Terrorism Studies Commons^™

From The Editor In Chief, C. Anthony Pfaff

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Welcome to the Summer 2026 issue of Parameters, which consists of two In Focus special commentaries, three forums (Indo-Pacific, Strategy, and Historical Studies) and the Strategic Competition Corner.

Parameters, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

A New Security Framework For Nato’S Eastern Flank, Matthew J. Kukla, Anna Batta

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article argues for a NATO-EU–led security strategy to achieve long-term deterrence in Ukraine after the end of the Russia-Ukraine War. Unlike existing analyses, this article straddles the strategic level of deterrence, outlining an operational road map. Its historical example of the Iraq War shows that long-term security requires the development of plans before a conflict ends, long-term commitments, and multilateral—not unilateral—security efforts. The proposed solution provides strategic planners and policymakers with a low-risk, high-reward approach that leverages burden sharing through a multinational framework.

Threats To The United States, Elyssa R. Barna

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This research goes over various threats that the United States may deal with in the future, how severe they may be, and what policy implications and further research could be done. This research is done by case studies, looking into different previous threats to the United States including the Cold War, the September 11th, 2001, attacks, the anti-western or jihadist terrorist groups, and the usage of biological and chemical weapons in terrorist attacks. After detailing the changes that have occurred in recent times, such as the evolution of technology and social media, it is explained how this can influence terrorism …

Strategies And Policies In Enforcement Of Security, Human Rights And Development In Papua, Rudy Syamsir, Syaiful Rohman

Journal of Terrorism Studies

Papua always an interesting discussion along with the rampant acts of violence against civilians carried out by the Independent Papua Organization (OPM), which were later labeled with various terms such as the Armed Separatist Group (KSB), Armed Criminal Group (KKB), Armed Separatist Criminal Group (KKSB). KKB carried out acts of violence in killing civilians, government officials vandalizing and burning public facilities. Because of the ways that are similar to acts of terrorism, this group is finally called the Armed Terrorism Group (KTB). The Indonesian National Army (TNI) and Indonesian Republic Police (POLRI) security forces have taken repressive actions with armed …

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 …

Prioritizing Countries By Concern Regarding Access To Weapons Of Mass Destruction Materials, Susan Caskey, Barry Ezell

VMASC Publications

This article presents a global prioritization methodology that evaluates the relative risks of non-state actor acquisition of materials that could be used in chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high explosive Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) from the country's relevant infrastructure. Prioritization is based on three domains: 1. Assessing relative scale of materials in each country, 2. The country's corresponding security posture, and 3. The presence of threat actors. The output is a list of countries prioritized from greatest risk to least. Rather than providing an overall 1 to N ranking, however, the results are placed into tiers based upon their …

Uk Think-Tanks, The War On Terror And The Radicalisation Debate, Hadi Enayat

Abdou Filali-Ansary Occasional Paper Series

This paper maps the discursive and ideological habitus in which UK think-tanks operate in connection with the ‘war on terror’. It discusses how UK think-tanks have both shaped and been shaped by this habitus and the impact their work has had on counter-terrorism policy in the UK. It begins by discussing the concept of think-tanks and their role and input into politics. It then sketches the rise of ‘terrorism’ as both an academic object of study, from the mid-1970s onwards, and as an increasingly vital policy area for governments and the military-security establishment, especially after 9/11. The paper then focuses …

Influence Of Us Neoconservatism On Formation Of National Security Paradigm, Mukhammadolim Mukhammadsidiqov, Abrar Turaev

The Light of Islam

This article analyzes the impact of neoconservative ideology on the formation of national security paradigms in the United States and reveals the impact of views and ideas put forward by U.S. neoconservatives on the formation of public administration, especially security goals in domestic and foreign policy. In particular, the role of Albert Walstetter, a well-known proponent of neoconservative views, in the formation of security concepts is discussed. The role of political philosopher Leo Strauss’s political-philosophical and military-strategic approaches in the development of neoconservative ideology and the conceptual basis of modern security problems are theoretically analyzed. It is emphasized that the …

Transportation, Terrorism And Crime: Deterrence, Disruption And Resilience, Daniel C. Goodrich, Frances L. Edwards

Mineta Transportation Institute

Abstract: Terrorists likely have adopted vehicle ramming as a tactic because it can be carried out by an individual (or “lone wolf terrorist”), and because the skills required are minimal (e.g. the ability to drive a car and determine locations for creating maximum carnage). Studies of terrorist activities against transportation assets have been conducted to help law enforcement agencies prepare their communities, create mitigation measures, conduct effective surveillance and respond quickly to attacks.

This study reviews current research on terrorist tactics against transportation assets, with an emphasis on vehicle ramming attacks. It evaluates some of the current attack strategies, and …

City Of Camas City Hall Safety And Security Project Plan, Diane Dyra

CUP Undergraduate Research

This proposal is designed for the City of Camas as a means to create a culture of preparedness, improve safety and security, as well as build resilience. The current state of City Hall allows for the threat to the loss of life and property. Through preparation, education, training, crime prevention through environmental design, and structural improvements, a state of safety, security, and continued critical functionality for the community can be met. These improvements allow for the City of Camas to stand by their mission statement, committing to “preserving its heritage, sustaining and enhancing a high quality of life for all …

