Terrorist Behavior Research Articles

Beyond binary: Analyzing closed-source data to compare specific roles and behaviors within violent and nonviolent terrorist involvement.

Increasingly, studies compare risk and protective factors for involvement in violent and nonviolent terrorist behaviors. This exploratory study investigates whether this distinction is sufficient, or whether it should be disaggregated further into more granular terrorist roles and behaviors. Using data on 404 referrals to a UK countering violent extremism Prevent hub specializing in mental health and associated needs, we compare violent and nonviolent referrals, and then more specific behaviors (vulnerability, proactive extremism, foreign fighting, and violence planning). Bivariate and multivariate analyses show there is value in disaggregating beyond the binary violence versus nonviolence distinction, as more (and more detailed) relationships emerged when using the disaggregated set of behaviors. While gender did not differentiate violent and nonviolent referrals, women were more likely to be referred for radicalization vulnerability or potential foreign fighting. Extreme right-wing and extreme Islamist referrals were no more or less violent overall, but Islamist referrals were disproportionately referred for both the most and least violent behaviors. Personality and developmental disorders were associated with violence, and disaggregated behaviors provided detailed insight into the drivers of these associations. These exploratory findings, while interesting, likely do not generalize beyond our specific sample. Instead, this study's value lies in demonstrating the utility for both research and, eventually, practice of disaggregating beyond violence and nonviolence. The results demonstrate clear operational implications for threat assessment in the need to include a more refined set of risk factors to aid in assessing risk of more relevant outcomes than terrorist involvement overall.

Verbal attacks on terrorist groups increase violence against civilians

Abstract Terrorists and other transnational extremist groups are responsible for thousands of civilian deaths. In confronting extremists, governments have relied heavily on threats, demands, denunciations, and other forms of verbal conflict. Do these efforts at verbal coercion have any effect on terrorist behavior? This analysis focuses on the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which continues to be the world's deadliest terrorist group and was responsible for recent high-profile attacks in Baghdad, Vienna, Kabul, and Russia. We use Bayesian structural vector autoregression models to analyze daily event data on interactions between ISIS and foreign governments for the 2014–2020 period. We find that verbal conflict initiated by governments not only failed to deter ISIS but in fact increased the frequency of ISIS's attacks on civilians. Additional empirical analyses, combined with evidence from ISIS's publications and public statements, suggest that this effect resulted from a perceived credibility deficit. Extremists use terror attacks to signal that they have the capabilities and willingness to inflict pain and suffering on civilian targets. Government attempts to coerce extremist groups verbally, rather than militarily, reflect an underestimation of the group's capabilities and resolve. In an effort to solidify their reputations, extremists engage in further violence toward civilians, thus leading to worse humanitarian consequences. We extend the analysis to Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Boko Haram and find similar results.

The 2019 Christchurch terror attack: an assessment of proximal warning behaviors

ABSTRACT The Christchurch terror attack in March 2019 was a pivotal incident in the recent history of right-wing terrorism. Utilizing eight proximal warning behaviors from the Terrorist Radicalization Assessment Protocol (TRAP-18), this article provides a qualitative analysis of the attacker’s behavior following the formation of his terrorist intent. Events and activities were coded against the eight warning behaviors and assigned a date where known, thereby creating a comprehensive chronology of events commencing from January 2017 up to the time of the attack. Five insights of theoretical and operational relevance when utilizing proximal warning factors emerge from the analysis: timing; the impact of security awareness; the interplay between factors; the effect of image management; and the social connectedness of lone actors. This study adds to the growing body of empirical evidence supporting the efficacy of the TRAP-18 as an instrument through which to analyze the behavior and mindset of lone actor terrorists. It provides further insights to inform the process of person of interest prioritization among counter-terrorism investigators and contributes to academic knowledge of threat assessment.

