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

April News: Key concepts to understand violent White supremacy; Separating radical opinion and radical behavior; New online training course

FEATURED RESEARCH
 
Key concepts to understand violent White supremacy
In recent months, many attacks and threats have been linked to violent White supremacists or used rhetoric commonly associated with violent White supremacy, making apparent the need to better understand this group of actors. New START research identifies and explains 13 different prominent narratives used by U.S. violent White supremacist extremists. The brief also summarizes key concepts about ideology and typology. Read more
 
Understanding Radicalization: The Two-Pyramids model
Published in a special issue of American Psychologist, new analysis by START researchers explains how the study of radicalization has evolved and explores the security and research implications of a two-pyramid model that separates radicalization of opinion from radicalization of action. Read more.​
 
NEW ONLINE TRAINING
 

Community-led Action in Response to Violent Extremism (CARVE)
Through a new self-paced, online training, practitioners and civic actors including law enforcement officers, school officials and community leaders can gain a better understanding of radicalization to violence and violent extremism in the United States. Made available at no cost to learners, thanks to funding from the Department of Homeland Security, the course will also introduce a broad spectrum of community-led activities intended to foster resilience and counter violent extremism. Read more.


PUBLICATIONS
 

What Motivates the Blue Line for Technology Adoption? Insights from a Police Expert Panel and Survey
Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management
Egnoto, Michael and Gary Ackerman, Irina Iles, Holly Ann Roberts, Daniel Steven Smith, Brooke Fisher Liu, Brandon, Behlendorf
 
Islamic Politics, Muslim States, and Counterterrorism Tensions
Cambridge University Press
Henne, Peter
 
Understanding the Adoption Process of National Security Technology: An Integration of Diffusion of Innovations and Volitional Behavior Theories
Risk Analysis
Iles, Irina A., and Michael J. Egnoto, Brooke Fisher Liu, Gary Ackerman, Holly Roberts, Daniel Smith
 
Studying Terrorism Empirically: What We Know About What We Don’t Know
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice
Safer-Lichtenstein, Aaron, and Gary LaFree, Thomas Loughran
 
Expert Views on Biological Threat Characterization for the U.S. Government: A Delphi Study
Risk Analysis
Watson, Crystal R., and Matthew C. Watson, Gary Ackerman, Gigi Kwik Gronvall​

 



START NEWS



From military service to serving others
The Foreign Affairs Symposium recently honored Veterans Writing Project, and its founder Ron Capps, for the service it provides to veterans and their families through non-cost writing seminars and workshops. Read more.
 
Tennis and U.S. Army give way to “American Dream”
At age 17, START intern Mariami Dolashvili left her sister, parents and friends in Crimea to set out on her own in the United States. Just two months later, Russia invaded her hometown and her family fled to Germany. Now, she looks ahead to enlisting in the U.S. Army after her graduation later this year. Read more.
 
Spring break focuses on disaster recovery
While most college students enjoyed a leisurely spring break, a group of University of Maryland undergraduate students chose an alternative path through START’s Disaster Recovery in Japan program. Read more.
 
Nearing graduation, students reflect on the Global Terrorism Minor
As three University of Maryland Global Terrorism Minor students look forward to graduation next month, they took a moment to reflect on how START’s program rounded out their education and helped them create unlikely friendships. Read more.​

 



EVENTS

 

"AI, Drones, CRISPR and 3-D Printing: Emerging Technology as a Sandbox for Terrorists,” lecture by Gary Ackerman
11 a.m. April 26, START Headquarters
 
Explore Our World of Fearless Ideas: Maryland Day 2017,” community event
10 a.m.-4 p.m., University of Maryland campus
 
Online information session: START Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis
6 p.m. May 3June 7, online​

 



OPPORTUNITIES



Career Opportunity: Junior Researchers, Global Terrorism Database Apply by April 23
 
Request for Proposals for Borders, Trade, and Immigration Institute, a DHS Center of Excellence Submit by May 5

 



TRAINING



Community-led Action in Response to Violent Extremism (CARVE) online course. Register here.
 
Using the Global Terrorism Database online training. Learn more and register here
 
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 IN THE NEWS

 

UNO News: UNO students present refugee campaign on Capitol Hill
A group of University of Nebraska at Omaha honors students, led by START researcher Gina Ligon, recently placed fourth in the final round of the P2P competition aimed at countering extremism. In this competition, University of Maryland students recently received an honorable mention for their campaign. Read more.
 
Washington Post: Yes, the media do underreport some terrorist attacks. Just not the ones most people think of.
This article from the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage blog is written by Erin Kearns, Allison Betus and Anthony Lemieux and mentions data from the Global Terrorism Database. Read more.
 
Foreign Affairs: The wrong way to stop terrorism
This article from Foreign Affairs mentions data from the Global Terrorism Database about attacks in the US and Russia. Read more.
 
NPR: The challenges of counterterrorism
Gary LaFree was interviewed by Sheilah Kast, host of “On the Morning” from WYPR (NPR Baltimore), about his new book “Countering Terrorism.” Listen now.
 
The Economist: Converts to Islam are likelier to radicalize than native Muslims
John Horgan is quoted in this Economist article about radicalization. Read more.
 
LA Times: Syria's government was supposed to have gotten rid of its chemical weapons in 2014. So what happened?
Markus Binder is quoted in this story about the chemical weapons attack in Syria. 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.