Law Commons^™

Cannibalizing The Constitution: On Terrorism, The Second Amendment, And The Threat To Civil Liberties, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This article explores the links between internet radicalization, access to weapons, and the current threat from terrorists who have been radicalized online. The prevalence of domestic terrorism, domestic hate groups, and online incitement and radicalization have led to considerable focus on the tension between counterterror efforts and the First Amendment. Many scholars recommend rethinking the extent of First Amendment protection, as well as Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment protections, and some judges appear to be listening. Yet the Second Amendment has avoided this consideration, despite the fact that easy access to weapons is a necessary ingredient for the level of …

Tackling Singapore’S Terrorism Threat: Bringing The People Back In, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Eugene K B Tan, Associate Professor of Law at the Yong Pung How School of Law, Singapore Management University, considers Singapore’s response to the threat of terrorism following 9/11. This essay is based on an article published in the journal, Law and Policy (2009).

The Trouble With Numbers: Difficult Decision Making In Identifying Right-Wing Terrorism Cases. An Investigative Look At Open Source Social Scientific And Legal Data, Daniela Peterka-Benton, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Terrorism research has gained much traction since the 9/11 attacks, but some sub genres of terrorism, such as right-wing terrorism, have remained under-studied areas. Unsurprisingly data sources to study these phenomena are scarce and frequently face unique data collection obstacles. This paper explores five major, social-scientific terrorism databases in regards to data on right-wing terrorist events. The paper also provides an in-depth examination of the utilization of criminal legal proceedings to research right-wing terrorist acts. Lastly, legal case databases are introduced and discussed to show the lack of available court information and case proceedings in regards to right-wing terrorism.

How Can Presidents Properly Calibrate The Terror Threat?, Gabriel Rubin

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Presidential rhetoric has minimally changed from the narrative set by George W. Bush after the 9/11 attacks. Bush’s policies and agenda have also largely remained. This chapter provides proposals for change given the empirical and theoretical findings made in the book. The counterterrorist policy agenda needs to be narrowed and made more precise. The public needs to educate itself about the terror threat to understand that it is not a significant risk when weighed against others. Presidents need to be more careful with what words they use when describing America’s terrorist adversaries and with who they call terrorists. Recalibrating the …

Terrorism In The 2020s: Examining The Global Threat Landscape, Landon W. Swearngin

MSU Graduate Theses

This thesis uses quantitative and qualitative research methods to (1) explore the global trends and trajectories of terrorism, (2) identify emerging strategic challenges, and (3) outline an opportunity analysis for U.S. counterterrorism strategy. Collectively, this project provides a strategic forecast for terrorism in the 2020s, demonstrating that terrorism is becoming increasingly dangerous, dynamic, and difficult to defeat.

The Convergence Of The War On Terror And The War On Drugs: A Counter-Narcoterrorism Approach As A Policy Response, Lindsay Burton

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis investigates how and why U.S. policies and agencies are ill-equipped to respond to narco-terrorism and offers some policy recommendations for remedying that. Narco-terrorism is the merging of terrorism and drug trafficking. Terrorist organizations and narcotics traffickers each have much to offer the other; there is potential for symbiosis in the form of cooperation and even hybridization. Examination of the dynamics between terrorist organizations and drug traffickers, combined with an evaluation of the US responses to narcoterrorism in Colombia and Afghanistan, makes it clear that current US policy responses fail to recognize narcoterrorism as a unique challenge, and instead …

The Future Of Nuclear Security: A Medical Physicist’S Perspective, Katharine E. Thomson

International Journal of Nuclear Security

Planning for the future of nuclear security is a vital and complex task, requiring cooperation and contribution from many disciplines and industries. This diversity of expertise should include the medical sector, which faces many of the same challenges as the nuclear industry: controlling access to dangerous material, creating a strong security culture, cooperating with the wider world and engaging the public.

Medical physicists, of which the author is one, oversee all aspects of small-scale radiation use. This paper discusses three key areas increasingly important to both medical and nuclear uses of radioactive materials: public engagement, prevention of nuclear and radiological …

The French Army At A Crossroads, Rémy Hémez

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Headhunting: Evaluating The Disruptive Capacity Of Leadership Decapitation On Terrorist Organizations, Ted Clemens Iv

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Leadership decapitation -- the practice of removing a leader from a position of authority through targeted killing (i.e. assassination) or arrest -- has long been a feature of counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency strategies the world over. Still, how effective is the practice of leadership decapitation in actually bringing a halt to, or even impeding, terrorist activity? Can removing top leaders of terrorist enclaves from power disrupt their groups to the point of organizational degradation or dissolution? And lastly, because no two terrorist groups are the same; when a terrorist group experiences leadership loss, how can the group be expected to react? …

Book Reviews, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Post-9/11 Illegal Immigrant Detention And Deportation: Terrorism And The Criminalization Of Immigration, Stefany N. Laun

Student Publications

This paper analyzes the changes in immigration policy since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in terms of how immigrants are viewed in the United States. The goal is to address the recent criminalization of immigration in that the perceptions of terrorists and immigrants have become relatively synonymous since 2001. Although deportations have decreased, immigrant detention has increased significantly. Detention centers pose threats to the basic human rights of the immigrants residing in them, as well as perpetuate the culture of fear enveloping recent immigrants, whether they are legally or illegally in the country, and native United States citizens …

The Expansion Of Executive Powers In Response To The Threat Of Bioterrorism Against Individuals And Agribusiness, Samuel W. Bettwy

