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Articles 1 - 15 of 15
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Exploring Change And Stability In Counterterrorism Policy, Prosecution, And Sentencing Of Terrorists In America Over The Last Three Decades In The United States, Georgianna Grace Bettis
Exploring Change And Stability In Counterterrorism Policy, Prosecution, And Sentencing Of Terrorists In America Over The Last Three Decades In The United States, Georgianna Grace Bettis
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effects of legislation changes on how terrorists are adjudicated in American federal courts. The overarching question is: how have prosecutorial and sentencing outcomes changed in response to homeland security policy shifts over the last few decades? The project examines the impact of policy on changes to terrorists’ sentencing in three time periods, marked by three major events: The 1993 World Trade Center Attack, the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing, and the attack on the Twin Towers (9/11/2001). In addition to terrorists’ demographic and background attributes (i.e., gender, age, terrorism category), the …
Law Enforcement Policy And Personnel Responses To Terrorism: Do Prior Attacks Predict Current Preparedness?, Bryce Kirk
Law Enforcement Policy And Personnel Responses To Terrorism: Do Prior Attacks Predict Current Preparedness?, Bryce Kirk
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Terrorism has been on the mind of the American people and politicians alike since the 9/11 attacks over two decades ago. In the years since, there has been a massive shift in law enforcement priorities from community-oriented policing (COP) to homeland security-oriented policing. This was especially evident in the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shortly after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon in 2001, which was established to aid law enforcement entities with terrorism preparedness. While prior literature has addressed a variety of factors that have contributed to terrorism preparedness, very little research has …
Extreme Far-Right Murder-Suicide Attacks In The U.S. And Germany: A Comparative Storyline Analysis, Hayden Lucas
Extreme Far-Right Murder-Suicide Attacks In The U.S. And Germany: A Comparative Storyline Analysis, Hayden Lucas
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Despite increasing empirical research on suicide terrorism since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, prior studies have focused primarily on radical Islamic terrorism in non-Western contexts. As a result, less is known about how murder-suicide attacks committed by other ideological movements unfold, particularly the extreme far-right in North America and Europe. Researchers have begun to theorize the social and psychological processes believed to play a role in the radicalization of suicide terrorists. However, the observable, situational processes shaping radicalized individuals when planning, preparing for, and executing suicide terrorism remain underexplored. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify intervention points by …
Far-Right Extremism In America: A Geospatial Analysis Of Incident Distribution, Meredith Leann Lerma
Far-Right Extremism In America: A Geospatial Analysis Of Incident Distribution, Meredith Leann Lerma
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
There has been little empirical research on the spatial relationship of violent far-right extremism. Previous studies have only focused on portions of far-right violent incidents, such as homicides, or amalgamated all far-right extremist activity, including legal incidents. This study uses data from the Extremist Crime Database (ECDB) and Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in a temporal frame of 2000 to 2018 to test the relationship of violent incidents against geographic and social factors. The goal is to explore the relationships between macro-level factors and violent far-right extremist incident. The research determines that the presence of hate groups, higher immigrant populations, …
Extreme Ideologies, Situational Factors, And Terrorists’ Target Selection, Evan Mudgett
Extreme Ideologies, Situational Factors, And Terrorists’ Target Selection, Evan Mudgett
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of the current study is to examine how ideology and situational factors shape terrorist target selection in the United States. While a growing number of studies have examined target selection by terrorists, the current study is the first to consider how combinations of factors present situated opportunities for terrorists to select particular types of targets as opposed to others. Guided by the situational crime prevention approach, this study relies on data from the American Terrorism Study (ATS) to measure attributes of incidents perpetrated by far-right and Islamic extremists and target selection. The outcomes of interest include government versus …
Factors Affecting The Longevity Of Individual Terrorists, Madeline Brice
Factors Affecting The Longevity Of Individual Terrorists, Madeline Brice
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this study is to examine factors that affect the longevity of individual terrorists. Previous studies on terrorist group longevity have focused on the decisions terrorist groups have made rather than focusing on factors that help individuals evade capture. Literature also suggests that terrorists that manage to stay active may be able to use this as a valuable recruiting tool. This project examines six different relationships with longevity, including Attorney General (AG) Guidelines, demographics, ideology, level of participation, number of activities, and sophistication of attack. To examine these relationships, data will be used from the American Terrorism Study …
Isis In America: A Sociohistorical Analysis, Kathryn Joanne Ratcliff
Isis In America: A Sociohistorical Analysis, Kathryn Joanne Ratcliff
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
During the summer of 2014, the terrorist organization Islamic State (commonly referred to as Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS) garnered international attention after its unprecedented territorial acquisitions and violence in the Middle East. Today, ISIS vies with al-Qaeda for leadership of the global Islamic Extremist movement and has extended its violence all over the world, including the United States. U.S. based supporters generally choose to engage with the ideology in one of three categories: as a foreign fighter, domestic plotter, or domestic non-plotter. Despite this threat, there is very little quantitative research concerning U.S. ISIS supporters and …
An Analysis Of Material Support Of Terrorism And Violent Plots: Scale And Success, Ian David Brecht
An Analysis Of Material Support Of Terrorism And Violent Plots: Scale And Success, Ian David Brecht
