With the Society for Terrorism Research (STR) 8th Annual International Conference fast approaching, STR, partnered with the Center for Terrorism and Security Studies (CTSS), is launching a series of guest blog posts, written by those who will be presenting their research at STR14. In the eighth installment of this series Dr. Michael Williams discusses his upcoming presentation on conducting evaluations of risk reduction programs aimed at individuals involved in terrorism. Dr. Williams’s research relates to countering violent extremism (CVE) and how to rehabilitate/reintegrate those previously involved in such extremism. Here Dr. Williams breaks down the title of his presentation to outline exactly what is meant by “A utilization focused guide for conducting terrorism risk reduction program evaluations”. Continue reading
Radicalization 2.0: Examining Methods for Identifying Persons at Risk of Recruitment to Violent Extremism on Social Media
With the Society for Terrorism Research (STR) 8th Annual International Conference fast approaching, STR, partnered with the Center for Terrorism and Security Studies (CTSS), is launching a series of guest blog posts, written by those who will be presenting their research at STR14. In the seventh installment of this series Jeff Weyers and Professor Jon Cole discuss their work applying the structured professional judgment tool known as the Identifying Vulnerable Persons (IVP) to extremist activity on social media. Jeff Weyers and Prof. Jon Cole are working on this project as members of the University of Liverpool Tactical Decision Making Research Group.
Crisis Negotiation Techniques In Terrorist Incidents: It’s Been 10 Years Since Beslan- What Have We Learned?
With the Society for Terrorism Research (STR) 8th Annual International Conference fast approaching, STR, partnered with the Center for Terrorism and Security Studies (CTSS), is launching a series of guest blog posts, written by those who will be presenting their research at STR14. In the sixth installment of this series Detective Jeff Thompson (@nonverbalPhD) discusses his work on the lessons learnt from the Beslan School Siege. Detective Jeff Thompson is the 2013/2014 recipient of the New York City Police Department Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly Scholarship and attended Columbia University as Research Scholar. His research topic was crisis and hostage negotiation as well as terrorism related incidents [This article does not reflect the opinion of any group or organization that he is employed by or a member of].
Putting todays green-on-blue attack in context
“KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan soldier killed a United States Army major general and wounded a German brigadier general and at least 14 other foreign and Afghan military service members on Tuesday at a military training academy on the outskirts of Kabul, officials of the American-led coalition said Tuesday. The major general appeared to be the highest-ranking member of the American military to die in hostilities overseas since the Vietnam War.”
From New York Times, (08/05/2014)
In response to the reported green-on-blue shooting that killed an American General officer and wounded up to 15 more, Center for Terrorism and Security Studies Senior Research Associate, and Society for Terrorism Research 8th Annual Conference Organizer Neil Shortland discusses his research on green-on-blue attacks and how todays events fit the wider trends for this recurring threat in Afghanistan.
The Tidal Wave of Foreign Fighters in Syria: Situational Awareness for Counter-Terrorism Practitioners
With the Society for Terrorism Research (STR) 8th Annual International Conference fast approaching, STR, partnered with the Center for Terrorism and Security Studies (CTSS), is launching a series of guest blog posts, written by those who will be presenting their research at STR14. In the fourth installment of this series Mubin Shaikh, a national security consultant and PhD Student with the University of Liverpool Tactical Decision Making Research Group, outlines the growing issues of foreign fighters in Syria, the embedded role of Social Media within this conflict and the implications of this for future domestic counter terrorism.
Comparative Behavioural Analyses of Mental Illness across Terrorist Actors and Mass Casualty Offenders
With the Society for Terrorism Research (STR) 8th Annual International Conference fast approaching, STR, partnered with the Center for Terrorism and Security Studies (CTSS), is launching a series of guest blog posts, written by those who will be presenting their research at STR14. In the third installment of this series Emily Corner, a Doctoral Student at University College London, discusses her research on behavioural analyses of mental illness in terrorists and mass casualty offenders. Continue reading
What does it take to get a violent extremist to put down their gun and walk away?
With the Society for Terrorism Research (STR) 8th Annual International Conference fast approaching, STR, partnered with the Center for Terrorism and Security Studies (CTSS), is launching a series of guest blog posts, written by those who will be presenting their research at STR14. In the second installment of this series Kate Barrelle, a consultant clinical and forensic psychologist, discusses her recently completed PhD research (from Monash University’s Global Terrorism Research Centre, GTReC) on disengagement from, and life after extremism, and outlines a new conceptual model of disengagement called the Pro-Integration Model. Continue reading
The dynamics of a target selection process
With the Society for Terrorism Research (STR) 8th Annual International Conference fast approaching, STR, partnered with the Center for Terrorism and Security Studies (CTSS), is launching a series of guest blog posts, written by those who will be presenting their research at STR14. In the first of this series Cato Hemmingby, Senior Advisor to the Norwegian Government Security and Service Organization and PhD Candidate at the Norwegian Police University College, provides a outline of the research he has been doing with Prof. Tore Bjorgo, aimed at understanding the process of target selection by terrorist actors. Continue reading
DoD Minvera Grant Awards
Department of Defense 2014 Minerva grant awards have been announced. UMass Lowell’s Center for Terrorism & Security Studies have received two of them – outstanding!
Update: Here is the formal UMass Lowell CTSS Press Release
See the full list at: http://minerva.dtic.mil/funded.html
Green-on-who?
Yesterday morning three Americans were killed by a member of the Afghan National Police who opened fire at a private hospital in Kabul. This is the second such attack on western non-combatants in Afghanistan this month. On April 4th two Associated Press journalists were also shot by an Afghan Police Soldier. Although both attacks do not meet the necessary criteria to be defined as a ‘green-on-blue’ attack (whereby a member of the Afghan National Security Forces, ANSF, kills or injury members of the coalition forces serving alongside them), their similarity is not going unnoticed. In light of the recent spike in violence against journalists and western personnel in Afghanistan it is important to consider if these attacks are an adaptation of green-on-blue attacks committed by similarly motivated offenders or if they represent a different phenomena entirely.