NEWS
START Director briefs White House Homeland Security Advisor
START Director William Braniff was one of six subject matter experts to brief the White House Homeland Security Advisor, Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, and her National Security Council (NSC) team this month.
START Executive Director travels to Nigeria to provide training on violence prevention
Last month, START Executive Director Amy Pate traveled to Nigeria for a train-the-trainer session for civil society leaders on coalition building for violence prevention.
Students of all stripes find success at START
In addition to START’s own internship program, several students from other organizations will be working with START researchers this summer on a wide range of different projects. These other programs include the Robertson Foundation for Government Fellowship, the University of Maryland’s Summer Research Initiative and the Research for Intelligence & Security Challenges (RISC) Initiative internship.
FEATURED PUBLICATION
A Climate of Terror? Approaches to the Study of Climate Change and Terrorism
Climate change is one of the most significant global issues of our time. In a recent United Nations Security Council Meeting, UN Secretary-General António Guterres stressed that “no one is safe from the destructive effects of climate disruption.” As our awareness and understanding of climate change increase, the links between climate change and security have become an essential area of inquiry.
This series of research briefs explores three possible climate change and terrorism interaction areas: 1) Climate change as an indirect contributor to terrorism; 2) Climate change as an ideological driver of terrorism; and, 3) Climate change as a means for terrorist exploitation to control or coerce populations.
EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Online Summer Courses
START offers fully online summer and winter courses each year, which are open to all. Current University of Maryland students may register through Testudo. Non-University of Maryland students must apply as non-degree seeking students, visiting students, or students with Golden ID Cardholder Status through the University of Maryland’s Office of Extended Studies. Topics this summer include violent non-state actors in Latin America and geographies of terrorism, and classes will run from July 11 – August 19, 2022.
Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Security and Terrorism Studies
Prospective students can now apply for START’s fully online MPS in Security & Terrorism Studies. The program is appropriate for individuals interested in (and/or currently) working in fields related to intelligence analysis, national security analysis, or analysis of other relevant topic areas, and individuals interested in (and/or currently) conducting scholarly research on terrorism and security. Apply by August 5, 2022 for Fall 2022.
Global Terrorism Studies Minor Program
START has developed an undergraduate minor in Global Terrorism Studies, a cross-disciplinary program housed in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland. The minor 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. START accepts applications to the program from University of Maryland undergraduates once per calendar year, during the spring semester. Apply by February 17, 2023 for Fall 2023.
EVENTS
A Look Back at 2020: Trends from the Global Terrorism Database (GTD)™
10 a.m. ET July 6, Online
Twenty years after University of Maryland researchers began developing the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) in 2002, GTD Program Manager Dr. Erin Miller will present trends from the forthcoming publication of new GTD data for 1970 to 2020.
Safeguarding Critical System Supply Chains Against Compromise (Networks, Processes, Parts, Materials, Software, and Information)
9 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET July 14, START Headquarters
This workshop will focus on the unique issues posed by compromised components (hardware, material, software, data, algorithms, humans), and how they can be predicted and mitigated. This is a convergent workshop whose participants will include academics, industry practitioners, and stakeholders from the critical systems community whose concern is disruption and compromise of the technology and supply chain for critical systems.
Virtual Information Session: MPS in Security and Terrorism Studies & Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis (7/14)
6 p.m. ET July 14, Online
START's Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Security and Terrorism Studies prepares students to examine the complex social, political, economic, and psychological underpinnings of terrorist and security threats, while the Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis provides participants with advanced education on the causes, dynamics and impacts of international and domestic terrorism.
Virtual Information Session: MPS in Security and Terrorism Studies & Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis (8/24)
6 p.m. ET August 24, Online
START's Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Security and Terrorism Studies prepares students to examine the complex social, political, economic, and psychological underpinnings of terrorist and security threats, while the Graduate Certificate in Terrorism Analysis provides participants with advanced education on the causes, dynamics and impacts of international and domestic terrorism.
START IN THE NEWS
Washington Post: It wasn’t just Proud Boys. Interconnected extremists converged on Jan. 6.
START researcher Michael Jensen wrote this opinion piece on the Capitol riot defendants.
Military.com: Veterans make up most of Proud Boys members indicted on sedition for Jan. 6 violence
START researcher Michael Jensen is quoted in this article about veterans in domestic extremist groups.
National Press Foundation: Domestic terrorism and white supremacy: What reporters should know
START Director William Braniff is quoted in this article on media reporting of domestic terrorism.
AFP: US hearings revive baseless conspiracy theory about Capitol riot
START researcher Michael Jensen is quoted in this article on conspiracy theories about the Capitol riot.
Military Times: He liked the pro-America, pro-constitution vibe. But he liked the rage, too.
Data from the Radicalization and Disengagement (RaD) portfolio is cited in this article about extremism among veterans.
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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