Pedestrian evacuation dynamics considering terrorist attack on-site control action differences between police and security guards

In recent years, terrorist attacks all over the world caused many civilian casualties seriously. Under the knife and axe terrorist attack, there are usually four groups of event-related persons, that is, pedestrians, terrorists, police, and safety guards in the scene. The behavior of them is different, but they are rarely considered together in existing litterateurs, especially the police and safety guards. In this paper, we propose the FFPS (extended floor-field model combined with on-site control actions of police and safety guards) model to study pedestrian evacuation dynamics considering terrorist attack on-site control action differences between police and security guards. The FFPS model consists of three aspects. First, pedestrian evacuation dynamics in terrorist attack environment is modeled. Second, the behavior of terrorists, police and safety guards is studied. Third, the differences of on-site control actions between police and safety guards are studied. We set up the scenario for simulation. The influence of terrorists’ number and location, police and security guards’ different actions, police entering time, police shooting distance, police and safety guards’ spatial position, and police control strategy on evacuation dynamics are analyzed in detail. Those results provide valuable insights to quickly control terrorists, and sharply reduce casualties in terrorist attack environment.

Monsoon Marauders and Summer Violence: Exploring the Spatial Relationship between Climate Change and Terrorist Activity in India

Climate change is a global phenomenon that has been associated with a growing list of concerns in society today, often leaving more questions than answers. Thus, it is no surprise that questions are forming regarding the effects of climate change on global security, and more specifically, terrorism. India is the ideal case study for investigating the relationship between climate change and extremism, with average temperatures in the country reaching record highs as well as having 9,096 terrorist incidents occur during our 20-year study period between 1998 and 2017. Using daily temperature, precipitation, elevation, and distance to the equator data from the National Climatic Data Center and terrorist incidents from the Global Terrorism Data base (GTD), this study assesses the spatial relationship between these factors through geospatial analyses. Suitability analyses indicate that all the climatological variables tested—temperature, precipitation, and elevation—relate to shifting patterns of terrorist activity. We also found that beyond intensity, seasons result in a shifting of patterns in terrorist behavior to other locales. Implications for the global community and for India specifically are discussed.

Foreign and Kazakh experience in the development of anti-terrorist consciousness of student youth

Relevance. Today, there is a need to form a safe educational environment, as the number of factors attracting student youth to terrorist activities has increased recently. Purpose. The purpose of this study was to identify ways of forming anti-terrorist consciousness among students, their application in different regions of the world. Methodology. The study employed methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, comparison, systematisation, and generalisation Results. The study examined the interdisciplinary integrative approach to developing students' anti-terrorism consciousness in educational settings. It conducted a multilevel analysis of the approach's resources and features, identifying how students' personal orientations in society are formed. The research addressed terrorist behavior among students, drawing evidence from various countries and presenting counter-terrorism strategies based on Asian and European higher education experiences. It compared the nature and causes of terrorist behavior among students from different countries, highlighting the causes of formation, values of modern student youth, their influence on consciousness and educational activities were distributed. This comparison helped uncover techniques to shape the meanings and values of student youth effectively. Conclusions. It was concluded that educational institutions are actively addressing the negative impacts of modern conditions that foster student aggression. They must employ technologies of intentional influence and persuasion to shape students' values. Regulating student value orientations can enhance motivation to resist extremism and terrorism and promote an anti-terrorist stance. This study is practically significant, providing findings useful for creating textbooks and manuals in pedagogy and psychology, developing courses on counter-terrorism, and offering recommendations for national security agencies and future research. Keywords: educational space; counteraction; behaviour; values; interdisciplinary approach; integration

Understanding Radicalization: Terrorist Behavior at odds with Pancasila

The dynamics life of society is constantly changing, both positively and negatively. The loss of high moral standards and ideals in society, particularly the implementation of the Pancasila values, can result in negative changes. The growth of radicalism and the frequent occurrence of terrorist actions in Indonesia are two examples of how Pancasila values are eroding. These are some of the goals of this activity: First, spreading knowledge about terrorism, radicalism, and their relationship as they conflict with Pancasila ideals Second, raise people's knowledge and awareness of the risks posed by terrorism and radicalism. Third, promote understanding of radicalism and terrorist acts through socialization. Students in class XII IPS 3 SMA Negeri 1 Medan will be exposed to information on radicalism, terrorism, and other behaviors that are against Pancasila ideals through lectures and discussions. Results from socialization activities revealed that pupils had a positive mindset. The socialization participants thought that this exercise could raise knowledge and awareness of the risks associated with radicalization and terrorist acts that are at odds with Pancasila ideals. Evidently, socialization participants are dedicated to making an effort to incorporate Pancasila values into their daily life.

