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

July News: Benchmarking the ‘Jihadi Industry;’ GTD 2016 dataset released; New tool for event-based research

FEATURED
New report assesses the ‘Jihadi Industry’
A new START report details the key differences in leadership, organizational structure and innovation across 10 active jihadi organizations and outlines potential policy implications for the monitoring and analysis of these organizations. The report also outlines how Da’esh leads the ‘Jihadi Industry’ in all performance metrics, but has been degraded in the past couple of years. Read more.
 
START releases annual update to the Global Terrorism Database
START’s flagship Global Terrorism Database now includes information on more than 170,000 terrorist attacks worldwide, 1970-2016. Read more and explore the data.
 
MELTT tool aims to aid event-based quantitative research
A team of START-affiliated researchers have released a new tool that integrates event datasets typical in unstable political climates as part of a larger project that uses data science to help predict political instability. “Matching Event Data by Location, Time and Type” or MELTT is now available to the public on the CRAN repository for R software packages. Read more.
 
Call for Proposals: START/Oxford book series
START is partnering with Oxford University Press to sponsor a new book series on the causes, conduct and consequences of terrorism. Edited by Gary LaFree, Anthony Lemieux and Gary Ackerman, the interdisciplinary series will approach terrorism conceptually as having a developmental “life cycle” that includes the origins of political extremism and the formation of terrorist groups; terrorist dynamics and persistence; and societal responses to terrorism.  Read more and submit a proposal.
 

PUBLICATIONS

Democracy as a Method of Nonviolence
Springer Link
Chenoweth, Erica
 
Rebel Power: Why National Movements Compete, Fight, and Win
Cornell University Press
Krause, Peter
 


START NEWS

START team selected as finalists in national competition
Created by START minor students, the “It Takes Just One” campaign has been named one of three finalists in a national competition to create a social media campaign to combat terrorism. The campaign focuses on empowering bystanders to intervene and steer someone away from radical beliefs. Read more.
 
Earn a Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis through online START program
START is accepting applications through July 26 for its Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis program. The online program provides participants with advanced education on the causes, dynamics and impacts of international and domestic terrorism. Participants also develop the methodological skills necessary to pursue advanced research on, and analysis of, terrorism. Read more.
 
Capturing the politics behind national movements
Peter Krause spoke with activists in Algiers, protesters in Ireland and fighters in Tel Aviv, and was struck by one pervasive trend: all of these people shared a desire for a state they could call home. This was one example of the many lessons Krause, an associate professor at Boston College and START-affiliated researcher, learned while researching his book “Rebel Power: Why National Movements Compete, Fight, and Win,” which builds on a project he undertook as a START TRA. Read more.
 
DHS award helps UDC students spend summers with START
A recipient of the University of the District of Columbia’s Scientific Leadership Award, Justin Mayes is spending a second summer interning with START. The award, funded by the Department of Homeland Security, seeks to promote diversity in the national security realm. Read more.
 
A closer look at Arie Kruglanski
A storied personal history and an interest in how people form judgements and beliefs, led START’s Arie Kruglanski to the study of radicalization. Now, his work in the field has led to an interest in him. Two recent articles examine Kruglanski’s life and his life’s work. Read more.
 
A holiday in Guantanamo Bay
START Intern Elizabeth Yates discovered an other-worldly experience – and a renewed interest in psychology – during a trip to Guantanamo Bay.  As she visited a now empty military camp, she was inspired to learn more about the psychological underpinnings of terrorism. Read more.
 


EVENTS

 
Financial Trends among Global Terrorist Groups” lecture by Yaya Fanusie
11 a.m. July 19 at START Headquarters
 
AI, Drones, CRISPR and 3-D Printing: Emerging Technology as a Sandbox for Terrorists” lecture by Gary Ackerman
10 a.m. Aug. 1 at START Headquarters
 


OPPORTUNITIES

START’s Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis program Apply by July 26
 
Global Terrorism Minor Program Apply by September 29
 
Call for Papers: Munich Workshop on Behavior and Terrorism Submit by July 31
 
Call for Proposals: Causes, Conduct and Consequences of Terrorism book series Submissions accepted on rolling basis
 


TRAINING

Community-led Action in Response to Violent Extremism (CARVE) online training. Learn more and 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

Vox: Is American descending into political violence again? I asked 12 experts.
Joseph Young is quoted in this story from Vox about political violence in the United States. Read more.
 
CNN: The return of leftist terrorism?
The Global Terrorism Database is mentioned in this article from CNN about the recent shooting at a Congressional baseball game practice. Read more.
 
ABC News: Muslims ‘absolutely’ the group most victimized by global terrorism
William Braniff and Erin Miller are quoted in this article from ABC News about victims of terrorist attacks. Read more.
 
The Atlantic: Is ISIS more violent during Ramadan?
A START background report and the Global Terrorism Database are mentioned in this article from The Atlantic about patterns of Islamic State-related terrorism. 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.