Political Science Commons^™

Longitudinal Follow-Up Of Yezidis Displaced By Isis Genocide To A Host Village In Iraq, Jordan Greaser

Dissertations

This research examined the quality of life and the religious leadership reliance of the Sinjari Yezidis based on their migration patterns. The study employed a mixed-method research design, exploring a Yezidi case study and discriminant analysis on 2022 survey data from Sinjari Yezidis who fled the ISIS genocide by initially moving to a single village in northern Iraq between 2014-2015. The study hypothesized migration patterns played a role in the quality of life and religious leadership reliance outcomes between 2015 and 2022.

This study showed no difference in the quality of life outcomes between Yezidis who stayed in their displacement …

The Us War In Afghanistan And The War Powers Act: A Natural Experiment, Burrell Fletcher V

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

How Can the War Powers Act of 1972 be Reformed to Increase the Chances of Winning Wars?

This paper examines the effects of the War Powers Act of 1973’s Authorisation for Use of Military Force (AUMF) system on the conduct of war, especially regarding the ongoing War on Terror. The War on Terror, began in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks when President Bush invaded Afghanistan. Congress, using the War Powers Act, passed the 2001 AUMF in the weeks after the attacks. The 2001 AUMF has been used in twenty-two countries to justify anti-terror operations thus far (Savell, …

Effects Of Witnessing Terrorist Attacks On Perceived Causes Of Terrorism And Support For Security Measures, Austin Trevor Sullivan

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The following research aims to understand how individuals who were aware of, and affected by, terrorist attacks at the time they took place perceive the causes of terrorism and support security measures. It is hypothesized that the extent to which one â??witnessedâ?? attacks characterized by more traditional forms of terrorism, such as bombings and religiously motivated and affiliated perpetrators (Wave four), versus new forms of terrorism, such as shootings and lone wolves (Wave five), would be affected by the age of the witness. This research proposes an indirect pathway from age to "witnessing" terrorist attacks to attributions for the attacks …

Mena Terrorism And The West: Explaining Why Terrorist Groups From The Middle East And North Africa Target Western Democracies, Michael A. Defeo

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Terrorist groups from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remain one of the most formidable threats to international security. While their organization and motives have been significantly different over time, a commonality is that they tend to disproportionately target Western democracies. This dissertation argues that this trend is mainly a consequence of the foreign policies that these states pursue in the region. These policies, in terms of support for Israel and interventionism, are theorized as being the precipitous causes of MENA terrorism. Likewise, it is argued that the democratic institutions and extents of globalization in these states are …

Neo-Nazi Postmodern: Right-Wing Terror Tactics, The Intellectual Neue Rechte, And The Destabilization Of Memory In Germany Since 1989, Esther E. Adaire

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation argues that from 1989 onwards an increasingly terroristic neo-Nazi underground in Germany became gradually entangled with the reactionary Neue Rechte, whose crusade against the German culture of remembrance is also a crusade against European integration, increased migration, and the conceits of liberal democracy. This entanglement produced an ideologically coherent extreme-right political movement with a heavily armed and tactical paramilitary faction that has, contrary to what various governments of the Federal Republic have wanted to believe, been developing in Germany since the early 1990s. Moreover, tactics of information warfare initiated by so-called “postmodern” terrorists of the 1990s would, by …

David Versus Goliath: The Power Of Weakness In Asymmetric Warfare—Lessons From History, Nicholas K. Petaludis

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Under what conditions do violent nonstate actors (VNA) succeed against states? Why does David sometimes beat Goliath? Since at least the time of Thucydides and the Peloponnesian Wars, the realist narrative in international relations measures power primarily in relative, coercive, and deterrent terms. Strong states should accordingly face fewer constraints and enjoy more options while pursuing their national interests. Unconventional warfare, and its subsets of terrorism and insurgency, should—given these circumstances, end in VNA failure. Sometimes, however, VNAs find success. By comparing the literature on historical and current case studies, I propose that a set of preconditions and two mechanisms …

Extremism In America: Explaining Variations In Ideologically Motivated Fatal Violence, Celinet Duran

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation uses data from the United States Extremist Crime Database (ECDB) to assess the nature of extremist violence between left-wing, far-right and al-Qaeda and associated movements (AQAM) inspired ideological fatal violence. It extends the empirical literature on extremist violence in three significant ways by: (1) expanding an existing database to provide a comparative component that is both timely and policy-relevant and conveys a more complete picture of the nature of domestic extremism in the U.S.; (2) systematically comparing extremist violence across the left-wing, far-right and AQAM ideologies to better assess the nuances of extremist violence; and (3) applying empirical …

Uninvited Guests In The Backyard: Dangers And Risks Of Terrorist And Anti-American Activity In Latin America, Santiago Spadiliero

