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

December News: Cyberattacks against critical infrastructure; Limited time remains for free CVE training opportunities; Job opportunity

FEATURED

START team develops dataset on cyberattacks against critical infrastructure
A new research brief highlights findings from a newly developed dataset of 130 cyberattacks against critical infrastructure worldwide dating back to 2009. The United States was the country most often targeted for cyberattacks regardless of motive, accounting for more than 19 percent of the incidents in the dataset. 

Three months remain to take free FEMA CVE training
Through its collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), START is offering a series of training courses designed to provide community-focused, rigorously researched and academically informed instruction on CVE through March 2020 – and at no cost to learners.

JOB: Data Collection Manager (Deadline 12/31): The Domestic Radicalization team is now hiring a junior researcher for the Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) project. Required qualifications include a Bachelor’s degree in a discipline related to terrorism and political violence, training in research methods (including quantitative and qualitative techniques), and 1+ years of systematic data collection experience.

PUBLICATIONS

ISIS Propaganda: A Full-Spectrum Extremist Message
Oxford University Press
Baele, Stephane J., and Katharine A. Boyd, Travis G. Coan
 
Vaccinating Against Hate: Using Attitudinal Inoculation to Confer Resistance to Persuasion by Extremist Propaganda
Terrorism and Political Violence
Braddock, Kurt
 
A Comparison of ISIS Foreign Fighters and Supporters Social Media Posts: An Exploratory Mixed-method Content Analysis
Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression
Dillon, Leevia, and Loo Seng Neo, Joshua D. Freilich
 
Terrorist Propaganda After the Islamic State: Learning, Emulation, and Imitation
ISIS Propaganda: A Full-Spectrum Extremist Message
Gill, Paul, and Kurt Braddock, Sanaz Zolghadriha, Bettina Rottweiler, Lily D. Cushenbery
 
Not My Brother’s Keeper: Factional Infighting in Armed Islamist Movements
Journal of Religion and Violence
Hafez, Mohammed M.
 
A Field-Wide Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Putative Risk and Protective Factors for Radicalization Outcomes
Journal of Quantitative Criminology
Wolfowicz, Michael, and Yael Litmanovitz, David Weisburd, Badi Hasisi

NEWS

START researcher travels to Ghana to develop CT and CVE training
Barnett Koven, START’s training director and senior researcher, recently traveled to the African Union’s Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra, Ghana, to participate in a workshop on the development of new curricula for counterterrorism and countering violent extremism (CVE) training.
 
GTD informs Global Terrorism Index
GTD Manager Erin Miller presented on a panel about the Global Terrorism Database and how data can help shape counterterrorism policy in an event marking the “7th annual Release of the Global Terrorism Index” at the United States Institute of Peace. The GTI, released in late-November, is produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace and is based on the GTD.
 
GIS research project seeks to combat drug cartels and gangs in Mexico and Central America
A new project examining the activities of gangs and drug cartels will give START a chance to work alongside two other Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Centers of Excellence as the teams build prototypes of tools to streamline information gathering, dissemination and the visualization of vital data points in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
 
Newest START-Oxford book examines ISIS propaganda
The START-Oxford University Press book series has published its second book, “ISIS Propaganda: A Full-Spectrum Extremist Message.” Edited by Stephane J. Baele, Katharine A. Boyd and Travis G. Coan, the book offers a comprehensive overview and analysis of the Islamic State's use of propaganda, highlighting the challenges that it has presented for counterterrorism forces.

 

START continues to seek opportunities to fund the GTD beyond 2019

If your organization uses the GTD and would like to explore options to support data collection or purchase a license for commercial use, please contact us at gtd@start.umd.edu. If you are an individual who would like to support the GTD, you may make a gift directly to START through the University of Maryland College Park Foundation (UMCPF). START also welcomes testimonials sent to gtd@start.umd.edu from individuals and organizations regarding the value of the GTD to ongoing analytical efforts.

OPPORTUNITIES

Online Winter Courses (Deadline 1/2): Take an online class with START this winter. The courses are open to all majors and all universities and include courses on the Islamic State and social network analysis of terrorism.
 
START’s Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis (Deadline 1/10): The graduate certificate 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. This program is appropriate for both academicians and practitioners and is flexible in structure. Students can complete the program in as few as 12 to 24 months.
 
Study Abroad in Malaysia (Deadline 3/1): In collaboration with UMD’s Office of Education Abroad, START is offering a three-credit course focusing on counterterrorism (CT) and countering violent extremism (CVE) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this summer. The experience aims to instill in students a critical understanding of the impact of terrorism on individuals and communities around the world, as well as strategies for preventing, deterring and mitigating terrorist threats. 

TRAINING

FEMA-certified Courses

Other Courses

START IN THE NEWS

CNN: Report finds the Taliban were deadlier than ISIS in 2018
This article on the number of casualties killed by the Taliban and ISIS in 2018 uses data from the Global Terrorism Index, which is based on the Global Terrorism Database (GTD).
 
CBC: Why designating Mexican drug cartels terrorists might not be the way to fight organized crime
START researcher Marcus Boyd is quoted in this article about the differences between combatting drug cartels and combatting terrorism.
 
The New York Times: Mexican leader draws line on Trump terrorist plan: ‘Interventionism: No’
START affiliate Brian J. Phillips is quoted in this article about US interventionism in Mexico.
 
PolitiFact: Terrorism in the United States: Key facts, patterns and trends
This article about terrorism in the United States uses data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) and GTD Manager Erin Miller is quoted.
 
History: Why the hunt for the real Atlanta Bomber took nearly 7 years
START affiliate Anthony Lemieux is quoted in this article about the Atlanta bombing case.
 
PRISM: The business case for terrorism
This PRISM article about the business of terrorism, co-authored by Stanley McChrystal, uses data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD).

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 © 2019 The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), All rights reserved.

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

PO Box Number 266

5245 Greenbelt Rd

College Park, MD 20740