Why This Venezuelan Election Feels Different | A Complex Balancing Act for Militant Groups | Why Are French Jews Supporting the Far Right?, and more

Venezuela’s political playing field remains uneven ahead of elections on July 28. Maduro’s government has detained opposition activists, and several prominent would-be presidential challengers have been banned from running. But the opposition is taking a different approach from 2018: running under a unified ticket rather than sitting out the contest.
Despite ongoing repression, many opposition activists believe there is a real chance they could consolidate their votes and force Maduro’s United Socialist Party to leave the presidential palace. They’re not the only ones who think so: Last week, investment bank Barclays sent a note to clients saying there was a “significant possibility” of a political transition in the country.

A Complex Balancing Act for Militant Groups  (Rob Phillimore, HSToday)
A new study, published in Perspectives on Terrorism, looks at how militant groups manage trade-offs between logistical needs and ideological commitments, diving into the complex balancing act militant groups face in managing their strategic and ideological resources, and how this impacts their violent activities.
The research paper, titled, “Balancing Act: How Militant Groups Manage Strategic and Ideological Resources,” outlines two main schools of thought in relation to the victimization of civilians by militant groups. First, the rational choice perspective, with strategic objectives being the primary motivation behind violence. Second, psychological or ideological factors based around sacred values and deep-seated beliefs.
The study suggests that decision-makers in militant groups often go back and forth between rational and psychological, before eventually focusing on one: ideological resources, such as the mission and convictions that spur the group; or logistical, which include funding, membership, decision-making structures, and material resource management.