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The international security environment has changed. In the last two decades, new challengers to the American liberal order arose, with China being the most defiant one, in political and military terms. Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative opened the doors to these extra-continental powers, as their loans provided an alternative source of funding for Latin America, walking these countries away from American-led lending institutions. In this new context, Latin America becomes a desirable piece of land in which these new challengers can safely create trade routes while decreasing American influence. Russia and Iran also want to project power in America’s backyard. …

Criminology And Violent Extremist Radicalization, Starlett Michele Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, research on foreign terrorism became extensive in the United States while research on domestic terrorism and violent extremist radicalization was lacking. Despite the research that has been done, there was a lapse in scholarship analyzing terrorism radicalization and its relationship with criminology. The purpose of this general qualitative study was to analyze the perceptions of experts in terrorism and criminology about how factors of criminology can explain violent extremist radicalization. This study used two conceptual models of terrorism radicalization: (a) the staircase to terrorism and the (b) 4-stage model of the terrorist mindset. In addition, …

Racialization And International Security, Richard W. Maass

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

Racialization—the processes that infuse social and political phenomena with racial identities and implications—is an assertion of power, a claim of purportedly inherent differences that has saturated modern diplomacy, order, and violence. Despite the field's consistent interest in power, international security studies in the United States largely omitted racial dynamics from decades of debates about international conflict and cooperation, nuclear proliferation, power transitions, unipolarity, civil wars, terrorism, international order, grand strategy, and other subjects. A new framework lays conceptual bedrock, links relevant literatures to major research agendas in international security, cultivates interdisciplinary dialogues, and charts promising paths to consider how overt …

Criminology And Violent Extremist Radicalization, Starlett Michele Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, research on foreign terrorism became extensive in the United States while research on domestic terrorism and violent extremist radicalization was lacking. Despite the research that has been done, there was a lapse in scholarship analyzing terrorism radicalization and its relationship with criminology. The purpose of this general qualitative study was to analyze the perceptions of experts in terrorism and criminology about how factors of criminology can explain violent extremist radicalization. This study used two conceptual models of terrorism radicalization: (a) the staircase to terrorism and the (b) 4-stage model of the terrorist mindset. In addition, …

Countering Terrorism On Tomorrow’S Battlefield: Critical Infrastructure Security And Resiliency (Nato Coe-Dat Handbook 2), Sarah J. Lohmann, Lucas M. Cox, Denise Feldner, Trevor P. Helmy, Frank J. Kuzminski, Marcus Mohlin, Aleksander Olech, Wuraola Oyewusi, Gabriel T. Raicu, Silke Ruhl, Sabrina Schulz, Máté Tóth, Megan A. Ward

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Every day, malicious actors target emerging technologies and medical resilience or seek to wreak havoc in the wake of disasters brought on by climate change, energy insecurity, and supply-chain disruptions. Countering Terrorism on Tomorrow’s Battlefield is a handbook on how to strengthen critical infrastructure resilience in an era of emerging threats. The counterterrorism research produced for this volume is in alignment with NATO’s Warfighting Capstone Concept, which details how NATO Allies can transform and maintain their advantage despite new threats for the next two decades. The topics are rooted in NATO’s Seven Baseline requirements, which set the standard for enhancing …

Social Media Effects On People's Fear Of Terrorism, Cameron Pastore

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

In the past few decades, social media has constantly been upgraded to comply with users' needs. Social media has become a prevalent tool today as many use it to share their thoughts and gain a glimpse into other people's lives, but a lot of people also use social media to obtain news about what is going on in the world and their communities. In this article, I examine social media’s influence on people's fear of a potential terrorist attack on their homeland. The data for this research was obtained through The Chapman University Survey on American Fears (CSAF), conducted in …

The Levels And Discrepancies Of America’S Fear Of Terrorism, Kate Lindfors

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Within the United States, individuals do not appear to possess an accurate understanding of terrorism and the threat it may pose to Americans. This not only creates inaccurate perceptions of the actual risk levels associated with terrorism in the U.S. but a misunderstanding of the potential sources of terrorist threats and the impact they could have on the country. In this paper, I will examine this misunderstanding of contemporary terrorism, particularly in relation to America’s inflated sense of fear and general misplacement of the threat. In order to examine this topic, I have used the Chapman University Survey on American …

Bureaucratic Resistance And The Challenge Of Implementing Asean Our Eyes: Case Study Of Jolo Church Bombing 2019, Chaula Rininta Anindya

