TSAS WP16-14: Talking to Foreign Fighters: Socio-Economic Push versus Existential Pull Factors
The research acquired primary data through interviews with foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq, the families and friends of such fighters, and other online supporters of jihadism, to better understand – …
TSAS WP16-13: Trying to Talk to Terrorists: Ethical and Methodological Challenges in Canada
Scholars have long shied away from talking to terrorists. This is because there are significant methodological and ethical problems posed by such research. How can we manage those challenges and – …
Endgames: Improving Our Understanding of Homegrown Terrorism
Abstract: This article examines how the phenomenon of homegrown terrorism has evolved over the past decade. It argues that there have been significant developments that impact how we conceptualize and – …
The radicalization puzzle: a theoretical synthesis of empirical approaches to homegrown extremism
Abstract: Why and how do individuals residing in relatively peaceful and affluent Western societies come to embrace extremist ideologies that emanate from distant places? We summarize the most recent empirical – …
Toward a Behavioral Model of “Homegrown” Radicalization Trajectories
Abstract: This research note presents a dynamic risk assessment model of homegrown terrorists. The model was tested in a study of convicted “homegrown” American terrorism offenders inspired by Al Qaeda’s – …
Iraq versus lack of integration: understanding the motivations of contemporary Islamist terrorists in Western countries
Abstract: Despite being nearly 10 years into the ‘Global War on Terror’ there is still confusion as to what motivates the perpetrators of terrorist attacks, particularly those in the West. – …
Processes and preconditions underlying terrorism in second-generation immigrants
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to encourage empirical research on the precursors and processes underlying terrorism in second-generation immigrants. While the Western-born children of immigrants may be at – …
Defining and Distinguishing Secular and Religious Terrorism
Abstract: Religious terrorism is typically characterised as acts of unrestrained, irrational and indiscriminant violence, thus offering few if any policy options for counterterrorism measures. This assumption about religious terrorism stems – …
All Jihad is Local: What ISIS’ Files Tell Us About Its Fighters
Sentiment-Based Identification of Radical Authors (SIRA)
Abstract: As violent extremists continue to surface in online discussion forums, counter-extremism agencies search for new and innovative ways of uncovering their digital indicators. Using a sample of approximately 1 – …
Normative support for terrorism: The attitudes and beliefs of immediate relatives of Jema’ah Islamiyah members
Abstract: Families might be an important source of norms that legitimize terrorism, an assumption that has yet to be tested empirically. To investigate this, surveys were administered to 20 immediate – …
The radicalization of homegrown jihadists: A review of theoretical models and social-psychological evidence
Abstract: This article attempts to consolidate theorizing about the radicalization of Western homegrown jihadists. Five major models of radicalization are reviewed. The commonalities and discrepancies among these models are identified – …
Actions speak louder than words: a behavioral analysis of 183 individuals convicted for terrorist offenses in the United States from 1995 to 2012
Abstract: Involvement in terrorism has traditionally been discussed in relatively simplistic ways with little effort spent on developing a deeper understanding of what involvement actually entails, and how it differs – …
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon on the definition of ‘terrorism’
Controlling terrorist suspects’ civil liberties while confronting terrorism: the case of Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures
An examination of the links between international terrorism and transnational organized crime: moving beyond the factual nexus in Multi-Faceted Approach to Radicalization in Terrorist Organizations
Abstract: Transnational organized crime and terrorism have been viewed as distinct entities. However, much attention has been given in recent years on the complex linkages between the two phenomena and – …
Au-delà de la vengeance : comprendre le passage à l’acte des femmes kamikazes tchétchènes
Defending Freedom by Effectively Countering Terrorism
Paradigmatic Shifts in Jihadism in Cyberspace: The Emerging Role of Unaffiliated Sympathizers in the Islamic State’s Social Media