Samuel W Bettwy

This paper examines and compares, in historical context, the expansion of governmental authority in response to threats of bioterrorism, one of which is aimed directly at people, the other of which is aimed directly at agribusiness. The examination reveals that there is a historical, natural tendency of the executive branch to expand its powers and that the legislative and judicial branches tend to defer to the executive branch during emergencies. The comparison reveals that, although there is such a natural attempt by the executive branch to expand its powers, such expansion has yielded more to concerns over individual rights and …

Ebola And Bioterrorism, Joshua P. Monroe

Joshua P Monroe

This paper will be a comparison of the United States government’s reaction to the recent outbreak of Ebola and will compare this response with the potential response by the United States government toward an act of biological or chemical warfare. The paper will analyze these responses from a cultural, political, legal, and policy standpoint

The Iranian Nuclear Crisis: An Assessment, Gawdat Bahgat

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Roundtable Discussion Transcript: The Legal And Ethical Limits Of Technological Warfare Symposium, February 1, 2013, University Of Utah, S.J. Quinney College Of Law, Amos N. Guiora, Harry Soyster, David R. Irvine, Geoffrey S. Corn, James Jay Carafano, Claire O. Finkelstein, Laurie R. Blank, Monica Hakimi, George R. Lucas, Trevor W. Morrison, Frederic Megret

All Faculty Scholarship

The Utah Law Review brought in a panel of experts for a symposium on the legal and ethical limits of technological warfare. This roundtable discussion crystalized the issues discussed throughout the symposium. The collective experience and diversity of viewpoints of the panelists produced an unparalleled discussion of the complex and poignant issues involved in drone warfare. The open dialogue in the roundtable discussion created moments of tension where the panelists openly challenged each other’s viewpoints on the ethics and legality of drone warfare. The discussion captured in this transcript uniquely conveys the diversity of perspectives and inherently challenging legal and …

Spot Off: The Gao Takes On The Tsa’S Behavior Detection Program, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recently Issued Efforts to Validate TSA’s Passenger Screening Behavior Detection Program Underway, but Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Validation and Address Operational Problems (May 2010, GAO-10-763). This IBPP article will describe and comment on the main GAO findings and additional data on which the findings are based. The article will end with some basic challenges to behavior detection as a useful security measure.

Terrorism And The Law: Show Trials And Why The Show Must Go On, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the nature and meaning of terrorism trials during the United States’ war on terror.

Why Terrorism? Whose Terror?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author considers terrorism as a competitor for the legally constituted authority and power of governments.

Strengthening Security And Oversight At Biological Research Laboratories, Michael Greenberger

Michael Greenberger

With the advent of the Anthrax attacks in the fall of 2001, this Nation has been confronted with a serious policy conundrum. On the one hand, we have strengthened programs that encourage the use of our best scientific resources to develop countermeasures to the weaponization of highly dangerous biopathogens. On the other hand, research on those countermeasures requires the use of the very biopathogens we seek to defeat. There have been many mishaps in the handling of those pathogens, which raises the frightening prospect that the research may be as (or more) dangerous than the potential bioterrorist acts themselves. Indeed, …

Strengthening Security And Oversight At Biological Research Laboratories, Michael Greenberger

Congressional Testimony

With the advent of the Anthrax attacks in the fall of 2001, this Nation has been confronted with a serious policy conundrum. On the one hand, we have strengthened programs that encourage the use of our best scientific resources to develop countermeasures to the weaponization of highly dangerous biopathogens. On the other hand, research on those countermeasures requires the use of the very biopathogens we seek to defeat. There have been many mishaps in the handling of those pathogens, which raises the frightening prospect that the research may be as (or more) dangerous than the potential bioterrorist acts themselves. Indeed, …

Trends. Suicidal Terrorism And The Death Penalty, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article discusses why an established death penalty for terrorists who would, by their own actions, suicide might be appropriate.

Trends. Social Cognition And The Legal Adjudication Of Terrorism Cases, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article discusses the impact of terrorism on the justice system and security.

Trends. Disclosure Of Post-9-11 Arrestees And Maslow’S Hierarchy Of Needs, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article discusses the Maslowian hierarchy of needs in the context of 9-11 terrorist attacks and the relationship between executive and judicial branches of American government.

The Recovery Of The Aviation Industry: The Aviation Security Challenge, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article is based on a presentation made to the SAE 2002 World Aviation Congress on November 6, 2002 by the IBPP Editor. The article’s focus is on how representatives of the aviation industry need to think about aviation security to facilitate the industry’s economic recovery.

Trends. Aviation Terrorism's Winning Hand, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses aviation security, terrorism, and the psychology behind pilot motivations for opting out of flying members of the Israeli government to Israel.

Trends. Psychiatric Follies Continue: The Moussaoui Case, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes several issues related to the evaluation of competency to stand trial for defendants accused of terrorism, in this case Zacarias Moussaoui.

Profiling Profiling And Suicidal Terrorism, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes chronic flaws in developing profiles that are intended to help prevent or minimize suicidal terrorism.

Terrorism And Remorse: Psychology And The Death Penalty, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article provides commentary on the forensic psychological task to develop information bearing on penalties for convicted terrorists.

Personology, Profiling, And The Terrorist, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article identifies problems in common approaches to capturing the psychological essence of the terrorist.

Trends. A Peculiar Defense Logic: Why Terrorists Should Be Incarcerated Or Killed Without Trial, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The IBPP editor discusses the logic/rationale behind the idea that convicted terrorists facing the death penalty should neither convicted nor face said penalty given that the soldiers are (or consider themselves to be) soldiers in a war.