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Theses/Dissertations

2014

Terrorism

Discipline
Institution
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Articles 1 - 20 of 20

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Essays On Battle Clusters In Internal Armed Conflicts And Insurgencies: Concept, Causes And Consequences, Chifeng Liu Dec 2014

Essays On Battle Clusters In Internal Armed Conflicts And Insurgencies: Concept, Causes And Consequences, Chifeng Liu

Theses and Dissertations

With the purpose to re-conceptualize the intensity of internal armed conflicts, I argue that the characteristics such as location, scale and duration of “major battlefields,” i.e. the spatio-temporal clusters of combat events are important in the evaluation of impact of modern civil wars and insurgencies. I start with elaborating and constructing a new concept of conflict magnitude with battle clusters using up-to-date geo-referenced data and spatial statistic methods. In the second article, I first explain the location and duration of major battlefields. The findings indicate that an area with multiple non-state armed groups (NSAGs) is more likely to become main …

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The Day Of The Cyber Wolf, Ryan K. Buch Dec 2014

The Day Of The Cyber Wolf, Ryan K. Buch

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Terrorism has become a concern for public safety and security and can take on many appearances. However, in recent years the dilemma that presents the most substantial endangerment to public security comes from the threat of leaderless terrorists, also known as "lone wolves." Due to the rapid advancement in technology over the past few decades, societies, specifically the United States, have become dependent upon it economically and socially. Terrorist organizations, as well as the lone wolf terrorist, understand that their enemies rely on technology in order to function and have recently redirected their efforts towards cyberspace. As a result, cyber-terrorism …

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Jiahd In The Global Village: Al-Qaeda's Digital Radicalization And Recruitment Campaign, Katie Cannata Nov 2014

Jiahd In The Global Village: Al-Qaeda's Digital Radicalization And Recruitment Campaign, Katie Cannata

Honors College Theses

Following America’s “War on Terror,” al-Qaeda and its affiliates became highly decentralized in terms of organizational and media operations. Though mass media outlets continue to play a significant role in drawing attention to al-Qaeda’s transnational campaign, Salafi Jihadists have recently begun to rely on new media for purposes of legitimization and promotion. The Internet serves as a suitable platform for these groups’ media objectives since it is inherently anonymous and absent of censorship. Most importantly, the Internet facilitates al-Qaeda in reaching a global audience, which is made evident by the growing amount of Salafi Jihadist media that is translated or …

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Time-Space Analysis Of Terrorist Planning Cycles, Michael Stephen Gerald Eastham Aug 2014

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 …

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Ecology Of Terrorism: Cross-National Comparison Of Terrorist Attacks, Katharine A. Boyd Jun 2014

Ecology Of Terrorism: Cross-National Comparison Of Terrorist Attacks, Katharine A. Boyd

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The term terrorism is used to describe a large range of behaviors conducted by a wide variety of groups. Terrorist groups differ in ideology, size, financial support, group longevity, and the number of alliances with other terrorist groups. Relatedly, terrorist groups conduct different number of attacks with varying intents to cause fatalities using diverse forms of violence. This study uses ecological theory to contextualize terrorist violence as a product of terrorist group traits in relation to the environmental context. It is hypothesized that terrorist violence is associated with group traits in relation to the varying political, social, and religious contexts …

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International Norm Echoing In Rebel Groups: The Cases Of The Kosovo Liberation Army And The Liberation Tigers Of Tamil Eelam, Jennifer A. Mueller Jun 2014

International Norm Echoing In Rebel Groups: The Cases Of The Kosovo Liberation Army And The Liberation Tigers Of Tamil Eelam, Jennifer A. Mueller

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This research demonstrates that rebel groups use international norms in their discourse and echo patterns in the discourse of states and that they do so to promote their own legitimacy at key turning points in their conflicts. Which international norms rebel groups use most frequently is partially determined by the congruence of those norms with their local norms and beliefs and the degree to which a group's internal structure has become more hierarchical and specialized. Two rebel groups are examined in this study over the course of their conflicts: the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil …

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Challenging The State: Evaluating The Effects Of Uneven Distribution Of Public Goods, Economic Globalization And Political Openness On Domestic Terrorism, Sambuddha Ghatak May 2014

Challenging The State: Evaluating The Effects Of Uneven Distribution Of Public Goods, Economic Globalization And Political Openness On Domestic Terrorism, Sambuddha Ghatak

Doctoral Dissertations

The end of Cold-War ushered in an era of global economic integration and political openness in terms of emerging democracies; the world celebrated the triumph of free market capitalism as the East European ex-communist countries and Third World countries of Asia and Africa placed market forces at the center of their policy. There seems to have been a breakthrough for the idea of the Manchester School, in terms of using economics as a means of international peace. On the other hand, however, the world is not at peace. The collapse of the “Soviet Empire” was followed by the emergence, or …

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18th Century Anarchism And Its Effect On Modern Day Domestic Terrorism, Mary A. Scott May 2014

18th Century Anarchism And Its Effect On Modern Day Domestic Terrorism, Mary A. Scott

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Anarchism is a political and socioeconomic force that has driven violent methods of social and political change for centuries. Relating Anarchism to these violent acts demonstrates a deep-seeded link to terrorism. Anarchism is one of the main forces behind modern day terrorism due to its long history alongside the ever evolving term terrorism. By connecting these two concepts, domestic terror groups can be better analyzed and understood, and future attacks from within the United States may be prevented.

