Recruitment and radicalization of far-right terrorists
A new START report presents findings from a two-year study that investigated multiple aspects of recruitment and radicalization of far-right terrorists. It examines topics such as the entry process and recruitment into extremism, risk factors, turning points and why radicalization fails. Read more.
Criminal justice and military deaths at the hands of extremists
A new background report provides analysis on extremist attacks on representatives of the criminal justice system and military personnel in the United States between 1990 and 2015. The report examines 66 homicides and gives further information on the incidents, offenders and victims of the attacks. Read more.
“Give Peace a Chance”? Explaining Colombia’s (Failed) Peace Process with the FARC
START researcher Barnett Koven discusses the political climate in Colombia in the wake of a failed peace process with FARC and offers his thoughts on what the post-conflict environment could look like. Read more.
Changing organizational structures of jihadist networks in the Netherlands
Yale University Press
de Bie, Jasper L., and Christine J. de Poot, Joshua D. Freilich, Steven M. Chermak
Patterns of Collective Desistance from Terrorism: Fundamental Measurement Challenges
Perspectives on Terrorism
Miller, Erin
Miller wins for best doctoral dissertation on terrorism and counterterrorism
With research that “forces us all to rethink what we call terrorist 'groups'/ 'organizations', showing us their heterogeneity and fluidity,” START’s Erin Miller recently won the Terrorism Research Initiative’s award for the best doctoral dissertation on terrorism and counterterrorism in 2015. Read more.
‘The Price of Certainty’
In anticipation of the upcoming U.S. election, the New York Times released a short “opinionated documentary” featuring START Researcher Arie Kruglanski. The video, “The Price of Certainty,” focuses on Kruglanski’s theory of cognitive closure and how people’s politics are driven by their psychological needs. Read more.
LaFree and Freilich lead effort in bridging criminology and terrorism studies
Highlighting the work of many START researchers, a new book explains the origins and evolution of terrorism from a criminological perspective. Edited by START’s Gary LaFree and Joshua Freilich, “The Handbook of the Criminology of Terrorism” covers broad themes that include terrorism’s origins, theories, methodologies and types, and its relationship to other forms of crime, terrorism and the criminal justice system. Read more.
10th Century family ties and a 21st Century research agenda
Though his family tree is rooted in military service and filled with armor officers, Steve Sin was the first of his family to serve in the U.S. military. A former military intelligence officer, Sin now studies illicit trafficking of radiological and nuclear materials as well as the use of the cyber domain by non-state actors. Read more.
Crenshaw and LaFree provide critical look at counterterrorism strategies
In their new book, “Countering Terrorism: No Simple Solutions” START Researchers Martha Crenshaw and Gary LaFree provide a critical look at the strategies used to understand and counter terrorism through the years. Read more.
Researchers offer lecture on influence of ISIL in Turkey
Turkish researchers from the Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies (ORSAM) recently visited START to present their ongoing research into ISIL and the terrorist group’s use of propaganda. Read more.
Book Talk: Brian Fishman “The Master Plan: ISIS, al-Qaeda, and the Jihadi Strategy for Final Victory”
Monday, Nov. 14, 3 p.m., START office
TEVUS Portal Virtual Introduction and Demonstrations
Nov.10, Nov. 15, Dec. 1, Dec. 6, Dec. 15
Using Network Analysis to Understand Collective Learning and Mobilization: Application to the 2013 Uprising in Turkey
Thursday, Dec. 15, 11 a.m., START office
Book Talk: Gary LaFree and Martha Crenshaw "Countering Terrorism: No Simple Solutions"
Thursday, Feb. 23, 11 a.m., University of Maryland Stamp Student Union
Identify relationships, conduct sophisticated analysis with dynamic new portal
Built from four related open-source databases, the TEVUS Portal compiles behavioral, geographic and temporal
Learn how to navigate and analyze world's largest unclassified database on terrorist attacks
With systematic data on more than 150,000 terrorist attacks that have occurred since 1970, the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) has become a critical resource in providing empirical data on terrorism. To help new and seasoned GTD users better understand the analytical power of the database, START has launched a new self-paced, video training series. The first module focuses on the data collection process, instruction on analytical strengths and weaknesses of large datasets and an introduction to pivot tables and foundational graphing. The online training modules are appropriate for security professionals and scholars, and are designed to improve their analytical and critical thinking skills while advancing their competency in Microsoft Excel. Additional training modules – which focus on patterns over time, perpetrators, weapons and tactics and bivariate relationships – will be released over time. Learn more and register here.
Apply for spring admission to START’s graduate certificate program Apply by Jan. 12.
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.
START Education Blog featuring opportunities and local events. View now.
Interdisciplinary scientist, DHS Office of Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis Apply by Nov. 8.
Ocean City Police Department Testing Apply Now.
Wall Street Journal: How Islamic State weaponized the chat app to direct attacks on the West
Peter Weinberger is quoted in this article about the Islamic State's use to mobile chat apps. Please note you may need a subscription to read. Read more.
Baltimore Sun: Mental health evaluations key to stopping terrorist attacks
Stevan Weine writes this opinion piece about using mental health evaluations as a tool to counter terrorism. Read more.
Quartz: Lone wolf terrorists are unpredictable in almost every regard - except one
Michael Jensen is quoted in this piece from Quartz about long wolf extremism. Read more.
SUPPORTING START
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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.