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START Newsletter: Southeast Asian terror trends; US assessment of terrorism; Government surveillance

National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START)

FEATURED RESEARCH

Terrorism in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand
Terrorist attacks in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand accounted for nearly 90 percent of terrorist activity among the 12 countries in the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to a new START study. Sixty-three percent of the attacks occurred in the Philippines. Full story…
 
White Paper: A Multi-Layer Assessment of Terrorism in its Current and Future Manifestation
START researchers participated in a series of interviews that resulted in a white paper aimed to advance the ongoing national dialogue on terrorism, exploring how scholars, practitioners and operators understand terrorism in both its current manifestation and as anticipated in the future. Full story…
 


DISCUSSION POINT

 
It’s not Big Data, but Little Data, that Prevents Terrorist Attacks
In this editorial piece, Erik Dahl discusses the role government surveillance can play in preventing terrorist attacks and/or catching perpetrators. Full story…
 


PUBLICATIONS

 
Putting the ‘O’ in VEOs: What Makes an Organization?
Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict: Pathways Toward Terrorism and Genocide
Ligon, Gina Scott, Pete Simi, Mackenzie Harms and Daniel J. Harris
 

When Terrorists Target Schools: An Exploratory Analysis of Attacks on Educational Institutions
Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology
Bradford, Emma and Margaret Wilson
 

Military Experience, Identity Discrepancies, and Far Right Terrorism: An Exploratory Analysis
Studies in Conflict and Terrorism
Simi, Pete, Bryan Bubolz and Ann Hardman
 

Religious Fundamentalism in the Middle East: A Cross-National, Inter-Faith, and Inter-Ethnic Analysis
Brill
Moaddel, Mansoor and Stuart A. Karabenick

 


START NEWS

Researcher Spotlight: Ronald Breiger
A professor at the University of Arizona, Ron Breiger inadvertently began investigating social networks and stratification in his high school cafeteria. With START, Breiger explores social network ties in the drug and CBRN weapons trades. Full story…
 
World Economic Forum features LaFree’s myths of terrorism
The World Economic Forum recently invited Gary LaFree to present a video about the “Five Myths of Global Terrorism,” on behalf of its Global Agenda Council on Terrorism. Full story and video…
 
Minneapolis native, Dartmouth senior finds her niche in Md.
Blaine Ponto is all over the place, in every sense of the phrase. Living in Washington, D.C., this summer to intern with START’s special projects team, Ponto, a Minneapolis native, is a rising senior at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. Full story…
 
Braniff presents “Conceptual Frameworks for Understanding Global Jihadism”
To combat Global Jihadist terrorism, Bill Braniff said you must first understand how it is intertwined with ideology, history and politics. In a recent lecture at START, Braniff discussed the breadth of the Global Jihad. Full story…
 
START visits National Counterterrorism Center
START students recently spent the day at the NCTC thanks to Dr. Larry Stewart, a criminal justice professor at Savannah State University. Stewart is spending his summer with START through the DHS Summer Research Team Program for Minority Serving Institutions.  Full story…
 
Share how you use the GTD
In an effort to better understand the strengths and limitations of the GTD in practice, START would like to learn more about how the GTD informs your work. Please visit the GTD Contact Page and select "How I use the GTD" from the Action menu to share some details about how the GTD has worked for you. Full story…
 


SIGNIFICANT TERRORISM EVENTS IN THE NEWS
Pakistan: Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader writes letter to Malala Yousafzai
A senior Pakistani Taliban leader recently published a letter expressing shock at last year’s attack on Malala Yousafzai, a 16-year-old schoolgirl who was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen. The letter comes short of apologizing for the attack, but encourages Malala to return to Pakistan and resume her education there. Full story…
 
Syria: Al-Nusra Front assassinates leader of Free Syrian Army
Members of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) have accused the al-Qa’ida linked al-Nusra Front of assassinating one of their leaders, Kamal Hamami, also known as Abu Bassir al-Ladkani. Full story…
 
France: Police arrest Anders Breivik sympathizer
French police have arrested Kristian “Varg” Vikernes on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack. Vikernes, a heavy metal musician well known in the neo-Nazi scene, has previously spent time in jail in Norway for killing another musician and for arson attacks on three churches. Full story…
 
Colombia: FARC leader says the conflict is nearing an end
Ivan Marquez, a leader for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who is taking part in peace talks with the Colombian government, has stated that the armed conflict is nearly over. Full story…

 


OPPORTUNITIES

START issues call for interactive teaching units on cybersecurity
START will award up to six curriculum development awards of $1,000 to instructors who will develop interactive teaching units on the human aspects of cybersecurity -- origins and motivations of digital criminals/digital terrorists, the impact of digital attacks and the threat of attacks on communities, and/or strategies for attack preparedness and mitigation. Apply now.
 
Teach a terrorism or political violence class? Participate in a study. Apply now.
 
Career: Operations Analyst Opportunity at DHS Science and Technology Directorate. More information.
 


START IN THE NEWS

 
The Chronicle of Higher Education
START researchers John Horgan and Martha Crenshaw commented on how terrorism expertise is perceived in academia. Full story…
 
Huffington Post
The Huffington Post linked to START’s study “Far-right Violence in the United States 1990-2010” in an article about American attitudes toward right-wing extremism. Full story…
 
Psychology Today
START researcher Anthony Lemieux blogged about the Rolling Stone’s cover featuring Boston bomber Dzokhar Tsarnaev. Full story…
 
World Economic Forum
The organization’s blog features a post authored by START Director Gary LaFree about the “Top five myths about terrorism.” Full story…
 

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.