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21st Century Radicalization: The Role Of The Internet User And Nonuser In Terrorist Outcomes, David Wayne Woodring May 2014

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 …

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Vanguards No Longer: Challenges To Al Qaeda Leadership Of The Jihadist Community, Byron J. Doerfer Apr 2014

Vanguards No Longer: Challenges To Al Qaeda Leadership Of The Jihadist Community, Byron J. Doerfer

Senior Theses and Projects

2014 marks the first time that al Qaeda’s supremacy in the Jihadist community has been challenged. al Qaeda’s former franchise in Iraq, now called the “Islamic State,” has declared the organization responsible for 9/11 “Tyrants” and “Apostates.” The Islamic State has begun openly attacking al Qaeda’s official franchise in Syria, Jabhat al Nusra. These events are a consequence of the strategy of franchising that al Qaeda undertook following 9/11. The root of the issue between al Qaeda and its former Iraqi franchise is over a difference over the importance placed on popular support as a key ingredient in achieving the …

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Deadly Premonition: Does Terrorist-Leader Psychology Influence Violence Lethality?, Clayton Besaw Jan 2014

Deadly Premonition: Does Terrorist-Leader Psychology Influence Violence Lethality?, Clayton Besaw

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to address a theoretical and empirical gap within terrorism studies, and more specially the study of terrorist-group lethality. This research updates a model of terrorist-group lethality by including terrorist-leader psychology as an individual-level variable in predicting terrorist-group lethality. Terrorist-leader statements were analyzed by using two novel coding schemes called Operational Code and Leadership Trait Analysis to create quantified measurements of leader cognitive beliefs and personality traits. The empirical portion of this study utilizes pooled cross-sectional time-series data within the framework of fixed effects and multi-level estimation models. The results find that terrorist-leader psychology, and more specifically Instrumental …

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Bystander Effect And Religious Group Affiliation: Terrorism And The Diffusion Of Responsibility, Thomas Schillinger Jan 2014

Bystander Effect And Religious Group Affiliation: Terrorism And The Diffusion Of Responsibility, Thomas Schillinger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The collective nature of group affiliation may inhibit an individual from exhibiting prosocial behavior regarding acts of religiously-motivated terror. This study's purpose was to investigate the nature of bystander intervention as it relates to religious group affiliation. Darley and Latane's bystander effect theory provided the theoretical framework for this study. The research questions examined the impact of religious group affiliation and group size on the dependent variables of civic moral disengagement (CMD) and commitment to the war on terror (CWT). Three validated survey instruments were administered to a random participant pool of 206 respondents. An ANCOVA and Spearman's rho correlation …

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The Axe Without The Handle: An Exploratory Analysis Of Eco-Terrorism And Its Relationships To U.S. Public Policy Towards Terrorism:1990-2010, Phillip Andrew Smith Jan 2014

The Axe Without The Handle: An Exploratory Analysis Of Eco-Terrorism And Its Relationships To U.S. Public Policy Towards Terrorism:1990-2010, Phillip Andrew Smith

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

From 1990-2010 ecoterrorist attacks by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and Earth Liberation Front (ELF) created an anomaly in the U.S. with millions of dollars in property destruction. Interestingly, in a post 9/11 era, the FBI warns that the number one threat to U.S. national security is not religious terrorism, but rather environmental-group terrorism. When examining this topic further, there is a void in analysis between examining ecoterrorist attacks and U.S. public policy. Is there a statistical significant relationship between terrorist attacks by ALF/ELF and U.S. public policy towards terrorism? Is per capita income an influence on the attacks occurring …

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The Effects Of Terrorism And Bias Against Muslims And Evangelical Christians In An Online Adult Sample: A Test Of Terror Management Theory, Angelo L. Rannazzisi Jan 2014

The Effects Of Terrorism And Bias Against Muslims And Evangelical Christians In An Online Adult Sample: A Test Of Terror Management Theory, Angelo L. Rannazzisi

