The phenomenon of Terrorism has perplexed and fascinated policy makers and scholars. While there has been significant amount of research on Terrorism, the dynamics or Pathologies of Terrorist Target Selection have received less attention, with few comprehensive treatises on the subject. In this paper, I review and critique existing literature on the subject, while offering a different perspective and model for this dynamic. First, I introduce a contemporary definition of terrorism and establish a framework for the analysis of Terrorist Target Selection. In Chapter 2, I posit that accurate Target Selection Forecasting Techniques need to account for the Adaptive Learning Mechanisms that Terrorist Groups adopt and existing case studies on the subject. Chapter 3 undertakes a critical literature review of Target Selection Case Studies. In Chapter 4, I suggest new research proposals that adopt this theme. In conclusion, I offer what we believe is a novel approach to understanding Terrorist Target Selection and argue that such a model should be flexible enough to work across the various Ideological Silos that Terrorist movements are bracketed into in the current Geo-Political Environment. / text

Radicalization is an aspect in the development of homegrown terrorists; however, researchers have been unable to establish a path to radicalization, uncover how individual and social factors influence radicalization, and identify how the Internet and social media mediate this process. The purpose of this case study was to explore individual and environmental factors that contribute to the radicalization of U.S. homegrown terrorists and identify interventions. Conversion theory was used to develop an understanding of the radicalization of U.S. homegrown terrorists. Data were derived from interviews of local and state law enforcement, military antiterrorism officers (AT), and security personnel from military installations in Eastern North Carolina. Data were analyzed applying content directed and In Vivo coding. The study results helped formulate recommendations on interventions to stem radicalization, identified the news media as a gateway for radicalization, and suggested the incorporation of perspectives from other radicalization-related theories into the conversion theory radicalization model to examine known cases of homegrown terrorists and test its viability as a model to understand radicalization. The results of this study could bring about positive social change by improving relationships and collaboration between law enforcement and community stakeholders, which might generate strategies that could exert greater influence in dissuading individuals from becoming radicalized.

Mass media and the Internet have emerged as enablers for terrorist planning, facilitation, and communication. The Internet allows terrorists to operate without the confines of borders and increases the potential impact on victims. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of American terrorist experts on how terrorists' Internet use has shaped international terrorism. Stepanova's asymmetric conflict theory served as the theoretical framework of this study. Specifically, this study explored terrorists' Internet-based recruitment strategies, the ways in which those recruitment efforts were supported in the United States, the measures to counter such recruitment efforts, and the future direction of terrorist recruitment in the 21st century. Data were collected through in-depth semistructured interviews with a purposive sample of 10 American terrorist experts. Data were analyzed using thematic coding. Findings indicated that terrorists' Internet use has resulted in challenges for counterterrorism agencies in the United States and abroad due to the ability of terrorists to easily close, change, and create new websites or accounts. These findings may inform the work of domestic and international counterterrorism entities in creating policy objectives that address the fluid nature of Internet recruitment, including proactive and coordinated responses by member states. This action may improve the United States' security through more effective recognition and response to terrorist Internet tactics.

The lack of a consistent theoretical framework for understanding the social context in which terrorist organizations emerge and operate stifles the systematic study of terrorism and inhibits the ability of the social sciences to influence international policy. To address this limitation, the present study begins by defining terrorism, and the related phenomena of terror, terrorist, and terrorist organization. As classification is necessary for any scientific investigation, typologies of terrorism currently found in the academic literature are reviewed next. Finally, a criminological framework is applied to the study of terrorist organizations and the environments in which they operate. The primary purpose of the present investigation is to determine whether a classic criminological theory, social disorganization theory, can be applied to the study of terrorist organizations. Drawing from several cross-national data sources, this study operationalizes Shaw and McKay's (1942; 1969) original measures of social disorganization, residential stability, ethnic heterogeneity, and socioeconomic status, at the macro-level of the nation-state. A curvilinear relationship between measures of social disorganization and the hosting of terrorist organizations in each nation-state is predicted. That is, terrorist organizations are expected to require some degree of social organization to operate but, beyond a certain point, social organization is predicted to have an inhibitive effect on the functioning of these organizations, as strong institutions emerge to control this and other forms of collective violence. / Master of Science

No description available.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Stony Brook University, 2008. / This official electronic copy is part of the DSpace Stony Brook theses & dissertations collection maintained by the University Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives on behalf of the Stony Brook Graduate School. It is stored in the SUNY Digital Institutional Repository and can be accessed through the website. Presented to the Stony Brook University Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology; as recommended and accepted by the candidate's degree sponsor, the Dept. of Sociology. Includes bibliographical references (p. 102-114).

