National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism

The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) "was established in 2005 as a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence, tasked with utilizing state-of-the-art theories, methods, and data from the social and behavioral sciences to improve the understanding of the origins, dynamics, and social and psychological impacts of terrorism. START was funded by an initial $12 million grant from DHS to complete projects in the research areas of terrorist group formation and recruitment, terrorist group persistence and dynamics, and societal responses to terrorist threats and attacks."

Select Projects

 * Homegrown Radicalization and the Role of Social Networks and Social Inclusiveness in the United States (Lead Investigator: Paul Harwood)
 * Islamic Radicalization in Europe and North America: Parallels and Divergence (Lead Investigators: Gary Ackerman, Magnus Ranstorp and Peter R. Neumann)
 * Measuring Political Radicalization: Diaspora Support for Terrorism among Ottawa’s Lebanese Muslim Community (Lead Investigators: Clark McCauley, Christian Leuprecht and Bidisha Biswas)
 * Patterns of Radicalization in Political Activism (Lead Investigator: Donatella della Porta)
 * The Role of the Media in the Recruitment of Terrorists: Mass Communication and the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of Muslims in Indonesia (Lead Investigators: Douglas McLeod, )

Staff
Accessed January 2011:


 * Director - Gary LaFree
 * Executive Director - Mary Mattox Daughtrey
 * Special Adviser to the Director - Kathleen Smarick
 * Assistant Director for Research and Communication - Gary Ackerman
 * Director of Administrative Services - Aphi Daigler
 * Assistant Director for Education - Katherine Worboys Izsak
 * IT System Programmer - Eamon Diab
 * Education Coordinator - Sarah Fishering
 * Communication and Design Coordinator - Danielle Hawkins
 * Faculty Research Assistant - Brandon Behlendorf
 * Minorities at Risk Project Coordinator - Chad Drummond
 * Senior Researcher - Jonathan Kennedy
 * Faculty Researcher - Benjamin Nickels
 * Researcher - Lauren Pinson
 * Faculty Research Assistant - Alexandra Prokopets
 * Faculty Research Assistant - Benjamin Rosenbaum

Contact
URL: http://www.start.umd.edu

Related Sourcewatch

 * Erica Chenoweth
 * Alex P. Schmid