A consortium of researchers dedicated to improving the understanding of the human causes and consequences of terrorism

June News: Comparing gang members and domestic extremists; Attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan; START launches book series with Oxford University Press


FEATURED RESEARCH

 

Background Report: Mass Casualty Explosives Attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan
In the aftermath of a series of deadly terrorist attacks in Baghdad and Kabul involving vehicle bombs, START has compiled information from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan and the use of explosives—particularly vehicle-borne explosives and suicide tactics—in terrorist attacks. Read more.
 
Gang members, domestic extremists vastly different, says first study to compare the two
Domestic extremists tend to be much older, better education, more affluent, more religious and more likely to be white than street gang members, according to a sweeping new University of Colorado-Boulder study that systematically compares the groups for the first time. Read more.
 
New report examines U.S. Muslim opinions about ISIS, Syria and the U.S. presidential election
U.S. Muslims continue to hold very negative opinions of suicide bombing and of ISIS, and endorse allowing more Syrian refugees into the United States, according to results from the sixth wave of an internet poll of U.S. Muslims. The poll also found a positive correlation between radical opinions and participants’ feelings of alienation. Read more.


CALL FOR PROPOSALS

 

START inks new book series with Oxford University Press
START is partnering with Oxford University Press to sponsor a new book series on the causes, conduct and consequences of terrorism. Edited by Gary LaFree, Anthony Lemieux and Gary Ackerman, the interdisciplinary series will approach terrorism conceptually as having a developmental “life cycle” that includes the origins of political extremism and the formation of terrorist groups; terrorist dynamics and persistence; and societal responses to terrorism.  Read more and submit a proposal.
 


DISCUSSION POINT
 
Six Reasons Why Stopping Terrorism is so Challenging
START Director Gary LaFree writes this month’s discussion point, highlighting six major challenges for developing effective policies to counter terrorism. Read more.
 

PUBLICATIONS
 

Cut from the Same Cloth? A Comparative Study of Domestic Extremists and Gang Members in the United States
Justice Quarterly
Pyrooz, David C., and Gary LaFree, Scott H. Decker, Patrick A. James
 
Nexus of Global Jihad
Columbia University Press
Moghadam, Assaf
 
Deradicalizing Detained Terrorists
Political Psychology
Webber, David, and Marina Chernikova, Arie W. Kruglanski, Michele J. Gelfand, Malkanthi Hettiarachchi, Rohan Gunaratna, Marc-Andre Lafreniere, Jocelyn J. Belanger


START NEWS

 

Rachel Gabriel awarded for app to assess education programs for Syrian refugees
START’s Rachel Gabriel was recently recognized by the National Democratic Institute and Stevens Initiative as one of 16 civic technology innovators from around the world for her part in creating a tool to improve the lives of Syrian refugee children. Read more.
 
START student awarded Boren Fellowship to study Russian language in Latvia
Armed with a Boren Fellowship, Sally Barth will travel to Daugavpils, Latvia, in January, where she will spend the year immersing herself in Russian and Baltic regional studies. Read more.
 
UMD Portal Project connects students across oceans
Inside three identical, gold shipping containers – one in a refugee camp in Iraq, one at a university in Afghanistan and the last on Tawes Plaza at the University of Maryland – students oceans apart were given a chance to have a dialogue as part of the UMD Portal Project last month. Read more.


EVENTS

 

Online information session: START Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis
6 p.m. June 28, online
 
Book Talk: The Logic of Ethnic and Religious Conflict in Africa University of Maryland Associate Professor of Government and Politics John McCauley will discuss his latest publication, The Logic of Ethnic and Religious Conflict in Africa.
11 a.m. July 6 at START Headquarters


OPPORTUNITIES

 

START undergraduate and graduate student fall internships Apply by June 30 (deadline extended)
 
Call for Abstracts: ASTM Symposium on Homeland Security and Public SafetySubmit by July 7
 
Project on Advanced Security Concepts for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (PASCC) Call for Papers Submit by June 15
 
Global Terrorism Minor Program Apply by September 29


TRAINING

 

Community-led Action in Response to Violent Extremism (CARVE)
Through a new self-paced, online training, practitioners and civic actors including law enforcement officers, school officials and community leaders can gain a better understanding of radicalization to violence and violent extremism in the United States. Made available at no cost to learners, thanks to funding from the Department of Homeland Security, the course will also introduce a broad spectrum of community-led activities intended to foster resilience and counter violent extremism. Learn more and register here.
 
Using the Global Terrorism Database online training. Learn more and register here
 
The Terror-Crime Nexus & Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Threats online course. Register now.
 
Understanding Terrorism and the Terrorist Threat online open course is now on demand. Participate now.
 
Free online short series of video lectures on “Core Capabilities and Potential Durability of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).” View now.


STUDENT BLOG

 

What they don’t tell you about communicating as a communications major by Alexis Chahine


START IN THE NEWS

 

NBC News: Vehicles are becoming the weapons of choice for terrorists
The Global Terrorism Database is cited and Erin Miller is quoted in this NBC News analysis about recent terrorist attacks in Western Europe using vehicles. Read more.
 
The New Yorker: How different – and dangerous – is terrorism today
The Global Terrorism Database is cited and William Braniff is quoted in this New Yorker article about trends in terrorism. Read more.
 
Huffington Post: What to know when ISIS claims responsibility for an attack
Erin Miller was quoted in an article from the Huffington Post about recent terrorist attacks in the West and ISIS claims of responsibility. Read more.
 
The Wall Street Journal: Online terrorist propaganda still a challenge for tech companies
Peter Weinberger is quote in this article about online terrorist propaganda in the wake of the attack on London Bridge (subscription required). Read more.
 
NPR Los Angeles: The rise of bin Laden’s son and his quest to remake the terrorist group
William Braniff is featured in this radio broadcast with NPR Los Angeles (KPCC) about Hazma bin Laden, the son of Osama bin Laden. Listen Now.
 
The Economist: The hunt is on for the Manchester bomber’s accomplices
An infographic in this article about terrorism in Britain is based on data from the Global Terrorism Database. Read more

Public Radio International: Suicide attacks are rare in the West – but part of a growing global trend
This story from PRI cites data from the Global Terrorism Database. Read more.

This is a selection of news clips from the past month.
A complete list of START’s media coverage can be found
here.

SUPPORTING START

Help Support START Research and Education
The START Consortium is dedicated to generating knowledge of the human causes and consequences of terrorism. Applying rigorous standards to both research and education, START seeks to illuminate one of the most highly politicized and understudied phenomena in the social sciences for students, practitioners and policy-makers. Funded primarily through research grants to date, START is seeking to generate an endowment that will provide the flexibility and autonomy to ensure that it can continue to serve as an objective source of data and empirically based analysis into the future.  To donate, or for more information, please click here.