Explaining left wing terrorist behaviour – the missing link between terrorist tactics and mass mobilization in anarchist and Marxist-Leninist terrorist thinking

ABSTRACT One of the well-established claims in terrorism studies is that terrorist organizations attempt to delegitimize the state by provoking state repression. This study argues that there is little empirical evidence to support this claim while there are a number of terrorist ideologues who openly warn against the perils of provoking state repression. Starting with a survey of the classical left-wing terrorist doctrines, “propaganda by the deed” and “armed propaganda,” this study finds out that although mobilization of masses is the main strategic goal of left-wing terrorism, these doctrines are surprisingly silent about how resort to terrorist tactics will achieve that goal – hence the missing link. However, a more careful reading of the academic and terrorist literature reveals two incompatible conceptualizations of this link: that terrorist attacks are expected to provoke state repression which, by radicalizing masses, opens up the way for mobilization and recruitment (as suggested by many academics but mentioned only by two ethno-nationalist organizations and one terrorist ideologue) versus terrorist attacks are intended to demonstrate the hollowness of the already existent state repression and thereby encourage mobilization of already radicalized masses (as formulated systematically in one particular text from 1970s but generally ignored by academics).

Terrorist Behaviour - Between Psychological and Social

Abstract The paper captures some of the trends in terrorist behaviour based on an analysis of demographic, historical, psychological and political factors. Rational choice theory also shows that this behavioural tendency is nothing more than an adaptation to, or a rejection of, governmental policy changes. The causes of terrorism are complex and multi-dimensional, including social, political, economic, cultural and psychological aspects. One of the most common causes of terrorism is discrimination, i.e. perceived oppression or discrimination against an ethnic, religious or cultural group; and political conflict (terrorism can be used as a means to influence political decisions). Sociologically, even criminologically, terrorism cannot be reduced to the form of insanity or mental disorder, as it is essentially a political act with political aims. It can also be pointed out that some terrorists may suffer from psychiatric problems or behavioural disorders, but the causes of terrorism go much deeper, such as social frustration, moral indignation, the desire to change an unjust situation or to achieve a specific political goal.

Audit Trails and Logging Biometric Authentication for Data Security in Banking Using Reporting Tools

Many sectors, including government, consumer electronics, and business security systems, are beginning to see the potential benefits of biometric authentication. More and more businesses, organisations, and individuals are turning to biometric security measures to keep cyberspace safe from malicious actors. Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting computer systems, networks, data, and software from intrusion and other forms of cyberattack. The provision of banking services through electronic means is known as "cyber banking." The rise of online banking is a reflection of the general shift in consumer spending habits. Despite its many advantages, online banking has been plagued by security breaches. Biometric security ensures the identity of individuals by confirming their behavioural and physical characteristics. It is the gold standard of physical security when it comes to verifying identities. Biometric authentication holds that individuals can be uniquely identified by their intrinsic physical or behavioural characteristics. To combat these difficulties, a plethora of security safeguards have been integrated across the entire online banking service. A major danger to the occurrence of criminal or terrorist behaviour, cybercrime has deep roots globally. These threats can jeopardise both internal and external security if no one in charge takes them seriously. Money and personal information are at risk if cybercrime goes undetected. Attacks on the Internet and its supporting infrastructure have happened before. Every single day, crimes involving computers occur, such as hacker attacks and online fraud. In order to combat the threat of cybersecurity and offer the banking industry with a high level of safety and security, the study delves into the essential characteristics of biometric systems in both conventional and Islamic banking

Foreshadowing Terror: Exploring the Time of Online Manifestos Prior to Lone Wolf Attacks

Previous research has highlighted the prominent behavior of lone wolf terrorists to produce and share a manifesto publicly, outlining their frustrations and motivations for their eventual terrorist attack. This article aims to explore this phenomenon, focusing on the timelapse between when a terrorist manifesto is posted online and when the eventual attack occurs, discussing the time difference between the two events for 12 cases of lone wolf terrorism. The results revealed that the average time lapse between when a manifesto was posted online and when the terrorist attack occurs is one hour, 43 min. Limitations and implications are discussed in detail.