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Following the attacks on September 11, 2001, material support of terrorism charges have served as a cornerstone in the U.S. Government’s fight against terrorism. However, empirical research looking at the usage of material support charges is lacking. The primary focus of this study is to determine if material support charges are related to increases in terrorist attack success and scale. Using the American Terrorism Study (ATS), 177 post-9/11 Islamic Extremist-linked court cases including material support charges and 140 terrorist incidents were coded and analyzed using chi-square, logistical regression, and linear regression models. Results revealed that material support charges are related …
An Analysis Of The Sovereign Citizen Movement: Demographics And Trial Behaviors, Stephen Garrett Smith
An Analysis Of The Sovereign Citizen Movement: Demographics And Trial Behaviors, Stephen Garrett Smith
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
To date little to no empirical research has been conducted on the Sovereign Citizen Movement (SCM) and how it fits into the broader far-right domestic terrorist movement. The main focus of this study is to determine if there is a significant difference between the SCM and the far-right in their demographic composition, trial strategies, and trial behaviors and whether the SCM should be grouped together with the broader far-right during analysis. Using the American Terrorism Study (ATS), I coded 97 federal court cases involving sovereign citizen defendants (N=150) and ran basic frequencies on demographic and trial behavior variables on the …
Policing And The Likelihood Of Terrorism: A Community Structural Approach To An Uncertain Relationship, Andy Bellamy Brooks
Policing And The Likelihood Of Terrorism: A Community Structural Approach To An Uncertain Relationship, Andy Bellamy Brooks
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Prior research on terrorism has argued that local law enforcement play an important role in counterterrorism though the mechanisms by which the police should prevent terrorism are empirically unsettled and atheoretical in nature. Even less understood is how policing might differentially impact terrorism across specific ideological movements (e.g., far-right, environmental, Islamic extremism). Drawing from prominent sociological and criminological theories (i.e., Environmental perspectives, Social Disorganization, Conflict/Marxist) the current study addresses several key gaps in prior literature by utilizing data from the American Terrorism Study (ATS) paired with data from the FBI Uniform Crime Report and U.S. Census Bureau. Results suggest that …
Opportunity, Temporal Patterns, And Successful Outcomes Of Far-Right Terrorism Incidents In The United States, Brent Ryan Klein
Opportunity, Temporal Patterns, And Successful Outcomes Of Far-Right Terrorism Incidents In The United States, Brent Ryan Klein
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This thesis examines the impact that far-right terrorism opportunity structures and temporal patterns of precursor activity have on incident outcomes. Data from the American Terrorism Study (ATS) are extracted for several attributes of far-right opportunity, in addition to measures for temporal patterns of planning and preparatory behaviors. Bivariate and multivariate findings generally support expectations that target attractiveness and vulnerability, far-right group structures, and patterns of precursor activity are significantly associated with incident outcomes. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research and several implications for homeland security policy.
Human Intelligence In Federal Terrorism Cases, Noah James Schneider
Human Intelligence In Federal Terrorism Cases, Noah James Schneider
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Though it has often been quipped that the September 11th attacks changed "everything", domestic policy alterations were among the most significant changes after 9/11. Specifically, the 2002 Ashcroft Attorney General Guidelines and the 2008 Mukasey Attorney General Guidelines were two of the most impactful policy changes following 9/11. These Attorney General Guidelines changed the way the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated terrorism in the United States in addition to making counterterrorism the FBI's top priority. One of the ways the FBI prevents terrorism is through the use of undercover agents and confidential informants. How the 2002 and 2008 Attorney …
Time-Space Analysis Of Terrorist Planning Cycles, Michael Stephen Gerald Eastham
Time-Space Analysis Of Terrorist Planning Cycles, Michael Stephen Gerald Eastham
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Terrorism is among the largest threats to national and international security in today's global community. Acts of terrorism have resulted economic and societal impacts throughout the world. Improvements in technology have increased the capacity of terrorists to maximize the impact of their actions. The increasing influence and prevalence of terrorist activity has demanded research focused on the prevention of terrorist acts. A known method of terrorism prevention is uncovering a plot during its planning and preparation phase. Terrorist planning can be evaluated based on how actors move through space and time prior to the execution of their attack. General patterns …
21st Century Radicalization: The Role Of The Internet User And Nonuser In Terrorist Outcomes, David Wayne Woodring
21st Century Radicalization: The Role Of The Internet User And Nonuser In Terrorist Outcomes, David Wayne Woodring
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This study examines differences between users and nonusers of information communication technologies (ICTs) within the pre-incident planning processes for domestic terrorist movements operating within the United States. In addition, this study is the first quantitative exploration of the prevalence, types, and purposes of ICT use within terrorist movements, specifically environmental, far-right, and Islamic extremist movements. Using "officially designated" federal terrorism investigations from the American Terrorism Study (ATS), we analyzed extracted evidence of ICT usage among individuals (n =331) engaged in the pre-incident planning processes as members of terrorist movements between 1995-2011. While we find significant differences in terrorist ICT use …
Political Motive And Bail: The Effect Of Prosecutorial Strategies On Pretrial Decisions In Federal Terrorism Trials, Michael John Clanton
Political Motive And Bail: The Effect Of Prosecutorial Strategies On Pretrial Decisions In Federal Terrorism Trials, Michael John Clanton
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this study is to understand how prosecutorial strategies affect pretrial decisions in U.S. terrorism trials and how pretrial decisions in turn affect the disposition of those trials. This research builds off of the work of Smith and Damphousse (1996) which compared terrorism indictees to traditional federal offenders. They found that the use of explicit politicality as a prosecution strategy was a significant predictor of both disposition and the sentence length in terrorism trials. This study focuses on the question of whether the use of an explicitly political prosecution strategy impacts pretrial decisions in terrorism cases and whether …