ICST.Fall2012

FALL 2012
WELCOME FROM THE DIRECTOR
Hi from ICST! The entire team has been incredibly busy these past 6 months
and so we bring you a belated special ‘bumper’ issue of the newsletter. After
a great end to the 2012 speaker series thanks to Jack Segal (p.11), we look
forward to welcoming DHS Special Agent Gus Xhudo on September 27th
for what is sure to be a terrific start to our 2012-2013 season. ICST’s research
portfolio has expanded this past year, with new research grants and we have
expanded our personnel to reflect this (p.5). We also bid a fond farewell to Dr.
Paul Gill this summer as he begins his new post at University College, London
after overseeing the end of ICST’s research project on Lone Actor Terrorists
(the findings from which we will announce soon). Right now, we are putting
the final touches to this newsletter as our researchers have begun to conduct
interviews with former extremists as part of our work on disengagement and
de-radicalization. We are currently preparing to bring you some very exciting
news about our forthcoming online courses in terrorism studies (much more
on that later). Also stay tuned to our website icst.psu.edu and be on the lookout
for a brand new version of our newsletter later this fall. We promise some really
great, up-to-the-minute briefs on our research outputs as they happen. Until
then, enjoy!
John Horgan, Ph.D.
Director, ICST
icst.psu.edu
Major themes from recently-completed literature review on terrorist disengagement
1
CONTENTS
HIGHLIGHTS
2-4
Grants & Awards
News & Announcements
In the Media
Publications
Images
AT THE CENTER
5-6
New Center Fellow,
Postdoc, Research Assistant,
Research Associates, Staff
IN THE LAB
7-8
Profile: Emma Leonard
“Divided We Stand”
BEYOND THE
CLASSROOM
9-10
Danna O’Rourke
Ruth Canagarajah
Kurt Braddock
NEWSWORTHY
11
Speaker Series
Energy, Security & Stability
A LOOK AHEAD
12
Zifirdaus Adnan
Pakistan Travel

Grants & Awards
ICST continues to enjoy great success in drawing
external support through grants and contracts.
Highlights include:
The Minerva Research Initiative: In early summer,
we learned that ICST Director Dr. John Horgan (as co-
Principal Investigator with Dr. Heidi Ellis of Boston’s
Children’s Hospital, in conjunction with Jessica Stern
and others) will be awarded a grant from the Office of
the Secretary of Defense’s Minerva Research Initiative.
Their project, entitled “Identifying and countering early
risk factors for violent extremism among Somali refugee
communities resettled in North America” will identify
and counter early risk factors for violent extremism
among Somali refugee communities resettled in
North America. The research is due to kick off in late
September 2012.
START/DHS: In September 2012, work will begin
on “Typology of Terrorism Involvement” led by John
Horgan and Center Fellow Max Taylor (University of St.
Andrews, Scotland). Researchers will analyze the roles
and function of over 400 members of terrorist groups,
providing a deeper understanding of the role-specific
motivation of individuals. The researchers will produce
a grading scale of involvement in terrorism that can
be used to help inform decisions about sentencing for
convictions as well as decisions around potential release
of ex-terrorists.
Office of Naval Research (ONR): Early in 2012, we
received a grant from the Office of Naval Research to
continue our earlier research on IED activity through
the “From Bomb to Bomb-Maker” project. In this new
grant, entitled “A Multi-Dimensional Investigator of
the Operational, Temporal and Spatial Dynamics of
IED events,” ICST researchers John Horgan and James
Piazza will collaborate with former ICST member Paul
Gill (now at University College, London), Dr. Joseph
Young (American University) and Dr. Neil Johnson
(University of Miami).
HIGHLIGHTS
2
News & Announcements
On September 27, Dr. Gus Xhudo, Special Agent in the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, will present
“Recruitment and Radicalization in U.S. Prisons” as
part of the ICST Speaker Series. The presentation will
be held in the Cybertorium in the IST Building from
6-8 PM.
How and why does the U.S. prison system become a
site for radicalization and recruitment efforts? In this
lecture, Dr. Gus Xhudo will use case studies to examine
four key areas: who conducts the radicalization and
recruitment, who is targeted, motivations for joining,
and countermeasures.
For more information, visit
icst.psu.edu/SpeakerSeries/Xhudo.shtml.
On October 8, The Energy, Secuity and Stability
conference will be held in the Foster Auditorium, in the
Paterno Library from 4-6 PM.
Energy is a defining element of modern societies. Join
us for a panel with experts from Penn State and around
the world to explore the implications of energy for
prosperity, security and sustainability.
For more information, visit
icst.psu.edu/Conference/ESS.shtml.
Receive real-time
updates on upcoming events
through our Facebook feed:
ICST