Terörizm Psikolojisi: FETÖ ve PKK Terör Örgütlerinin Karşılaştırmalı Analizi

The concept of Terrorism, which can also be described as collective acts of violence, is a problematic phenomenon that aims to convey the messages desired to be given to the society, individually or collectively, through the murder of innocent people. Illegal activities and violent methods of terrorist organizations negatively affect states in terms of political, social, economic, cultural and psychological aspects. That’s why, countries that have to fight against terrorist organizations prevent these countries from taking steps that will strengthen terrorist organizations, such as the financial flows of these countries and the recruitment of new members to the organization. In this context, in order to be able to fight against terrorist organizations that harm every aspect of the economic and democratic development of countries and for state institutions to develop strategies for this, psychological analysis of these structures will prevent the emergence of new organizations with a similar structure and the attempt to fill some gaps by separatist organizations. The purpose of this paper is "what are the main motivations in terrorist behavior?" is to answer the question In this context, the analysis of the study will be made by comparing the psychological motivations of FETO, which was among the international terrorist organizations both in the State of the Republic of Turkey and abroad, which turned into a terrorist organization from a service movement at the beginning, and the PKK, which was founded in 1978 as a separatist terrorist organization in its origin. In the research, descriptive technique, which is one of the qualitative data collection methods, has been use, and national and international literature review will be made on the subject. As a result of the findings, it had been reveal the aspects that the terrorist organizations in question resemble psychologically and differ.

Prejudice toward Islamic fundamentalists: The role of social domination orientation and interreligious empathy among Christian students in Surabaya

Interreligious conflicts can change the state system regarding religious tolerance and the emergence of terrorist behavior. In Surabaya, terrorism incidents have occurred in three Christian churches, and the alleged perpetrators are the Islamic fundamentalist group JAD. These incidents have fueled feelings of threat and fear of death, which can lead to prejudice. This research aimed to determine the role of social dominance orientation and interreligious empathy as predictors of prejudice toward Islamic fundamentalists. It used a quantitative design with a sample of 400 Christian students aged 17-24 in Surabaya. Furthermore, SDO-7, BES-A, and the Prejudice toward Islamic Fundamentalists Scales were adopted. The results showed that social dominance orientation and interreligious empathy predicted the prejudice toward Islamic fundamentalists (R=0.056; R2=0,061; F(2, 378)=12.876; p<0.001) using multiple linear regression tests. Social dominance orientation did not significantly predict prejudice (t= -0.91426; p=0.361), unlike interreligious empathy (t=4.365; p<0.001). Therefore, intergroup relations need to consider interreligious empathy in reducing prejudice.