Global: Jurnal Politik Internasional

Arus Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTF) memicu kekhawatiran dunia, termasuk negara-negara di Asia Tenggara. Pada tahun 2017, Indonesia mengajukan inisiatif “Our Eyes” untuk menciptakan sebuah wadah bagi negara-negara ASEAN untuk bertukar informasi intelijen guna memberantas kegiatan terorisme transnasional. Inisiatif tersebut kemudian diubah menjadi “ASEAN Our Eyes” (AOE). Tetapi, beberapa tahun setelah dibentuknya inisiatif tersebut, terjadi peristiwa pengeboman gereja di Jolo, Filipina. Inisiden tersebut menunjukkan hambatan untuk mengimplementasikan inisiatif AOE. Pelaku diidentifikasi sebagai Warga Negara Indonesia yang berhasil masuk ke Filipina berkat bantuan jaringan teroris lokal di Filipina. Idealnya, inisiatif AOE dapat mencegah serangan tersebut. Artikel ini akan mendiskusikan dinamika domestik di …

Selective State Penetration: The Nexus Between Ungovernability And Terrorism In Egypt’S Northern Sinai (2011-2016), Karim Ashour

Future Journal of Social Science

Although Egypt experienced an unprecedented wave of political violence post-2011, terrorism in the North Sinai province is distinct in terms of sheer numbers, lethality, operational sophistication, and the range of actors involved in carrying out attacks. The objective of this paper is to provide an empirical explanation for why terrorism in Northern Sinai started earlier, lasted longer, was more frequently claimed, and was simply more deadly than in other Egypt provinces. The paper utilizes in-depth interviews with representatives of NGOs in Northern Sinai, journalists, residents, and security officials, as well as socio-economic data, terrorist incidents, and counter-terrorism operations to analyze …

Analyzing Insurgent Activity In The Cabo Delgado Province Of Mozambique, Alayna N. Stormer, Amanda Brotemarkle, Virginia Mcdaniel

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Al-Sunna Wa Jama’a (ASWJ), a violent Islamic Insurgency within the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique, is likely to continue to exercise control and pose a strategic threat to United States (US) interests and possessions in the region due to violence, various illegal activities, and exploitation of regional humanitarian crises. Based on trend analysis, it is likely that these activities will contribute to an overall continuation of ASWJ’s influence. We also considered the true ideological nature of ASWJ and whether or not they have ties to other well known terrorist organizations. We utilized two methods, indicator analysis and strategy assessment, our …

The International Perception Of The Irish Republican Army And Chechen Insurgency, Henry Forteith

International and Global Studies Undergraduate Honors Theses

This purpose of this project is to examine how the labels used to describe the Irish Republican Army and Chechen insurgency changed after certain acts of violence. This paper begins by describing the history of imperial subjugation of Ireland and Chechnya, as well as examining the similarities between the actions and motivations of the IRA and Chechen insurgency. Then, to study the change in language to describe these groups, two searches were conducted into the New York Times and International Newsstream databases. The first search examined articles about the IRA and Chechen insurgency published between 1998 and 2009, while the …

From Pacifism To Pipe Bombs: A History Of The Extremist Anti-Abortion Movement In The United States, Stella Masucci

Senior Theses

This paper traces the history of the extremist wing of the anti-abortion movement, both the violent and non-violent branches, from its origins in the 1970s. The movement began with local, leftwing Catholic groups conducting “sit-ins,” then turned into a massive crusade of fundamentalist conservatives under Randall Terry’s group Operation Rescue. I also examine the movement’s descent into violence in the 1980s and 1990s and the federal government’s response to this threat, namely the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act in 1994, and how it has shaped both the pacifist and violent branches of the movement in the years since. …

Interpreting 9/11: Religious Or Political Event?, Fadime Apaydin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Terrorism or violence can be triggered by a variety of circumstances, including the religious, cultural, political, or economic conditions of the social environment, as well as the perpetrator’s personal characteristics. However, studies conducted in the aftermath of 9/11 have largely described the attacks as religious events, arguing that religion inherently causes violence or that religion is the main motivation for violence. The primary argument for the approach adopted by such studies is that secular institutions are inclined to be less violent than religious ones. A second approach, on the other hand, fundamentally opposes the arguments that led to describing the …

Tactical Mistakes: Women's Role In Terrorism, Laura Daniel

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

Since the 1970s, the word "terrorism" has become a well-known term. Almost two decades after 9/11, it has become a part of everyday vocabulary and, at times, dominates the news cycle. However, the faces we see associated with terrorism are mainly men. When talking of a training camp or a video claiming responsibility for terrorist attacks, women are not a part of the majority. However, women do play a significant role in terrorism. This article evaluates the history of women in terrorism and their positions in terror organizations, as well as the tactical mistake of overlooking women's role in global …

The Leveling Spirit: Violence And Inequality In Postwar Iraq, Griffin Perrault

Honors Theses

The Iraq War (2003–2011) constitutes by some estimates one of the deadliest and most destructive conflicts of the 21st century (Hagopian et al., 2013). In addition to the disputed figures of excess violent civilian casualties––generally ranging from 180,000 to 210,000 deaths––the war has created one of the major refugee crises of modern times, with 1 in 25 Iraqis estimated to have been displaced from their homes by the 2003 invasion (Costs of War, 2021). While much of this violence has been wrought by American and Iraqi coalition troops, violence against civilians has also been perpetuated by insurgent groups and paramilitary …

