Seminar in National Security
Instructions: Your final-term exam is comprised of two essay-style questions. There is no minimum/maximum length requirement; however, answers should be thorough and address all aspects of the question. You will need only the articles cited below to answer each question. However, you may also consider discussing aspects of the video we watched in class to answer part of question 2.
Grading: 100 possible points
Grading breakdown:
· Content, evidence, & strength of overall response (35 points per question)
· Structure, grammar, & clarity of responses (15 points total)
Question 1: Please discuss some of the key findings on terrorist radicalization research discussed in “How Radicalization to Terrorism Occurs in the United States: What Research Sponsored by the National Institute of Justice Tells Us” (Smith, 2018).
Your response must address the following issues:
1) Is radicalization a ‘linear’ process (i.e. do most radicalized individuals follow the same pathway to extremism?)
2) What are ‘triggering events’ and why might they matter?
3) What role does the Internet play in terrorist radicalization?
Link to Smith (2018): https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/250171.pdf
Question 2: How has the threat of terrorism changed in terms of ideology (left wing, right wing, and religious extremism) in the U.S. from the 1970’s to present? Is “right wing” extremism and terrorism on the rise? What has been the stance of the current U.S. government on dealing with right wing terrorism?
Please utilize the following articles/reports to help prepare your response:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/trump-shut-countering-violent-extremism-program/574237/
https://www.start.umd.edu/pubs/START_IdeologicalMotivationsOfTerrorismInUS_Nov2017.pdf
https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/CR_5154_25YRS%20RightWing%20Terrorism_V5.pdf
Video we watched: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/documenting-hate-new-american-nazis/