Mental disorder, psychological problems and terrorist behaviour: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The link between mental health difficulties and terrorist behaviour has been the subject of debate for the last 50 years. Studies that report prevalence rates of mental health difficulties in terrorist samples or compare rates for those involved and not involved in terrorism, can inform this debate and the work of those responsible for countering violent extremism. To synthesise the prevalence rates of mental health difficulties in terrorist samples (Objective 1-Prevalence) and prevalence of mental health disorders pre-dating involvement in terrorism (Objective 2-Temporality). The review also synthesises the extent to which mental health difficulties are associated with terrorist involvement compared to non-terrorist samples (Objective 3-Risk Factor). Searches were conducted between April and June 2022, capturing research until December 2021. We contacted expert networks, hand-searched specialist journals, harvested records from published reviews, and examined references lists for included papers to identify additional studies. Studies needed to empirically examine mental health difficulties and terrorism. To be included under Objective 1 (Prevalence) and Objective 2 (Temporality), studies had to adopt cross-sectional, cohort, or case-control design and report prevalence rates of mental health difficulties in terrorist samples, with studies under Objective 2 also needing to report prevalence of difficulties before detection or involvement in terrorism. For Objective 3 (Risk Factor) studies where there was variability in terrorist behaviour (involved vs. not involved) were included. Captured records were screened in DisillterSR by two authors. Risk of bias was assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute checklists, and random-effects meta-analysis conducted in Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software. Fifty-six papers reporting on 73 different terrorist samples (i.e., studies) (n = 13,648) were identified. All were eligible for Objective 1. Of the 73 studies, 10 were eligible for Objective 2 (Temporality) and nine were eligible for Objective 3 (Risk Factor). For Objective 1, the life-time prevalence rate of diagnosed mental disorder in terrorist samples (k = 18) was 17.4% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 11.1%-26.3%]. When collapsing all studies reporting psychological problems, disorder, and suspected disorder into one meta-analyses (k = 37), the pooled prevalence rate was 25.5% (95% CI = 20.2%-31.6%). When isolating studies reporting data for any mental health difficulty that emerged before either engagement in terrorism or detection for terrorist offences (Objective 2: Temporality), the life-time prevalence rate was 27.8% (95% CI = 20.9%-35.9%). For Objective 3 (Risk Factor), it was not appropriate to calculate a pooled effect size due the differences in comparison samples. Odds ratios for these studies ranged from 0.68 (95% CI = 0.38-1.22) to 3.13 (95% CI = 1.87-5.23). All studies were assessed as having high-risk of bias which, in part, reflects challenges conducting terrorism research. This review does not support the assertion that terrorist samples are characterised by higher rates of mental health difficulties than would be expected in the general population. Findings have implications for future research in terms of design and reporting. There are also implications for practice with regards the inclusion of mental health difficulties as indicators of risk.

Феномен мученичества в исламе

Despite the importance of martyrdom as a religious driving force, it remains a poorly studied phenomenon both in theology and in academic religious studies, and this is especially true of mar-tyrdom in Islam. The uncritical transfer of Christian understanding of martyrdom to Islam leads many researchers to the depiction of martyrs of faith as martyrs of Islam and, as a result, to declar-ing everyone who meets a painful death in a variety of life circumstances a martyr of jihad, one-sidedly interpreted as a holy war waged by Muslims against the rest of the world. This study shows that, as distinct from Christianity, in the Islamic religion, due to the peculiarities of its doctrine and the specific historical circumstances of its approval and spread, the perception of martyrdom did not develop, and the worship of martyrs does not exist. Moreover, Islamic martyrdom, in a number of its characteristics, differs significantly from the Christian worship of matyrdom established through the centuries when Christianity was a persecuted religion. Islam went through a similar period in a little over a decade and turned into an offensive a religion that requires from its followers not just to passively adapt to circumstances, but to actively promote the values of the new religion around the world. The author also establishes a fundamental incompatibility of the suicidal behavior of terror-ists, declared by individual researchers and religious authorities as martyrs of the faith, with the fun-damental values of Islamic religion.

PROTOCOL: Mental disorder, psychological problems and terrorist behaviour: A systematic review.

This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The objectives are as follows: the first objective of the review (Objective 1-Prevalence) is to present a synthesis of the reported prevalence rates of mental health difficulties in terrorist samples. Where sufficient data is available, the synthesis will be sensitive to the heterogeneity of the terrorism phenomenon by exploring the rates of mental health difficulties for different forms of terrorism and for different terrorist roles (e.g., bombing, logistics, finance, etc.). The second objective (Objective 2-Temporality) will synthesise the extent to which mental health difficulties pre-date involvement in terrorism within prevalence studies. Finally, the third objective (Objective 3-Risk) aims to further establish temporality by examining the extent to which the presence of mental disorder is associated with terrorist involvement by comparing terrorist and non-terrorist samples.