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Considering the sociopolitical events of the past decade, the effect of terrorism on the behavior of others has gathered interest in the field of social psychology. Terror Management Theory has been used to conceptualize responses to individual’s fears of mortality. Because one of the goals of terrorism is to generate fear in a specific population, using Terror Management Theory to conceptualize responses to terrorism is appropriate. The current study attempts to ascertain if participants’ responses to stimuli that are indirectly related to Islam can be conceptualized using Terror Management Theory. The results of the study did not support this interpretation. …

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Managing Effective Collaboration Among Law Enforcement, Intelligence Services, And Military Forces In Fight Against Terrorism And Organized Crime, Cihan Demirhan Jan 2014

Managing Effective Collaboration Among Law Enforcement, Intelligence Services, And Military Forces In Fight Against Terrorism And Organized Crime, Cihan Demirhan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The fight against terrorism and organized crime require strong collaboration between public security organizations. Public security networks include several agencies that are not bound to each other with strong hierarchical ties. Because of a lack of the strong hierarchical structure, managing public networks is not similar to managing a single government agency. This study aims to examine the factors influencing network effectiveness in the public security sector. The main research questions of the study are: Which factors are important for effectiveness in public security networks? What is the role of inter-organizational trust among partner agencies? Which kind of leadership style …

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Security Threats In Perspective: Understanding The Failures Of American Foreign Policy In Africa, Carolyn S. Lenderts Jan 2014

Security Threats In Perspective: Understanding The Failures Of American Foreign Policy In Africa, Carolyn S. Lenderts

CMC Senior Theses

This paper aims to examine the nature and major causes of American foreign policy in Africa since the end of the Cold War. Among these is a tendency to view African states, threats, and crises in terms of American strategic interests, not as events with independent relevance to American priorities. The post-9/11 fervor muddled many important distinctions about the relationship between African states, state power, and international terrorist groups. The United States acted too quickly, helping African states militarize without understanding the nature of the threat and the way in which a heavily militarized response would entrench rebel groups. Seeing …

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Unpacking The Impact Of Democracy On Terrorism, Issares Lertangtam Jan 2014

Unpacking The Impact Of Democracy On Terrorism, Issares Lertangtam

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

While policy makers assert that democracy can reduce terrorism, academics have produced differing theories explaining the relationship between the two. One theory suggests that democracy discourages terrorism because citizens in democracy can express grievances through electoral process resulting in their less incentive to resort to violence. Another theory argues that democracy encourages terrorism because its enabling environment reduces the cost of terrorist activities. Still another contends that democracy increases terrorism because political contestation in democracy induces some groups to use violence to outbid for their cause. Other strands exist including one suggesting no relationship between democracy and terrorism. These controversial …

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Multicultural Public Policy And Homegrown Terrorism In The European Union, Macklin Keith Everly Jan 2014

Multicultural Public Policy And Homegrown Terrorism In The European Union, Macklin Keith Everly

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

From the 1970s to the 1990s, Western European democracies embraced multiculturalist public policy (MCPP). This was in an effort to address and accommodate the minority rights of immigrants who found their way to Europe during its post-WWII labor force recovery. By the mid-1990s, there was a backlash against such policy and movement towards integrationist values. This has been exacerbated in the wake of radical Islamist terror attacks like those of 9/11, the London 7/7 bombing, and the Paris Metro Bombings of 1995. Attention has been focused on the threat, incidence, and causal factors of homegrown jihadism within Europe. The research …

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When Insurgents Go Terrorist: The Role Of Foreign Support In The Adoption Of Terrorism, Jeffrey F. Fourman Jan 2014

When Insurgents Go Terrorist: The Role Of Foreign Support In The Adoption Of Terrorism, Jeffrey F. Fourman

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

What role does foreign support play when an insurgent group adopts terrorism? Utilizing both quantitative analysis and in-depth case studies, this thesis examines the effects of foreign support among other commonly cited explanations for an insurgency's adoption of terrorism. In addition to observing the effects of foreign support on the adoption of terrorism, the effects of government regime type, insurgent group goal type, insurgent group strength, and foreign benefactor type are analyzed. After executing a multiple logistic regression analysis of 109 intrastate conflicts occurring from 1972 to 2007 and conducting detailed case studies for the Tamils in Sri Lanka and …

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Counterinsurgency In Afghanistan: A Last Ditch Effort To Turn Around A Failing War, Benjamin P. Mccullough Jan 2014

Counterinsurgency In Afghanistan: A Last Ditch Effort To Turn Around A Failing War, Benjamin P. Mccullough

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

As the United States moved closer to ending its military involvement in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, intense debate on the relevance and success of the United States' counterinsurgency (COIN) strategy in the country continues. Many observers have been quick to declare the strategy a failure without fully analyzing the critical components of COIN doctrine that are necessary for a campaign to succeed, and the extent to which those components were in place in Afghanistan. This study examines the case of Afghanistan by determining whether the U.S.'s counterinsurgency strategy was successful in achieving the four main objectives identified by …

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