Doctor of Philosophy / Security Studies Interdepartmental Program / Andrew G. Long / David R. Stone / This dissertation research examines the effect of organizational lethality on the longevity of terrorist groups. The current scholarship has sought to understand the demise of terrorist groups through means such as group success, government repression, negotiations, internal conflict, reorientation of goals, defeat, leadership decapitation and loss of public support. However, little research is available on the determinants of terrorists’ target selection and its implications for the group’s longevity. This study evaluates the targeting patterns and preferences of 480 terrorist groups that were operational between 1980 and 2011 and disaggre- gates the victims of all terrorist attacks into combatant versus non-combatant target-types. It is hypothesized that organizational lethality – defined as the average number of civilian killings generated by each group in its home-base country – is associated with negative group reputation, which results in faster group mortality. Popular support for violence, however, can influence and result from terrorism at the same time and has been found to be inherently endogenous by many previous studies. Therefore, a Seemingly Unrelated Bivariate Probit Model is employed to examine this endogenous relationship, and the results confirm that there is a significant correlation between negative group reputation and group mortality. Moreover, the study differentiates between terrorist group activity – defined as average at- tacks generated by a group – and group lethality, and employs the Cox Proportional Hazard Model to estimate group duration. The study includes covariates like group size, ideology, positive consistency reputation and other factors affecting group longevity and mortality. The results imply that organizational lethality is associated with higher political risks for terrorist groups and tends to backfire by decreasing their survival probability. However, on the other hand, the study finds that an escalation in terrorist activity (launching more attacks) significantly increase the group longevity over time. The results of this study are tested by conducting group-specific case studies on the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban in Pak- istan using information collected from the English language Pakistani newspaper archives, and Harmony Database from Combat Terrorism Center at West Point, NY.

The following is a report concerning quantitative research carried out in the pursuit of a Master's degree. This research details an examination of the hypothesis that the political ideology of militant extremists and the selection of Majority or Minority target influences sentencing severity. The research uses information collected on 510 indictees in "The American Terrorism Study, 1980-2002", which was funded by the United States Department of Justice. Using an OLS regression (Independent Variables: Type of Militant Group, Majority Target, Crime Severity Index, Gender, and Education; Dependent Variables: Outcome of Indictment, Sentence, Time Sentenced, Fine Sentenced, Restitution Sentenced, and Combined Fine/Restitution Amount) it was discovered that there is no tendency for militant extremists targeting Majority facilities or personnel to receive more severe sentences. Additionally, there is an interaction between Leftist group identification and Education level with the amount of the Fines levied. Further research in this area would be advanced by having access to detailed breakdowns into the socio-economic backgrounds of the individuals involved. / Master of Science

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / This thesis analyzes NATO's decisions and actions in response to the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States and assesses the probable future role of the Alliance in combating international terrorism. In September-October 2001 the United States chose to lead a coalition against the Al Qaida terrorists and their supporters in Afghanistan instead of ceding the initiative to NATO. The necessity for rapid decisions and action, the military capabilities gap between the United States and the European allies, and the lessons of NATO's air campaign in the 1999 Kosovo crisis probably led the United States to make this choice. NATO's contributions to the campaign against terrorism have included sending Airborne Warning and Control Systems aircraft to the United States, deploying naval forces to the Eastern Mediterranean, and conducting preventive action against terrorist groups acting within or from the Balkans. NATO's responses to the 11 September attacks, the unconventional and asymmetric threat posed by international terrorism, and the distinct contributions that the military can make in combating terrorism support the main hypothesis examined in this study: that NATO may be unable to play more than specific limited roles in the fight against international terrorism. / Major, Bulgarian Army