FEATURED
National Institute of Justice awards $1.5 Million to START
The National Institute of Justice recently awarded nearly $1.5 million to START researchers for two new projects examining violent extremists’ radicalization, mobilization and reintegration. Each project builds off the Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) and associated datasets to educate law enforcement and criminal justice professionals, and provide them with strategies and best practices for terrorism prevention and extremist reintegration in their communities.
Global Terrorism Database (GTD) contributes to graphic novels about genocide
A series of 10 recently published graphic novels discussing genocide takes inspiration partly from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). The graphic novels, published by the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum (DHHRM), accompany 18-foot-high sculptures in the DHHRM Genocide Gallery that explore the ten stages of genocide. One of the graphic novels, “[Un]holy War” depicts genocidal activity committed by groups such as al-Qaida and ISIS, and it features content offered by GTD Program Manager Erin Miller.
JOB: Global Terrorism Database (GTD) Researchers (Deadline Feb. 16)
START is hiring two researchers to work on the Global Terrorism Database at START’s headquarters at the University of Maryland, College Park. These are full-time positions, with an initial term of 12 months (starting in March 2020), contingent on funding.
PUBLICATIONS
Extremists and Unconventional Weapons: Examining the Pursuit of Chemical and Biological Agents
Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression
Guarrieri, Thomas R. and Collin J. Meisel
President Trump’s Travel Ban: Inciting or Deterring Terrorism?
Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression
Hodwitz, Omi and Hailee Tracy
Investigating the Applicability of Situational Crime Prevention to the Public Mass Violence Context
Criminology and Public Policy
Freilich, Joshua D., and Steven M. Chermak, Brent R. Klein
When Women Fight: Unemployment, Territorial Control and the Prevalence of Female Combatants in Insurgent Organizations
Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict
Asal, Victor and Amira Jadoon
Lowest of the Low: Why Some Countries Suffer Terrorist Attacks against Schools
Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict
Fahey, Susan and Victor Asal
An Intervention Analysis of Fatal Far-right Extremist Violence within a Vector-autoregressive Framework
Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict
Freilich, Joshua D., and Vladimir Bejan, William S. Parkin, Steven M. Chermak, Jeff Gruenewald
Tornado Warning: Understanding the National Weather Service’s Communication Strategies
Public Relations Review
Liu, Brooke Fisher, and Anita Atwell Seate, Irinia Iles, Emina Herovic
Networks, Power, and the Effects of Legitimacy in Contentious Politics
Sociological Perspectives
Schoon, Eric W., and Alexandra Pocek Joosse, H. Brinton Milward
Examining the Online Expression of Ideology among Far-Right Extremist Forum Users
Terrorism and Political Violence
Holt, Thomas J., and Joshua D. Freilich, Steven M. Chermak
‘Nondemocratic Islamists’ and Support for ISIS in the Arab World
Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression
Piazza, James
NEWS
Two months remain to take free FEMA-certified 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.
Students from any university can study counterterrorism in Malaysia with START this summer
In collaboration with UMD’s Office of Education Abroad, START is offering a three-credit course, “Malaysia: Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism in Southeast Asia,” in Kuala Lumpur this July. The course aims to instill in students a critical understanding of the impact of terrorism on individuals and communities in a global context, and introduce strategies for preventing, deterring and mitigating terrorist threats.
The GTD is on Twitter!
Follow the Global Terrorism Database on Twitter @GTD_UMD for for insight on data, methods, analysis and terrorism-related news.
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.
EVENTS
Lecture: Conceptual Frameworks for Understanding Global Jihadism
11 a.m. Jan. 27, START Headquarters
START Director William Braniff will discuss the breadth of the Global Jihad and how it intertwines with ideology, history and politics.
Book Talk: A Woman’s Place in Counterterrorism Since 9/11
2 p.m. Feb. 5, START Headquarters
ICSR Senior Research Fellow Dr. Joana Cook will discuss her book “A Woman’s Place in Counterterrorism Since 9/11,” in which she investigates how and why women have developed the roles they have, and she interrogates U.S. counterterrorism practices in key countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen. Analyzing conceptions of and responses to terrorists, she also considers how the roles of women in al-Qaida and Daesh have evolved and impacted on U.S. counterterrorism considerations.
Lecture: Threat Financing and Emerging Risk
11 a.m. March 4, START Headquarters
Four researchers from Refinitiv World-Check lead a discussion about regulatory finance and compliance research related to high risk entities and individuals at START Headquarters. The conversation will serve as a snapshot of the team’s work on tracking illicit finance networks and unpacking private sector regulatory compliance.
Lecture: A Tale of Two Caliphates
1 p.m. March 10, START Headquarters
START Director William Braniff will compare and contrast al-Qaida and its global movement with the Islamic State and its global movement, examining the implications of this global competition.
CARR Far Right De-Radicalisation Webinars
What is deradicalisation? And what does it look like for individuals involved in radical right movements? As part of a new EU-STRIVE funded project with Hedayah, CARR will be unpicking these questions along with practitioners, former violent extremists and academic experts in a yearlong webinar series looking at far right deradicalisation good practices. To express your interest in attending one of these webinars, please email CARR's social media address: socialmedia@radicalrightanalysis.com.
OPPORTUNITIES
Global Terrorism Minor Program (Deadline 2/28): START’s cross-disciplinary Global Terrorism Minor program housed in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland trains 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.
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
- Coalition-Building for Countering Violent Extremism and Community Resilience
- Community-led Action in Response to Violent Extremism (CARVE)
- Countering Violent Extremist Narratives
- Integrating Mental Health and Education Approaches into CVE
- Designing Effective Community Responses to Radicalization to Violence (DECRRV)
Other Courses
- Cyber Threats You Face and Ways to Mitigate Them
- Using the Global Terrorism Database
- Training in Risk and Crisis Communication
START IN THE NEWS
Forbes: Peace Of Mind In A Risky World
This article on critical event management uses data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD).
NBC: UAlbany political science professor says revenge is imminent after airstrike
START affiliate Victor Asal is quoted in this article about the potential repercussions of the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
NBC: Victims of terror tell of invisible wounds that never heal
This article about the victims of the Bataclan theater attack uses data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD).
The New Yorker: The Story of 2019: Protests in Every Corner of the Globe
START affiliate Erica Chenoweth is quoted in this article about global protests in 2019.
The New York Times: Trump's Inaccurate Statements About the Conflict With Iran
This article fact checking the President’s statements on the conflict with Iran uses data from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD).
Fox 5: Expert weighs in on security risks in the DMV
START researcher Barnett Koven was interviewed for this TV spot on security risks in the Washington, D.C. area.
Boston Globe: Modeling terrorist organizations as business startups
START affiliate Victor Asal is quoted in this article about considering terrorism from a business perspective.
Voice of America: Researcher Tests 'Vaccine' Against Hate
START affiliate Kurt Braddock is the focus of this article about countering violent extremism.
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.
Our mailing address is:
The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START)
PO Box Number 266
5245 Greenbelt Rd
College Park, MD 20740