Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Selling National Security: Journalism, Political Actors, And The Marketing Of Counterterrorism Policy, Nicole M. Napolitano

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The social construction of terrorism in the public sphere naturally limits and directs logical policy options. In the United States, media are a primary vehicle for the construction of social problems and accompanying policy solutions, as much of public discourse takes place in media narratives. News media play a major part in political communication, both between government and governed as well as among different segments of government.

Social construction in media is shaped by journalistic values and preferences, occurs within an active and influential policy process, and is shaped by powerful policy actors. Government-based policy actors, or governmental policy entrepreneurs, …

Case-Specific Counterterrorism Policies For Islamic Fundamentalist Groups, Jessica L. Shoemaker

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Since 9/11, counterterrorism policies have been one of the crucial policy issues facing the United States. After the attacks on the United States, counterterrorism in this country transformed. Fifteen years later, counterterrorism is typically organized as a one-size fits all approach. This approach generalizes all terrorist threats, trying to target terrorism as a whole. This thesis explains how this is an improper approach to counterterrorism. Instead, policies should be case-specific and created in regards to the specific characteristics embodied by each terrorist organization. These characteristics include history and ideology, organizational and leadership structure, finances, and tactics and targets. These characteristics …

Law V. Safety: Balancing Domestic Surveillance's Legal Deficiencies Against The Necessity Of Counterterrorism, Jeremy Kommel-Bernstein

MSU Graduate Theses

This thesis discusses whether the collection of metadata by the NSA, as revealed in 2013 by Edward Snowden, from domestic sources is legal and/or effective, and how to balance safety and liberty. The topic is both timely and important due to the potential for abuse that comes with domestic intelligence programs, as well as the risk of suffering a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Research for this thesis included personal interviews with former NSA and CIA Director Michael Hayden, and reviewing numerous court cases, legal documents, and articles and books on the subject. There is significant evidence that the NSA's …