FEATURED RESEARCH
Background Report: Use of Firearms in Terrorist Attacks in the US, 1970-2014
In light of the recent high-profile shootings currently under investigation in Charleston, Chattanooga and Lafayette, START is releasing a background report prepared earlier this month examining use of firearms in terrorist attacks in the United States from 1970 to 2014. Read more.
Surveillance banners reduce severity, not number, of hacking incidents
Though surveillance banners do not have an effect upon the frequency of trespassing incidents that occur on computer systems, they do lessen the severity of trespassing, according to new START research. Read more.
Research Brief: Piracy and Counter-Piracy Cooperation in Southeast Asia, 2000-2014
START examined bilateral relationships and changing naval capabilities of the critical smaller powers in the region—Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore—to assess counter-piracy as an area in which United States and Chinese interests coincide and in which opportunities for partnership will smaller countries exist. Read more.
DISCUSSION POINT
The Audacity of Hype: Why International Cooperation will easily defeat Piracy in Southeast Asia
In this editorial piece, Dr. John Stevenson and Garett Tippin discuss the levels of maritime policy and make a case that the reality is not as grim as the story told by news media. Read more.
PUBLICATIONS
Criminology Theory and Terrorism: New Applications and Approaches
Routledge
Freilich, Joshua D. and Gary LaFree
Western Muslims Volunteering to Fight in Syria and Iraq: Why Do They Go, and What Should We Do?
F3 (Freedom From Fear) Magazine, UNICRI
McCauley, Clark, and Sophia Moskalenko
Diffusing Controversial Technology: Barriers, Incentives, and Lessons Learned
Review of Communication
Petrun, Elizabeth L., Irina Iles, Holly Roberts, Brooke Fisher Liu and Gary Ackerman
How Does Leadership Decapitation Affect Violence? The Case of Drug Trafficking Organizations in Mexico
The Journal of Politics
Phillips, Brian J.
Enemies with Benefits? Violent Rivalry and Terrorist Group Longevity
Journal of Peace Research.
Phillips, Brian J.
START NEWS
START’s Kruglanski inducted into hall of fame
Arie Kruglanski was recently inducted into the Foundation for Personality and Social Psychology (FPSP) Heritage Wall of Fame. The Heritage Fund Initiative is designed to celebrate personality and social psychology’s heritage by honoring some of the great teachers and scientists who have made major contributions to the field. Read more.
100 miles in Singapore brings students steps closer to understanding CVE
Led by Dr. Kate Izsak and Marcella Morris, 10 students traveled for more than 24 hours to participate in a five-day workshop on countering violent extremism with the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. By the end of the workshop, the group logged 100 miles traversing Singapore’s CVE landscape. Read more.
Police and community cooperation in counterterrorism in Australia
START is reaching out to the other side of the world to provide its students access to cutting-edge research and scholars such as Dr. Adrian Cherney, a Senior Lecturer in Criminology in the School of Social Science at the University of Queensland, who will offer a lecture in August highlighting his work examining CVE strategies. Read more.
International intern uses security, counterterrorism background at START
It’s no secret that START interns bring diverse backgrounds to their projects. Case in point: Edward Boettcher, an intern working with the Unconventional Weapons and Technology team. Boettcher, an Australia native, traveled to the United States this summer to work with the START team. Read more.
START welcomes new Terrorism Research Award cohort
This month, START awarded 10 doctoral and post-doctoral students Terrorism Research Awards (TRAs). This year’s cohort is uniquely diverse, with four international students and many others coming from all corners of the United States. Read more.
OPPORTUNITIES
**START GIS Postdoctoral Researcher**
START is now hiring a postdoctoral researcher to work at START’s headquarters at the University of Maryland, College Park. The successful candidate must possess a solid understanding of agent-based modeling, web-based GIS, and algorithms and programming. The candidate will collaborate with the GIS Senior Researcher on grant-funded GIS projects related to agent-based modeling and simulation. Apply by Aug. 10.
**START Study Abroad: Japan**
Through the University of Maryland Education Abroad office, START will offer a study abroad trip to Japan, March 12-16. Students will spend one week traveling between Tokyo, Sendai, and Kesennuma to meet with students, officials, entrepreneurs and community organizers involved with disaster recovery after the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster and the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attacks. Apply by Oct. 1.
Joint Special Operations University has released a call for proposals for monographs, which generally fall between 20,000 and 40,000 words. Submit by Aug. 1.
UBC Liu Institute for Global Issues: Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security. Apply by Sept. 17.
Davidson College: Assistant Professor, Political Science specializing in politics of the Islamic world. Apply by Sept. 20.
Call for Abstracts: Nice Global Forum HLS & Crisis Management Submit by Oct. 1.
Call for Papers: Journal of International Relations Research Submit by Oct. 1.
Call for Papers: Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Submit by Sept. 1, 2016
DHS S&T ‘National Conversation on Homeland Security and Technology’ Dialogue Series Participate Now.
STUDENT BLOG
Tracking the insider cyber threat authored by Zach Scheinerman
Undergraduate terrorism course leads recent grad to START authored by Julia Lamar
START IN THE NEWS
Foreign Policy: Are the Shootings in Chattanooga Terrorism?
START Directory Gary LaFree is quoted in a Foreign Policy piece about the shootings in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Read more.
NPR Diane Rehm Show: A Deadly Shooting in Tennessee and the Threat of Domestic Terrorism
START Executive Director William Braniff offers commentary on terrorism and radicalization in the United States in the wake of the Chattanooga shooting. Listen here.
Wall Street Journal: The Iran Deal and the ‘Problem of Conjecture’
GTD data about the increase in the number of terrorist incidents occurring between 2006 and 2013 is mentioned in a Wall Street Journal article about the deal with Iran. Read more.
Al Jazeera America: Coverage of Chattanooga Shootings
Anthony Lemieux, START researcher and lead researcher of GSU’s Transcultural Conflict and Violence Program, spoke with Al Jazeera America about the shootings in Tennessee. A link to the broadcast is not available, however, he is also quoted in this International Business Times article. Read more.
ABC News: Children of ISIS
START Researcher Alejandro Beutel was interviewed by Sinclair Broadcast Group and featured on a dozen local broadcast news outlets about the use of children by ISIS, both for propaganda and fighting purposes. Read more.
Clinical Psychiatry News: Does Mental Health Influence Entry into Violent Extremism and Domestic Hate Groups?
START researcher Pete Simi and his colleagues wrote this op-ed about the potential overlap between domestic radicalization, violent extremism and mental health issues. Read more.
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.