolent tactics to accomplish their agenda. Eventually, terrorist tactics became the method of choice for these once peaceful social movements. Volatile Social Movements and the Origins of Terrorism: The Radicalization of Change, by Christine Sixta Rinehart, focuses on why this transition occurred; why did a peaceful social movement transition to a terrorist organization? The case studies in this book include the Muslim Brotherhood, the ETA, the FARC, and the LTTE. The study focuses on the individual characteristics, group dynamics, and external forces that caused social movements to use terrorist tactics. It is ascertained who made the decision to use terrorism, and why and how that person or group of people ascended to a leadership position within the social movement. After the (person) people, time, and place are found pertaining to the first decision to use terrorism, Sixta Rinehart examines why terrorism became an attractive option for each social movement. Volatile Social Movements and the Origins of Terrorism asks a necessary question for scholars and researchers in counterterrorism and international policy: Under what conditions do social movements resort to the use of terrorist tactics?
Book Chapters:
Contemporary Debates on Terrorism is an innovative textbook, addressing a number of key issues in terrorism studies from both traditional and 'critical' perspectives. This second edition has been revised and updated to cover contemporary issues such as the rise of ISIL and cyberterrorism. In recent years, the terrorism studies field has grown in quantity and quality, with a growing number of scholars rooted in various professional disciplines beginning to debate the complex dynamics underlying this category of violence. Within the broader field, there are a number of identifiable controversies and questions which divide scholarly opinion and generate opposing arguments. These relate to theoretical issues, such as the definition of terrorism and state terrorism, substantive issues like the threat posed by al Qaeda/ISIL and the utility of different responses to terrorism, different pathways leading people to engage in terrorist tactics and ethical issues such as the use of drones. This new edition brings together in one place many of the field’s leading scholars to debate the key issues relating to a set of 16 important controversies and questions. The format of the volume involves a leading scholar taking a particular position on the controversy, followed by an opposing or alternative viewpoint written by another scholar. In addition to the pedagogic value of allowing students to read opposing arguments in one place, the volume will also be important for providing an overview of the state of the field and its key lines of debate. This book will be essential reading for students of terrorism studies and political violence, critical terrorism studies, security studies and IR in general.
This volume of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture reflects the dramatic increase in research on the topic of gender over the past thirty years, revealing that even the most familiar subjects take on new significance when viewed through the lens of gender. The wide range of entries explores how people have experienced, understood, and used concepts of womanhood and manhood in all sorts of obvious and subtle ways.The volume features 113 articles, 65 of which are entirely new for this edition. Thematic articles address subjects such as sexuality, respectability, and paternalism and investigate the role of gender in broader subjects, including the civil rights movement, country music, and sports. Topical entries highlight individuals such as Oprah Winfrey, the Grimke sisters, and Dale Earnhardt, as well as historical events such as the capture of Jefferson Davis in a woman's dress, the Supreme Court's decision in Loving v. Virginia, and the Memphis sanitation workers'strike, with its slogan,'I AM A MAN.'Bringing together scholarship on gender and the body, sexuality, labor, race, and politics, this volume offers new ways to view big questions in southern history and culture.
Voting in America
Book Reviews:
Review of Homegrown: ISIS in America by Alexander Meleagou-Hitchens, Seamus Hughes, and Bennett Clifford.
Review of Moral Responsibility in Twenty-First-Century Warfare: Just War Theory and the Ethical Challenges of Autonomous Weapons Systems by Steven C. Roach and Amy E. Eckert (Eds).
Rinehart, Christine Sixta. (June 2020). “Lebanon’s Jewish Community: Fragments of Live Arrested.” By Franck Salameh. Journal of the Middle East and Africa (JMEA) 11(02).
book review on 'Drones and Support for the Use of Force’
Book Review of Jihadism Transformed
Book review on Gendering Global Conflict, Toward a Feminist Theory of War
Book Review of Righting Feminism
Media Appearances:
TV Appearances:
I gave my analysis here as to whether the Pentagon should keep its budget classified.
Newspaper Quotes:
“A Daily Publication of the Dialogue.” October 14, 2022. Quote on President Biden's most recent trip to Latin America.
Quote concerning ASMEA
Martin, Peter. “Errant Drone Strike Undercuts Biden Vow to Hit Terrorists Abroad.” Bloomberg. September 27, 2021.
My opinions concerning the Iranian Nuclear Crisis and President Obama's Deal.
What is causing the crisis in Egypt? It is not the quest for democracy. It is more likely that lack of food due to a 60 percent increase in commodity prices is causing Egyptians to riot. This worldwide inflation is due to our federal government's QE2 program, enacted by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke...