September 2, 2011

Understanding the Threat: Perspectives on Violent Extremism

In August 2011, the Human Factors/Behavioral Sciences Division of the Science and Technology Directorate and the Homegrown Violent Extremism Branch of the Office of Intelligence and Analysis at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security jointly organized an event entitled "Understanding the Threat: Perspectives on Violent Extremism." Four START-affiliated researchers were featured at the event, which was designed to foster dialogue between researchers, intelligence analysts, and counterterrorism practitioners. The following scholars offered insights from their ongoing research and discussed the relevance of their work to the DHS mission:

• Jarret Brachman on terrorist use of the Internet (Faculty Member, Center for Disaster Studies and Emergency Management, North Dakota State University)
• Jeff Gruenewald on domestic violent extremism (Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Arkansas)
• John Horgan on disengagement from terrorism (Director of the International Center for the Study of Terrorism and Associate Professor of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University)
• Stevan Weine on preventing terrorist recruitment (Director of the International Center for Responses to Catastrophes and Professor of Psychiatry, University of Illinois, Chicago)

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