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

Best practices for addressing violent extremism; Why the terrorism label matters – and doesn’t

FEATURED RESEARCH

New research finds important lessons for CVE in fields of mental health, education
New research from START explores how lessons learned in the fields of mental health and education can uniquely contribute to best practices for developing resilient communities and addressing violent extremism. The recently completed project yielded:

Resources for law enforcement, educators, mental health practitioners to counter violent extremism
Based on the new START work integrating lessons learned from mental health and education, the research team developed new resources to aid law enforcement, mental health professionals and educators as they help individuals who may be radicalizing but have not yet engaged in criminal acts.


DISCUSSION POINT

Is this Terrorism? / Why Does it Matter?
START’s Global Terrorism Database Program Manager Erin Miller wrote this editorial piece discussing incidents that fall into a gray area between terrorism and other types of violence, and why how they are labeled does, and does not, matter. Read more.
 


PUBLICATIONS

 
With Friends Like These…Why Terrorist Organizations Ally
International Public Management Journal
Asal, Victor H., Hyun Hee Park, R. Karl Rethemeyer, Gary Ackerman
 
An Exploratory Study of Honor Crimes in the United States
Journal of Family Violence
Hayes, Brittany E., Joshua D. Freilich, Steven M. Chermak
 
Targeting Strategies in single-issue bomb attacks
Palgrave Macmillan
Lemanski, Lucy and Margaret Wilson

Treating the Symptoms: Northern Ireland’s Incomplete Peace
Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective
Lewis, Jeffrey William
 
Why ISIS’ Message Resonates: Leveraging Islam, Socio-Political Catalysts and Adaptive Messaging
Studies in Conflict and Terrorism
Pelletier, Ian R., Leif Lundmark, Rachel Gardner, Gina Scott Ligon and Ramazan Kilinc

 


START NEWS

State Department International Visitor Leadership Program visits START
START welcomed a delegation of 13 European scholars, members of law enforcement, religious leaders, NGO directors, government officials and journalists as part of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). Read more.
 
From playing with zoo animals to studying terrorists: An intern’s varied interests
Daughter of a zoologist, START intern Tayler Schmidt spent her formative years playing with exotic animals. Now at START, she’s working on something she feels is equally exciting – understanding domestic radicalization. Read more.
 
New year, new(ly) updated MOOC
START has launched the third iteration of its newly updated Massive Online Open Content (MOOC) course “Understanding Terrorism and the Terrorist Threat” exploring the basics of terrorism studies through lectures, readings and interactive discussions. The course, which runs until March 27, is free and open for registration. Read more and Register now.
 


OPPORTUNITIES

The University of Maryland’s ICONS Project has joined START, bringing with it more than 30 years’ experience in innovative training and research through participant driven simulations for educators, the federal government and corporate and nonprofit clients. To celebrate the START-ICONS partnership, we are offering educators in START’s network a 30 percent discount on ICONS catalog simulations used in 2016 courses. Register here by Feb. 15 to receive the discount code.
 
START’s free, online course “Understanding Terrorism and the Terrorism Threat,” will run from Jan. 18 – April 10. Register now.

Penn State Political Science Lecturer and Counterterrorism Option Director Apply by March 1.

Call for Papers: Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice -- terrorism, political violence and asymmetric conflict Submit by July 30.
 
Call for Papers: Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Submit by Sept. 1.
 
DHS S&T ‘National Conversation on Homeland Security and Technology’ Dialogue Series Participate Now


STUDENT BLOG

Communications intern investigates the lines between conflict and peace during study abroad by Valerie Snaman
 


START IN THE NEWS

 
DAWN News: Will Pakistan see more school attacks?
DAWN News (Pakistan) published this story following the attack on Bacha Khan University in Pakistan featuring a number of graphs and visuals using data from START’s Global Terrorism Database about attacks on educational institutions. Read more.
 
Minneapolis Star Tribune: Most Minnesotans have faith in US to meet terrorist threat, poll finds
START Director Gary LaFree is quoted in this article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune discussing the results of a poll on Minnesotans’ attitudes toward terror threats. Read more.
 
On The Media: The many facets of radicalization
START Researcher John Horgan was interviewed by Bob Garfield from WNYC about the possibility of creating an algorithm to detect radicalization. Listen here.
 
The Hill: Oregon death is latest flashpoint for militias, feds
START Executive Director William Braniff discusses the tactics used by officials in disbanding the militia groups holding a federal building hostage in Oregon in this article from The Hill blog. Read more.
 
New York Magazine: How to save lives by countering ISIS propaganda
START Researchers Kurt Braddock and John Horgan discuss their recent paper in which they lay out a model for how to build counter narratives that can combat ISIS messaging and recruiting. 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.

Copyright © 2016 The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the START mailing list.

Our mailing address is:
The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START)

8400 Baltimore Ave, Suite 250

College Park, MD 20740