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

July News: Job opportunity; Data on extremism among military and veterans

NEWS

Join Our Team: Researchers (4), Global Terrorism Database (GTD)
The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) is hiring four Researchers to work on the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) and related projects at START’s headquarters at the University of Maryland, College Park. These are full-time positions, with an initial term of 12 months (starting in September 2021). Required qualifications include a Bachelor’s degree in a discipline related to terrorism and political violence, 1+ year(s) systematic data collection and/or coding experience and training in statistics and research methods. Apply by July 31.

New report reveals extremism among U.S. military and veterans uncommon, but on the rise
From 1990 through the first six months of 2021, at least 354 individuals with U.S. military backgrounds committed criminal acts motivated by political, economic, social, or religious goals, including 82 individuals who are facing charges for their involvement in the breach of the Capitol building, according to a new report from START's Radicalization and Disengagement (RaD) team.

Professor Brooke Liu is second UMD professor on prestigious board
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has selected Professor Brooke Liu to join their Science Advisory Board (SAB). Dr. Liu is one of three social scientists on the board and the only communication scholar.

UWT Director attends U.S. Army ROTC Cadet Summer Training Leadership Symposium
In June, Unconventional Weapons and Technology (UWT) Director Steve Sin attended the U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Centers of Influence (COI) Leadership Symposium held at Fort Knox, Ky.

FEATURED PUBLICATIONS

Responding to Gray Zone Conflict: Countering Russia in the Donbas and Beyond
Gray Zone conflict offers revisionist states the opportunity to expand their territorial control and/or influence through approaches that are ambiguous in nature and that do not rise to the level of war. As a result, the risk of retaliation by the U.S.-led international community is substantially reduced. This is the case given the tendency of U.S. defense planning to view conflict as dichotomous – instead of continuous – either peace or war. While this thinking may be appropriate enough for planning conventional campaigns, it handicaps defense planners when responding to unconventional challenges, such as Gray Zone conflict.
 
Effective Interagency Coordination: Barriers and Opportunities
Given the complexity of missions that require skillful navigation of complex human terrain, effective IA coordination is especially important for Civil Affairs (CA) soldiers. This brief article therefore endeavors to explain why effective IA coordination is challenging, and what CA can do about it. It is adapted, with permission, from the authors’ forthcoming monograph with Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) Press, Barriers to Special Operations Forces-Led Counterterrorism. 

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Master of Professional Studies (MPS) degree in Security and Terrorism Studies
Prospective students can now apply for START’s brand new, fully online MPS in Security & Terrorism Studies. The program is appropriate for individuals interested in (and/or currently) working in fields related to intelligence analysis, national security analysis, or analysis of other relevant topic areas, and individuals interested in (and/or currently) conducting scholarly research on terrorism and security. Apply by August 3

START IN THE NEWS

Center for Global Development: Avoiding the high fiscal costs of terrorism in the post-COVID era
This opinion piece about the fiscal cost of terrorism uses data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD).
 
Huffington Post: They were not tourists: The radicals at the heart of the Capitol riot
This article on the Capitol insurrection uses data from the Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) dataset.
 
Voice of America: Causes of extremism spike in US military examined in new study
This article focuses on the new data from START’s Radicalization and Disengagement (RaD) team on extremism among service members and veterans.
 
Boston Globe: Rise of the Moors group arose from a growing, national sovereign citizen movement, experts say
This article about the sovereign citizens movement uses data from a START report on “Understanding Law Enforcement Intelligence Processes.”

The Baltimore Sun: As the world asks how COVID emerged from Wuhan, China pushes back with conspiracy theory about Army post in Maryland
START researcher Steve Sin is quoted in this article about conspiracy theories surrounding COVID-19.
 
Task and Purpose: Self-proclaimed 'incel' allegedly joined Army to train for mass shooting of women but washed out after 4 months
This article on a radicalized individual who tried to join the military to train for a terrorist attack uses the new data from START’s Radicalization and Disengagement (RaD) team on extremism among service members and veterans.

Orlando Sentinel: Ex-Central Florida cops' Capitol riot arrests underscore extremists' inroads among police, experts say
START researcher Michael Jensen is quoted in this article about extremism among law enforcement officers.

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.

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The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START)

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5245 Greenbelt Rd

College Park, MD 20740