A Department of Homeland Security Emeritus Center of Excellence led by the University of Maryland

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

December News: New international collaboration; Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis


December News: New international collaboration; Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis

December 19, 2018
START and International Islamic University Malaysia launch new joint research project

START’s Amy Pate, Barnett Koven and Devin Ellis visited the International Institute of Islamic Civilisation & Malay World (ISTAC) within the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) this month to kick off a joint research initiative project titled "Building Research Capacity for Countering Violent Extremism in Malaysia." Read more. 

DEADLINE: Apply by Jan. 12 to earn your Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis

Hosted through the University of Maryland’s Graduate School, START's Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis provides participants with advanced education on the causes, dynamic and impacts of international and domestic terrorism. Participants also develop the methodological skills necessary to pursue advanced research on, and analysis of, terrorism. The program is appropriate for both academicians and practitioners, is flexible in structure and provides students with a thorough understanding of terrorism studies and terrorism analysis. Delivered in a fully online, synchronous format, the program can be completed in as little as one academic year. Read more. 
New episodes of Terrorism 360 available

START has just released the final installment of the first season of its podcast Terrorism 360. Comprised of a series of conversations between Gary LaFree, the founding director of START, and the world’s leading experts on terrorism, the podcast explores research into the causes and consequences of terrorism, and recommendations for policy makers. Tune in now to hear from Martha Crenshaw, Bruce Hoffman, Gina Ligon, Brian Jenkins, Mark Juergensmeyer, David Rapoport, Jessica Stern, John Mueller, Marc Sageman, Clark McCauley, Arie Kruglanski, Brent Smith, John Monahan, Stevan Weine and Jonathan Wilkenfeld. Listen now.
DISCUSSION POINT
The decision-making process that led GTD to include Las Vegas 2017 attack as an act of terrorism
In this piece, the Global Terrorism Database Manager Dr. Erin Miller explains information-gathering and decision-making process that led the GTD team to include the Las Vegas 2017 attack in the database as an act of terrorism. Read more.
PUBLICATIONS
Pathways to Violent Extremism: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of the US Far-right
Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict
Fahey, Susan, and Pete Simi
 
Panel Effects: Do the Reports of Panel Respondents Get Better or Worse over Time?
Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology
Sun, Hanyu, and Roger Tourangeau, Stanley Presser

Patterns of Fatal Extreme-Right Crime in the United States
Perspectives on Terrorism
Freilich, Joshua D., and Steven M. Chermak, Jeff Gruenewald, William S. Parkin, Brent R. Klein 

Understanding the Micro-Situational Dynamics of White Supremacist Violence in the United States
Perspectives on Terrorism
Windisch, Steven, and Pete Simi, Kathleen Blee, Matthew DeMichele

Radical Right Movement Parties in Europe
Routledge
Caiani, Manuela, and Ondřej Císař
 
NEWS
 

IEP report draws on START data, echoes START findings
A major annual report from the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the 2018 Global Terrorism Index, draws on data from START’s Global Terrorism Database (GTD) to assess the economic impact of terrorism and report on trends. The IEP report echoes findings in the GTD overview, released earlier this year, that terrorist attacks have decreased for the third consecutive year, but violence remains historically high.

Wilkenfeld gives keynote address at ATHENA ‘18
Serving as the keynote speaker for the 15th Annual ATHENA Conference in Athens, Greece, Jonathan Wilkenfeld, ICONS founding director, explored the challenges of crisis management and how mediation can assist in dealing with international crises. Read more.
 
START team offers counterterrorism training to Albanian officials
William Braniff and Barnett Koven traveled to Tirana, Albania, this month to teach an Executive Forum on foreign terrorist fighters for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s Antiterrorism Assistance program. Rooted in START research and focused on governmental approaches for disrupting the foreign terrorist fighter lifecycle and responding to a threat, this training is geared towards sharing best practices and lessons learned from the international community and the U.S. Department of State with senior leadership from the criminal justice community within Albania. Read more.
 
LaFree lectures on ‘Changes in Worldwide Terrorism’
Gary LaFree, founding director of START, recently gave a lecture “Changes in Worldwide Terrorism,” which analyzed the Four Waves of Modern Terrorism Theory. LaFree focused his lecture on his analysis of the two most recent waves, the New Left and the Religious. Read more.
 
Childhood hobby inspires international dream
The future career interests of START GIS intern Steven Chao took form at an early age. Physical road maps, world maps and GPS all fascinated – and still fascinate – Chao, who hopes to use his geospatial analysis skills to assist in humanitarian development efforts in regards to water scarcity. Read more.
DEADLINES
DEADLINE: Jan. 12, 2019, Apply for Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis
START offers a fully online Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis through the University of Maryland's Graduate School. The program is delivered in a synchronous format using multiple online platforms provided by the University of Maryland, College Park.

DEADLINE: March 1, 2019, Apply for Global Terrorism Minor program
START's Global Terrorism Minor, a cross-disciplinary program housed in UMD's College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, is designed to train the next generation of terrorism analysts, including students who plan to pursue graduate study related to terrorism as well as employment in the federal, state, local, non-profit and/or private sectors. 
TRAINING
START IN THE NEWS
 
Psychology Today: Mass Radicalization in the USA
START researcher Sophia Moskalenko wrote this blog post on radicalization in the United States.
 
The Washington Post: The U.S. believes that kidnapped journalist Austin Tice is still alive. Here are 5 things to know about global kidnapping.
This article on global kidnapping uses data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD).
 
BNN Bloomberg: The biggest political risks to the world economy in 2019
This article on risks to the world economy uses data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD).
 
US News and World Report: Globally, terrorism deaths are on the decline
This article discusses the 2018 Global Terrorism Index, a report published by the Institute for Economics and Peace that uses data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD).
 
CNN: Terrorism deaths down in 2017, but far-right terrorism rising, report says
This article on terrorism trends and far right extremism uses data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD).
 
Forbes (Portugal): Terrorism: The World's Most Powerful Organizations
This article on global terrorist organizations 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.

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