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START Newsletter: Global terrorism increasing; GTD 2012 dataset released; New cyber research

 


FEATURED RESEARCH

Despite fewer attacks in Western world, global terrorism increasing
Although terrorism touched 85 countries in 2012, just three -- Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan -- suffered more than half of 2012’s attacks (54%) and fatalities (58%), according to new data released today by START’s Global Terrorism Database (GTD). Read more.
 
Cyber study finds that warning banners deter hackers
Using a warning banner on a computer’s login screen decreases the amount of time that hackers will stay on the computer, according to new START cybersecurity research. Read more.
 
Background Report: Truck carrying radioactive material stolen (Dec. 4)
START’s Unconventional Weapons and Technology Research Program compiled information to provide context in regards to the potential nexus between terrorism, transnational crime organizations (TCO) and RN weapons, the potential for radiological terrorism, and previous RN threat and smuggling incidents in Mexico and Latin America. Read more.
 


DISCUSSION POINT

The Prospective Military Power of Al Qaeda Affiliated Groups in the Syrian Conflict
In this Discussion Point, three START interns argue that al Qaeda affiliated groups in Syria will have greater military power (relative to other groups) than at present by the end of 2015. Read more.
 


 
Counterterrorism and Radical Eco-Groups: A Context for Exploring the Series Hazard Model
Journal of Quantitative Criminology
Carson, Jennifer Varriale
 
Intelligence-led policing and forces of organizational change in the USA
Policing and Society
Carter, Jeremy G., and Scott W. Phillips
 
Introducing the Extremist Crime Database
Terrorism and Political Violence
Freilich, Joshua D., and Steven M. Chermak, Roberta Belli, Jeff Gruenewald, William S. Parkin

Press Freedom, Publicity, and the Cross-National Incidence of Transnational Terrorism
Political Research Quarterly
Hoffman, Aaron M., and Crystal Shelton, Erik Cleven
 


 
GTD 2012 dataset and updates released
START has released updates to the Global Terrorism Database, including its 2012 dataset and enhancements such as additional geocodes, additional target subtypes, and domestic and international attack descriptors. The GTD now contains information on more than 113,000 domestic and international terrorist attacks between 1970 and 2012 that resulted in more than 243,000 deaths and more than 324,000 injuries. Read more or download the data.
 
Foreign Policy names Erica Chenoweth a top global thinker
START Researcher Erica Chenoweth was named one of the 100 leading global thinkers by Foreign Policy for her continued research into civil resistance as an effective change agent. Read more.

Researcher Spotlight: Dr. Sophia Moskalenko
After the Chernobyl disaster and the resulting government propaganda, Moskalenko began to question the intentions of her beloved Soviet Union and discovered her passion for social psychology. Read more.

From carpentry to communication
Given his decorated decade-long career in public relations, it’s hard to believe START Research Assistant Julio Bermejo never planned to work in the communications field. Read more.
 
Registration Deadline: Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis
Interested students have until Jan. 15 to apply for START’s fully online, open enrollment Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis. The yearlong program will begin in March 2014 and provides both scholars and practitioners with advanced education on the causes, dynamics and impacts of international and domestic terrorism. Read more.

START adds third course to summer line-up
START is offering three fully online summer courses on niche areas of terrorism studies: terrorist finance; hostage taking and assassination; and oral communication for national security. Read more.
 


National Center for Food Protection and Defense Call for Transition White Papers. Submit by Dec. 20.
 
Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis. Apply by Jan. 15.
 
CFR 2014-15 International Affairs Fellowships in Nuclear Security. Apply by Jan. 17.
 
**Free online course on “Understanding Terrorism and the Terrorist Threat.”Register by Jan. 26.**
 
START’s Global Terrorism Minor Program. Apply by Feb. 21.
 
Nominate a peer-reviewed article that makes an outstanding contribution. Submit by May 15.

 


 
CNN International
START’s Gary Ackerman was recently interviewed about the potential threat of use of CBRN by terrorist groups in a story about the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. The story aired the week of Dec. 8, but a link to the broadcast is not currently available.
 
Fierce Homeland Security 
Homeland Security Today 
START researchers Gary Ackerman, Michelle Jacome and Brandon Behlendorf provided context for the radiological materials theft in Mexico on Dec. 2 in FierceHomelandSecurity. Michelle Jacome, Brandon Behlendorf and David Vielhaber also spoke with Homeland Security Today about this topic.
 
Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy named START researcher Erica Chenoweth one of their top 100 Global Thinkers of 2013. 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 © 2013 The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), All rights reserved.