In March 2019, a report prepared for the Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) was submitted to the Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate, titled “Characteristics of Homegrown Violent Extremist Radicalization.” A culmination of a multifaceted one-year study conducted by researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of Nebraska-Omaha, the report is composed of three sections:
Part 1: “Salafi Jihadist-inspired Profiles and Radicalization Clusters” explores the process of radicalization inspired by Salafi Jihadist foreign terrorist organization (FTO) ideology to develop a better understanding of the characteristics associated with radicalization to violence of U.S. individuals from 2011-2017. Authors: Gina Ligon, Douglas Derrick and Gaylene Armstrong.
Part 2: “Individual and Organizational Interactions” examines the relationship between cluster types and the violent extremist organization to which they were attracted to identify the interplay of Salafi Jihadist-inspired extremist and extremist organization messaging influences. Authors: Gina Ligon, Douglas Derrick and Gaylene Armstrong.
Part 3: “Resilience Factors to Extremist Recruitment and Radicalization in Minnesota Somali-American Communities” presents the findings of a one-year ethnographic field study of resilience to extremist recruitment and radicalization among Somali-Americans in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. Authors: SCI Director Dr. Erroll Southers and SCI Fellow Justin Hienz.
Read the full report.
