Mapping and Evaluating Online Salafi-Jihadism

Project Details

Abstract:

In recent years the Salafi-Jihadist movement has used the internet to help make the Salafi-Jihadist ideology more accessible to potential English and non-English speaking supporters seeking such material online. Jarret Brachman (North Dakota State University), Arie Kruglanski (University of Maryland), Michele Gelfand (University of Maryland), and their associates will attempt to catalog this trend and evaluate the nature of communication passed through these sites. The team will inventory existing sites and map the current Salafi-Jihadist strategic communications network worldwide. In addition, the team will carry out a content analysis of these communications, using semantic coding methods as well as the automated software Linguistic Inquiry and the Word Count program developed by START colleague James Pennebaker.

Timeframe

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