In the Media
ICST Fellows have appeared in more than a dozen media outlets in
2012. To read the complete article, or to see the rest of ICST’s media
appearance, click on the news logo below.
September 12: “Examining the
Psychological Makeup of a Terrorist
in the Wake of 9/11”
September 11: “Local researchers
secure grant to interview ex-terrorists,
monitor extremist trends”
August 16: “Pitt threat suspect
Adam Stuart Busby a ‘serial hoaxer,’
wannabe terrorist”
August 06: “Analysis: Women and
children constitute the new faces of
terror”
July 24: “The New Face of Terrorism”
July 19: “Does America support
terror?”
May 03: “Penn State home to
counterterrorism program”
April 16: “The Show Must End”
April 04: “Female Suicide Bombers:
The Gender Politics of Terrorism”
April 03: “Wave of Tibet immolations
among history’s biggest”
February 02: “Return of the
Troubles?”
January 12: “Food for the Future”
HIGHLIGHTS
3
Publications
J. Horgan and M.B. Altier (2012). “The Future of
Terrorist De-Radicalization Programs.” Georgetown
Journal of International Affairs.
M. Bloom, P. Gill and J. Horgan (2012). “Tiocfaidh
ár Mná: Women in the Provisional Irish Republican
Army.” Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political
Aggression.
M. Kenney, J. Horgan, C. Horne, P. Vining K.M.
Carley, M. Bigrigg, M. Bloom, K. Braddock (2012).
“Organisational Adaptation in an Activist Network:
Social Networks, Leadership, and Change in al-
Muhajiroun.” Applied Ergonomics.
J. Horgan (2012). “Interviewing the Terrorists:
Reflections on Fieldwork and Implications for
Psychological Research.” Behavioral Sciences of
Terrorism and Political Aggression.
C. Horne and J. Horgan. (2012). “Methodological
Triangulation in the Analysis of Terrorist Networks.”
Studies in Conflict and Terrorism.
You can find out more about our investigators,
their research,
and their publications at our Web site:
icst.psu.edu

Post-Doctoral Fellows Dr. Mary Beth Altier and Dr. Paul
Gill, along with ICST Director Dr. John Horgan and
Research Assistant Lily Cushenbery, attended a terrorism
conference in Scotland in May, hosted by the University of
St. Andrews.
Center Fellow Dr. Sam Hunter, Post-Doctoral Fellow Dr.
Mary Beth Altier, and Research Assistant Lily Cushenbery
in Scotland.
Dr. John Horgan argues for more research on the
psychology of terrorism at the American Psychiatric
Association Annual Conference in May.
ICST IN PICTURES
4
Center Fellow Dr. Jim Piazza, Post-Doctoral Fellow Dr. Paul
Gill, Research Associate Dr. Kurt Braddock, and former
ICST Research Fellow Dr. John Morrison presented their
work on IEDs at the International Studies Association’s
annual conference, held in San Diego in April.
Jack Segal concludes the 2011-2012 ICST Speaker Series
with “Lost in Afghanistan.
ICST undergraduate interns at work on the project
“Pathways, Processes, Roles and Factors for Terrorist
Disengagement, Re-Engagement, and Recidivism.”

