This thesis discusses the challenges faced by Somali immigrants in the United Kingdom and how those challenges during the integration process can lead to an individual's recruitment into the Somalia-based branch of Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab. Some of the most influential factors inclu…
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The lens through which people observe and form judgements upon conflict and terrorism depends heavily on the media they consume as well as their personal circumstances. This thesis is comprised of three empirical studies; the first two investigate how media reporting of armed co…
As social media becomes an integral part of our daily lives, and groups seek to utilize this medium to facilitate activism, understanding the nature of these communications and the impact of the content on the individual user becomes a valid area of interest. When one then consi…
The contemporary threat of terrorism has changed the ways in which government and the public view the world. Unlike the existential threat from nation states in previous centuries, today, government and the public spend much of their effort looking for the inward threat. Brought…
The dissertation examines the rise of radical Islamist and Kurdish movements in Turkey and considers their possibility to moderate and integrate into plural political systems. In contrast to popular views, ethnic or religious demands are not always superior to economic interests…
Ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States has been awakened to the threat that extremist organizations pose to our national security. The greatest transnational terrorist threat to the United States right now comes primarily from extremist groups …
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…
The effect of insurgent factionalization on peace process has become in recent years a topic of much research. Although many insurgencies are not factionalized, those that are include several long-running and highly visible conflicts—including those in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palesti…
The 2011 US National Strategy for Counterterrorism maintains the focus of the United States on pressuring al-Qaida's core, while emphasizing the need to build foreign partnerships and capacity. The strategy states that the US is engaged in a broad, sustained, and integrated camp…
The global Muslim population hosts a wide diversity of beliefs and sects, including some that are considered illiberal, non-normative, or even radical. Fear, inspired by the rise of violent extremism masked in the name of Islam, has led many to treat any and all non-normative Mu…
The United States national strategy for Countering Violent Extremism is broadly written and currently does not provide the framework necessary to combat homegrown violent extremism and the foreign fighter phenomenon. The threat of foreign terrorist organizations targeting the Un…
Current efforts at mapping how women engage in violent extremism and terrorist activities highlight a lack of contemporary understanding regarding women’s motivation to support and participate in extremist activity. Traditionally, terrorism studies have focused on men, in large …
The justice system needs to be updated to incorporate research that explains the psychology of predatory exploitation and factors that can help to identify it when it occurs. Too often, people argue that judgments about undue influence constitute a “slippery slope,” or that “Peo…
This dissertation outlines the literature and processes used to create the self-MADE Group, a group therapy intervention designed specifically for college-aged, first generation, Muslim-American men who may potentially be at risk for future maladaptive behaviors. The acronym MAD…
During the tumultuous twentieth century, three visually and dogmatically distinct white supremacist movements came together to bring forth a mostly unified front against their common enemies—integration, miscegenation, and various elaborate fictional conspiracies. At times antag…
This dissertation seeks to get to the core of the racist extremist social structure, focusing on the intimate and personal politics of the movement and shifting our understanding of the neo-fascist weltanschauung on a global level. I explore the social, political and ideological…
This dissertation explores interactions between media and communication technologies and the ideological commitments and identity claims of violent lone actors. Terrorist incidents involving lone actors are more prevalent in the 21st Century than at any point in modern history, …
As a consequence of the separation between religion and politics, known as secularism, the discussion about violence has also been divided into two main categories –Religious Violence and Non-Religious Violence– in the modern Western academia. The tendency of the leading scholar…
Boko Haram is a relatively small but potent violent extremist group that now plagues northeastern Nigeria and has been responsible for the deaths of thousands. This Thesis is an examination driven by the aim of providing clarity on the historical drivers, tactics, and internal c…