New searchable data and knowledge portal synthesizes 20 years of counterinsurgency (COIN) research dwinslett Tue, 03/26/2024 - 14:32 START’s Irregular Warfare and Conflict Assessment Group (IWCAG) launches the Global Responses to Asymmetric Threats (GRAT) knowledge and data portal COLLEGE PARK, Md. – (March 26, 2024) – The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism’s (START) Irregular Warfare and Conflict Assessment Group (IWCAG) has launched a unique new data and knowledge tool, the Global Responses to Asymmetric Threats (GRAT) portal. The searchable databa ..read more

START Founding Director Gary LaFree to Receive World's Top Prize in Criminology dwinslett Tue, 11/07/2023 - 14:24 A University of Maryland expert on terrorism and the causes and consequences of crime has been selected to receive his field’s highest honor, the 2024 Stockholm Prize in Criminology, from the Swedish Ministry of Justice. Distinguished University Professor Gary LaFree’s award marks UMD’s third Stockholm Prize in Criminology since its inception in 2006. His Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice (CCJS) colleagues, John Laub and Peter Reuter (also a professor in the Schoo ..read more

New book from START researchers explores escalation management in global conflicts dwinslett Mon, 04/17/2023 - 10:48 Investigators Jonathan Wilkenfeld Egle Murauskaite A new book edited by Jonathan Wilkenfeld, research professor and the founder of START’s ICONS Project, and START senior researcher Egle Murauskaite considers the role of great-power competition in gray zone conflict. In Escalation Management in International Crises: The United States and its Adversaries, an interdisciplinary team of academics and policy analysts employs cutting-edge empirical research to assess escalation manage ..read more

New data map illustrates connections between January 6th defendants and extremist groups dwinslett Fri, 03/10/2023 - 15:14 START releases networking map for visualizing January 6th relationships START’s Radicalization and Disengagement team has launched an interactive data tool illustrating connections between Jan. 6, 2021, defendants and their links to extremist networks. As of January 2023, more than 300 defendants who have been criminally charged for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol have been identified as having connections to over 50 contemporary extr ..read more

Major update to PIRUS dataset adds 955 U.S. subjects from 2019-2021 Projects Empirical Assessment of Domestic Radicalization (EADR) dwinslett Fri, 03/10/2023 - 15:03 Investigators Michael Jensen Sheehan Kane Elena Akers START releases analysis of new Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) data Research Area Terrorism and Society Crime and Terrorism Radical Beliefs and Behavior START’s Radicalization and Disengagement research team has launched a major update to the Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) dataset, adding 955 subjects who we ..read more

December News: ICONS announces new self-serve online simulations ecopland Mon, 12/05/2022 - 12:49 NEWS ICONS team announces new self-serve online simulations START’s International Communication & Negotiation Simulations (ICONS) team has announced that a new self-serve option is now available for all of their online educational simulations. START director helps 63K veterans, military family members become poll workers William Braniff, director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), has spent the last six months encouraging veterans and mili ..read more

Unconventional Weapons and Technology division launches CBRN Data Suite and Portal Projects Anatomizing the Behavior of Chemical and Biological Non-State Adversaries Profiles of Incidents Involving CBRN and Non-state Actors (POICN) Database ecopland Fri, 12/02/2022 - 14:50 Investigators Markus Binder Steve Sin Research Area Chemical and Biological Threats Radiological and Nuclear Threats START’s Unconventional Weapons and Technology (UWT) division has announced the creation of their new CBRN Data Suite and Portal, which is now accessible online. The Data Suite includes an event-level and an ac ..read more

Researcher Spotlight: Bob Lamb ecopland Wed, 11/16/2022 - 12:41 Investigators Robert D. Lamb Research Area Violent Groups and Movements ICONS Director and Associate Research Scientist Bob Lamb first heard about START “mainly by osmosis,” as during START’s first decade he was doing his doctoral work studying conflict and extremism at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy. His research on conflict overlapped with START’s throughout his career, until he finally came to START to take the helm as the director of START’s International Communication & Negotiation Simulations ..read more

ICONS team announces new self-serve online simulations ecopland Wed, 11/16/2022 - 12:36 Investigators Robert D. Lamb Research Area Terrorism and Society START’s International Communication & Negotiation Simulations (ICONS) team has announced that a new self-serve option is now available for all of their online educational simulations. “Instructors used to have to wait a bit after registering until our staff could create the simulation for them,” ICONS director Bob Lamb said. “From now on, instructors will have immediate access to their simulations so they can start prep ..read more

START Director attends Baltimore Speakers Series featuring former CIA Director John Brennan ecopland Tue, 11/15/2022 - 09:56 Investigators William Braniff Last month, START Director William Braniff was invited to attend a private reception and dinner with former CIA Director, John Brennan, at the Maryland Club. This event was hosted by the Baltimore Speakers Series, and was followed by a public lecture by Brennan at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. At the public event, Director Brennan spoke to a range of current national security issues, from the protests in Iran to the war in Ukraine to d ..read more