Education and Security: A Global Literature Report on Countering Violent Religious Extremism (CVE)
Developing a Typology of Terrorism Involvement as a Basis to Planning for Sentencing, Management, Risk Reduction, Release and Monitoring of Terrorist Offenders
Case studies of selected al-Qa’ida members
‘Questions about Dawlah. DM me, plz.’ The Sock Puppet Problem in Online Terrorism Research
The ecology of trust among hackers
Abstract: Malicious hackers profit from the division of labour among highly skilled associates. However, duplicity and betrayal form an intrinsic part of their daily operations. This article examines how a – …
Toward a Framework Understanding of Online Programs for Countering Violent Extremism
Abstract: There is an emerging consensus that ideologically-based narratives play a central role in encouraging and sustaining radicalization to violence, and that preventing, arresting, or reversing radicalization requires some means – …
Terrorisme, violence de masse et radicalisation. Du Moi idéal au désengagement identificatoire
A Radical Sociability: In Defense of an Online/Offline Multidimensional Approach to Radicalisation
TSAS WP16-10: Research into How Resources are Acquired, Moved and Used to Support Acts of Terrorism
The study was directed to answer six questions on terrorist resourcing in Canada through a comparative analysis that identified: resourcing activities; actors involved; interconnections of activities; importance of different forms; – …
TSAS WP16-11: Jihad in the Jazeera: Explaining The Islamic State’s Growing Insurgent Threat in Egypt
Why did Wilayat Sinai – The Islamic State’s affiliate in the Sinai Peninsula – evolve to become an unprecedented challenge to the Egyptian state?
TSAS WP16-07: Cheering on the Jihad: An Exploration of Women’s Participation in Online Pro-jihadist Networks
This paper poses the following questions: 1. Can identifiable patterns of engagement by female posters be discerned based on content of posts? 2. Does the type of the jihadist group – …
TSAS WP16-03: Taking Hoaxes Seriously: Characteristics of Terrorism Hoaxes and their Perpetrators
What can existing literature and available data tell us about terrorism hoaxes (i.e. those incidents that are believed to be acts of serious terrorism, but do not actually involve any – …
TSAS WP16-01: Policies and Responsibilities for Governing Violent Extremism at Ontario Universities
This research looks at the governance of violent extremism on Ontario university campuses. Specifically, it explores: 1) how Ontario universities are governed; 2) how student organizations (such as clubs) and – …
Planning for the Worst: Olympic Security and Precautionary Governance
‘Car Bombing “With Due Respect”: The Niger Delta Insurgency and the Idea of MEND’
Approaching relief: Compensatory ideals relieve threat-induced anxiety by promoting approach-motivated states.
Study 1 of 3: A Qualitative Examination of Radicalization and Susceptibility to Radicalization
Correctional Service Canada (CSC) staff members recognize the complex, multi-faceted nature of radicalization, and are familiar with a wide range of behaviours indicative of radicalization or susceptibility to radicalization. Responses – …
Study 2 of 3: Comparisons of Radicalized and Non-Radicalized Federal Offenders
The identification of considerable differences between radicalized and non-radicalized offenders across a variety of areas suggests that the case management, supervision, and intervention strategies used for each group may need – …
Examining the Needs and Motivations of Canada’s Federally Incarcerated Radicalized Offenders
This study allowed for an enhanced understanding of the motivations and needs of radicalized offenders,Footnote 1 while providing the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) with further evidence that can be – …
Use of Programs and Interventions with Canada’s Federally Sentenced Radicalized Offenders
Bridging the Barrier: Israeli Unilateral Disengagement
The construction of the barrier separating Israel from the West Bank has become the site of one of the most heated controversies the world over, the source of virulent propaganda, – …
Israel’s Relations with Egypt and Turkey during the Arab Spring
What implications do the uprisings in the Middle East in 2010–2011 hold for Israel’s foreign relations with the two most strategically prominent states in the region, Egypt and Turkey? The – …
A Theory of Victimhood: Politics, Conflict and the Construction of Victim-Based Identity
What (and who) is a victim? In contemporary violent conflicts, the construction of grievance-based identity is a fundamentally contested process as the lines between victim and perpetrator are blurred by – …