This dissertation consists of three distinct substantive papers that are designed to stand on their own as published articles, but which are also arranged in such a way as to form a coherent whole, with a logical progression from paper to paper. They are unified around the theme…
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The following dissertation develops a theoretical framework for guiding the strategy of democratic states in successfully countering the hostilities of nationalistic substate terrorist organizations (NSTOs), and effectively manipulating the terrorist group’s (and its supporting …
What motivated members of al-Qaeda to hijack commercial airliners and crash them into the sides of buildings? Is it similar to what motivated Japanese fighter pilots to crash their jets into the sides of American aircraft carriers? If so, what can these two seemingly disparate p…
This thesis sought to explore the use of propaganda by al Qaeda through the lenses of established propaganda theorists and theories. Through analyzing former al Qaeda releases and case studies in the context of propaganda theory this thesis established a clearer understanding of…
A gap exists in the literature about Al Qaeda's influence of Middle East political structures on social injustices that linger within extremism. To address that gap, this research examined the extent to which Al Qaeda philosophies represent the general Islamic society and the ex…
Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Islamic terrorism has been propagated as a seemingly unavoidable threat to our daily lives. However, the globally oriented anti-Western jihad movement peaked in the late 1990s and early 2000s and has since been in decline. Acros…
In this dissertation, I ask what happens to our understanding of transnational jihadism, and specifically the work of al-Qaeda if we enter into dialogue with jihadists on what they advance and elide in their use of martyrdom operations qua politics through the use of comparative…
Without precedent in the history of modern warfare, Al Qaeda's September 11, 2001 operation was a compelling event demonstrating that armed non-state actors have become strategically relevant opponents that are capable of challenging the most powerful nation-states within the in…
The United States may be losing the war against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The past five years have seen an increase in sophistication and scale of terrorist attacks and the group’s ideological message remains persuasive for many disenfranchised Yemenis. Terrorism…
Literature discussing counterterrorism, and, more broadly, military assistance, argues that this aid is unconditionally helpful to recipient states. Yet, in this paper I contend that military assistance puts recipients in a dilemma. Whereas literature has established that donors…
Why do people in the United States become radicalized to Sunni militant terrorism? Are the mechanisms and processes which lead to radicalization different for Muslim converts and those who were born and raised as Muslims? Between September 11, 2001 and December 2010 there were n…
This study examines in-depth the perceptions in which American Christian Identity Militants and American Al-Qaeda Activists view the United States as well as their respective theological justifications for violence. The primary methodology is a comparison of religious activist b…
This dissertation investigates changes in the extent and nature of al-Qaida's involvement in Salafist-motivated terrorism over time. It makes use of an original, hand-coded dataset that examines relationships among individuals involved in terror events in order to build a formal…
Al Qaeda killed over 3,000 US citizens on September 11, 2001, and terrorism leapt to the fore of US strategic and political priorities. Yet, after nearly six year of concerted effort by the United States, the dominant power in the international system, Al Qaeda survives and is s…
This study examines the motivation factors that make some individuals (terrorists) confidential informants. The study is based on the assumptions of Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theories. Accordingly, main assumption of the present study is that …
This thesis reviews the history of Afghanistan and the current counterinsurgency strategy. Military and political leaders ignored cultural and religious affairs inherent to the country in their planning of the invasion after the events of 9-11. This paper goes on to highlight th…
Transitioning from Operation Iraqi Freedom I to Operation Iraqi Freedom II, the United States' strategy of "the Surge" faced great challenges and achieved no clear result after its implementation. The Surge brought additional military equipment to Iraq and maximized U.S. forces'…
In this study, the researcher aims to look at how people would react to Islamists' online persuasive messages. This study is designed to measure the effects of two types of persuasive messages on people's attitude changes and information seeking behavior. Participants were recru…