Predicting Terrorism in Europe with Remote Sensing, Spatial Statistics, and Machine Learning

This study predicts the presence or absence of terrorism in Europe on a previously unexplored spatial scale. Dependent variables consist of satellite imagery and socio-environmental data. Five machine learning models were evaluated over the following binary classification problem: the presence or absence of historical attacks within hexagonal-grid cells of 25 square kilometers. Four spatial statistics were conducted to assess the validity of the results and improve our inferential understanding of spatial processes among terror attacks. This analysis resulted in a Random Forest model that achieves 0.99 accuracy in predicting the presence or absence of terrorism at a spatial resolution of approximately 5 km. The results were validated by robust F1 and average precision scores of 0.96 and 0.97, respectively. Additionally, statistical analysis revealed spatial differences between separatists and all other terrorist types. This work concludes that remote sensing, machine learning, and spatial techniques are important and valuable methods for providing insight into terrorist activity and behavior.

Tinjauan Yuridis Pencabutan Hak Kewarganegaraan Mantan Anggota Organisasi Militan Ekstremis (ISIS) Perspektif Hukum Internasional dan Aturan Kewarganegaraan

Citizenship is a legal bond between a person and a country. Citizenship gives people an identity. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that "everyone has the right to a nationality", thus this declaration recognizes the importance of citizenship legally and practically for the fulfillment of human rights. Therefore, governments must work to ensure that everyone has a nationality. Former members of extremist militant organizations themselves can be interpreted as military groups (Army, Navy and Air Force), and militias and volunteer corps that meet these four requirements, are called “Former members”. They are justified in actively participating in hostilities. Also included in the ex-member group are: residents of an area that has not been occupied by the enemy, who spontaneously took up arms when organizing themselves, and carried weapons openly. Extremism is not really new. There has been a lot of extremist behavior that is usually associated with terrorist behavior and attacks against a group, both in Indonesia and abroad. Extremist behavior is slightly different from criminal behavior in general. The crimes committed by extremists are crimes based on the path they have chosen regarding their way of seeing the world. Law number 12 of 2006 concerning citizenship, it is stated in article 23 that Indonesian citizens will lose their citizenship in several ways, starting from the person concerned obtaining another citizenship, entering the service of a foreign army, entering the service of a foreign country, swearing allegiance to a foreign country. , participating in the elections of foreign countries, and several other matters mentioned in Chapter IV of the law. So even though it is true that ISIS itself is not a country as described in the writing of this thesis, this cannot be used as a basis for guiding that an Indonesian citizen who is a member of ISIS cannot lose his citizenship because it is clearly regulated in both laws and regulations. The government is what causes the Indonesian citizen to lose his citizenship automatically, not because of certain individuals who can decide whether or not a person's citizenship is lost or not.

Speaking of terrorist behaviour

Speaking of terrorist behaviour

The Need for an integrative theoretical model to determine the personality of terrorists

Terrorism is a threat to the whole of humanity, counterterrorism is a collective responsibility which requires extreme levels of cooperation and coordination between nations to reduce terrorism and terrorist behavior, in this regard, several international laws, decisions and agreements have been formulated or signed to tackle the problem. In recent years terrorism has become a real challenge for many countries of the world and for all humanity, because terrorism and aggressive behavior of terrorists, annihilated a lot of people, destroyed the infrastructure and economic structure of the group of nations of the world. The thought and extremist ideology of some groups making human in the circle of fear, constant anxiety, and affected the progress of nations in all sides of human life, also affected the human development, and the open humanitarian ideas.
 Counter-terrorism has become an international issue, and study about it is important that should take into consideration the theoretical and practical aspects. However, with the lack of internationally accepted definition and theories about terrorism as a phenomenon, perhaps it is not surprising that there is a similar shortage of theories on how to combat it. Moreover, the increasing complexity and the wider threat of the phenomenon of terrorism and extremism, with the influx of actors and a range of motivations, strategies, tactics, and evaluation tools are available on how to confront such threats are necessary in guiding the process of policymaking to combat terrorism.
 This article aimed to claim the necessity of forming a theoretical model to determine the personality traits of the terrorist and distinguish them from the pathological personality. (Mental illness). According to some hypotheses and theories of the personality of terrorists and a comparison between the two personalities: “terrorist and abnormal personality” with a number of studies that dealt with them, thus, there is a need for a theoretical model to determine the traits of the personality of terrorists.