American Medical Response Active Shooter Project Proposal, Matthew Spong

CUP Undergraduate Research

American Medical Response (AMR) Tukwila is the hub of its Western Washington operations. With over 400 employees and multiple customers and guests at any given time, they must have measures in place to ensure the safety and security of those on the premises. In the summer of 2019, AMR Tukwila experienced a possible active shooter incident. While this is a low occurrence event it proves the need for having a plan and procedures in place. Active shooter situations have steadily risen over the years and can happen without warning. This proposal identifies problems and solutions so that AMR Tukwila employees, …

Current Trends In Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Implications For U.S. Special Operations Forces, J. Philip Craiger, Diane Maye Zorri

Publications

This paper assesses current trends in small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) technology and its applications to the Special Operations Forces (SOF) community. Of critical concern to SOF is that commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) sUAS technologies are relatively inexpensive, improving at a dramatic rate, and widely available throughout the world. Insurgents, terrorists, violent extremist organizations (VEOs) and other nefarious actors have used COTS sUAS to conduct offensive attacks as well as to develop battlefield situation awareness; these technological improvements combined with their widespread availability will require enhanced and rapidly adaptive counter-sUAS measures in the future. To understand the most current trends in the …

Train Wrecks And Track Attacks: An Analysis Of Attempts By Terrorists And Other Extremists To Derail Trains Or Disrupt Rail Transportation, Brian Michael Jenkins, Bruce R. Butterworth

Mineta Transportation Institute

Attempts to sabotage rails and deliberately derail passenger trains have a long history in conventional and guerrilla warfare as well as during some particularly bitter labor disputes in the past. Since the 1970s, political fanatics have become a major adversary. Terrorists have sought to derail trains to achieve high-casualty events, while anarchists and issue oriented extremists have attacked rails to attract attention to their causes and impose economic damage. In this report, we examine the more than a thousand attempts to derail trains and to attack rail infrastructure to discern overall patterns and trends. We then look at four subsets …

An Analysis Of The Efficacy Of Post 9/11 Security Policy In Countering Violent Extremism And Reducing Acts Of International Terrorism, Omaima Khan

Dissertations and Theses

Terrorism is a phenomenon that baffles even the most experienced of researchers within academia. Understanding what constitutes terrorism is important to the field of international relations because combatting terrorist violence yields no straightforward method of prevention and protection. This paper examines four measures of counterterrorism taken by the U.S. government after the September 11^th attacks. The methods included in this study and the framework in which they are congruent with are: The War on Terror as a defense strategy, torture and “enhanced interrogation techniques” as a deterrence method, targeted drone attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan as a compellence force, …

The Challenge Of Protecting Transit And Passenger Rail: Understanding How Security Works Against Terrorism, Brian Michael Jenkins

Mineta Transportation Institute

Terrorists see transit and passenger rail as an attractive target. Designed for public convenience, trains and stations offer terrorists easy access to crowds of people in confined environments where there are minimal security risks and attacks can cause high casualties. This report examines the unique attributes of the terrorist threat, how security measures against terrorism have evolved over the years, and their overall effectiveness.

Does security work? Empirical evidence is hard to come by. Terrorist incidents are statistically rare and random, making it difficult to discern effects. The fact that terrorists focus most of their attacks on targets with little …

The Name Game As Blame Game: The Domodedovo Terrorist Bombing, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the relevance of blame in the context of terrorism.

The Yemen Narrative: Cargo Cults And Cargo Security, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author gives a psychological perspective on the security of aviation cargo shipments.

Are You Down With Ppp? A Look At Prohibited Personnel Practices In The United States Government, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the prevalence of identified proscribed personnel practices, and the power dynamics of such identifications among federal employees.

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.

Terror Attacks: Understanding Social Risk Views Between Singaporean Lay And Security Practitioners, Yam Hong Loo, David J. Brooks

Australian Security and Intelligence Conference

This study investigated the psychometric risk perception between lay people and security practitioners towards terrorist attack against Singaporean educational institutions. Being located in Southeast Asia, Singapore is not immune to terrorist attacks from rebels found in the region. To promote fear and chaos, terrorists have begun to attack private and neutral institutions in order to promote their cause. Mosques, hospitals and other such institutions are no longer immune from terrorist attacks. The psychometric risk paradigm offers a basis for examining empirical views towards potential terrorist attack against such institutions. Survey data in comparing terrorist attack against Singapore’s educational institutions with …

Intelligence And Human Rights: A View From Venus, Peter Gill

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Intelligence and Human Rights in the Era of Global Terrorism. By Steve Tsang (ed.). Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Security International, 2007.

and

War by Other Means: An Insider’s Account of the War on Terror. By John Yoo. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2006.

When The Risk Is Strategically And Operationally Insignificant, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The article discusses some of the dangers in labelling a risk as strategically and operationally insignificant in a security setting.

Trends. Non-Physical Approaches To Physical Security, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article discusses the vulnerabilities of protecting physical assets with purely physical means, as well as the potential benefits of non-physical approaches.

The Psychology Of Intelligent Video Analysis, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article examines issues surrounding software-enhanced video analysis in an intelligence context.

Trends. Car Bomb Explosion And An Explosion Of Truths, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article discusses multiple political psychological aspects of the August 29, 2003 car bomb explosion adjacent to the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf, Iraq

Security Watch: No-Fly Zones And Flying Blind, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The article evaluates the gain in security from no-fly zones from a security perspective.

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.

Trends. Personnel Security In An Age Of Terrorism With Global Reach, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article discusses what an appropriate level of commitment to a security bureaucracy might look like.