Exploring Cyberterrorism, Topic Models And Social Networks Of Jihadists Dark Web Forums: A Computational Social Science Approach, Vivian Fiona Guetler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This three-article dissertation focuses on cyber-related topics on terrorist groups, specifically Jihadists’ use of technology, the application of natural language processing, and social networks in analyzing text data derived from terrorists' Dark Web forums. The first article explores cybercrime and cyberterrorism. As technology progresses, it facilitates new forms of behavior, including tech-related crimes known as cybercrime and cyberterrorism. In this article, I provide an analysis of the problems of cybercrime and cyberterrorism within the field of criminology by reviewing existing literature focusing on (a) the issues in defining terrorism, cybercrime, and cyberterrorism, (b) ways that cybercriminals commit a crime in …

Terrorism And Deceptive Media, Roxanne Aguilera

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Deception is easy, especially with fast media in the 21st century. News outlets in both a national and local levels are credited for exposure of inaccurate or dramatized information; which can negatively affect the population especially during events of collective trauma. In lue of the September eleventh terrorist attack, despite majority of civilans not having direct exposure, over 20% of participants in a past study, believed this attack was the worst event of their lives due to media coverage and exposure.This essay will examine the correlation between fear of terrorism and several factor ranging from news validity, forms of media, …

Insurgency, Political Risk, And Foreign Direct Investment Inflows In Nigeria: A Sectorial Analysis, Danjuma Iyaji

CBN Journal of Applied Statistics (JAS)

This study examines, among others, the effect of terrorism, political violence, corruption, and religious tension on FDI inflows to the banking, construction, manufacturing, oil and gas, and telecommunication sectors in Nigeria. Thus, empirical models were estimated using the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) technique. The study spans from 2008Q1 to 2017Q4. Findings show that terrorism adversely affects FDI inflow to telecommunication sector, while corruption positively impacts on the oil and gas sector. Thus, this study among other things, recommends the intensification of effort in the war against terrorism and strengthening of relevant anti-graft agencies to adequately fight corruption in …

Why 9/11 Matters To Singapore, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan discussed why 9/11 matters to Singapore. He opined that when it comes to countering the terrorist threat, civil society has an important role to play in strengthening inter-faith engagement and understanding.

White Supremacists And The White Urge To Call Them Terrorists, Jin Chang

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

In this article, I argue that the election and inauguration of President Biden should not be a moment of celebration for any scholar, activist, or individual committed to ending the white supremacist empire of America, especially in relation to his condemnation of the January 6^th white supremacist rioters as “domestic terrorists.” However, I believe it is for a different reason than much of the current discourse suggests from many progress scholars and journalists. The current line many progressive scholars and activists cite as the reason to avoid calling white supremacists “terrorists” has been because they fear such language will …

Effects Of Military And Economic Aid On Terrorism: A Long- And Short-Term Analysis, Haley Parker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper asks whether U.S. aid reduces terrorism. Foreign assistance may be of two types: socio-economic aid (aims to address the root causes of terrorism by improving health care, education, justice systems, infrastructure, etc. in the recipient country) and military aid (designed to fight terrorism with force and manifests as military operations in a recipient country). Most countries receive both military aid and socio-economic US aid for long spells of time. This is why this research asks: 1) how economic and military types of aid influence terrorism over time, and 2) whether and how economic aid and military types of …

Democratization And Extremism: The Case Of Tunisia, Mariam Abdelaty

Theses and Dissertations

Terrorism has become a real security threat for nearly every country in the world. Despite of the declaration and adoption of several procedures to fight terrorism and its perpetrators, countries have not yet succeeded to control the huge numbers of recruits being mobilized by terrorist organizations.[1] The literature has covered several factors that make recruits vulnerable and easily mobilized and radicalized by terrorist organizations, among which is the suppression of civil and political rights in non-democratic countries, as well as weak political institutions.[2] Among the Arab world countries, it has been puzzling to find out that despite of …

Domestic Terrorism In The Developing World: Role Of Food Security, Nisha Bellinger, Kyle T. Kattelman

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article sheds light on the root causes of terrorism by assessing the effect of food security on domestic terrorism among developing countries. Food security is a fundamental physiological need and captures a core well-being outcome. We argue that food insecurity creates grievances among citizens and increases demand among them for action against the government. Terrorist organisations provide the opportunity for citizens to channel their grievances against the government by resolving collective action problems and mobilising citizens. We demonstrate the link between food insecurity and domestic terrorism through quantitative analyses on a sample of 70 developing countries from 1980 to …