New Center Fellow
Samuel Hunter
Dr. Hunter is an Assistant
Professor of Psychology
in the Industrial and
Organizational program area
at The Pennsylvania State
University. He received his
Ph.D. in I/O Psychology from
the University of Oklahoma in
2007. Dr. Hunter has published
more than 50 publications in outlets such as the Journal
of Applied Psychology, The Leadership Quarterly,
Journal of Business Ethics, and the Creativity Research
Journal. He currently serves on the editorial board for
the Leadership Quarterly and the Journal of Creative
Behavior. He has received funding from a range of
sponsors, including the National Science Foundation
and the Office of Naval Research.
Dr. Hunter’s research interests include leadership and
innovation management. Within the area of leadership,
his interests include understanding darker leader
behaviors, including leader error and leader deviance.
Within the area of innovation, his interests focus on the
enhancement and development of innovation in the
workplace with a particular emphasis on the innovation
context.
Dr. Hunter has already been an active ICST collaborator;
he has played an instrumental role in the Bomb to
Bombmaker project funded by the Office of Naval
Research and will also be a co-Principal Investigator in
a new project focusing on identifying and undermining
leaders.
AT THE CENTER
5
New Research Associate
Neil Shortland
Neil Shortland is a Research
Associate at ICST and
researcher on several
ICST projects, including
investigating typologies
of terrorist behavior and
the implications of this for
sentencing decisions. Neil’s
current research interests
include adversarial creativity and the interaction of
security counter-measures and terrorist organization’s
strategic and tactical decision-making. He is also
interested in problems facing UK and US Armed Forces
during transition and withdrawal from Afghanistan,
as well as in emerging regions of conflict. Previously,
Neil worked for the Defence Science and Technology
Laboratory, an agency that conducts science and
technology research for the UK Ministry of Defence.
Here, Neil worked on operationally relevant research
to assist Government and the UK Armed Forces. He
has predominantly published reports around terrorist
behavior and provided social science support to
training. Neil holds an MSc with Distinction from the
University of Liverpool in Forensic and Investigative
Psychology, and a BSc from the University of Bristol.
Receive real-time
updates on upcoming events
through our Twitter feed:
ICST_PSU

New Staff
Kate Slavens
Kate Slavens joined ICST in
August. As Project Manager
for all of ICST, Kate coordinates
Center activities, ensures
dissemination of research, and
organizes outreach. Previously,
she served as a development
officer in Penn State’s College
of Health and Human Development and School of
Nursing. Kate also spent two years working in a rural
West African health clinic as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
Kate holds an M.P.A. from Indiana University as well
as a B.A. in Writing and French from the University of
Evansville.
New Research Assistants
Ben Schechter
Ben Schechter received his B.A.
in Psychology and Economics
& Management from Beloit
College in Wisconsin. He
is currently working as a
general research assistant
for Dr. Horgan, focusing on
issues around organizational
adaptation in illicit networks.
AT THE CENTER
Find out more about ICST on
our YouTube channel:
ICSTatPSU
6
Casey Hilland
Casey Hilland is a second year
master’s student at the Penn
State School of International
Affairs where he arrived after
graduating from the University
of Oregon in 2011 with a
B.S. in Political Science. He
has interned at the US Army
War College Peacekeeping and Stability Operations
Institute and at the CSIS Homeland Security and
Counterterrorism Program. Casey is an associate with
the Strategic and Global Security Scholars program
and an editor of the Penn State Journal of International
Affairs.
Drew Ritchey
Drew Ritchey is a new
Graduate Research Assistant
working on the disengagement
project, and in particular, the
analysis of autobiographical
accounts of ex-terrorists. Drew
is a doctoral candidate in the
Department of Sociology &
Crime, Law and Justice. He
holds an M.A. in Sociology from the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an A.B. in Sociology
from Georgetown University.
Interested in joining
the ICST team?
Keep an eye on
our website for
opportunities.

Profile:
Emma Leonard
Graduate Research
Assistant
Emma Leonard’s fascination
with Africa began as an
undergraduate student at St Andrews University in
Scotland, where a course in African politics inspired
her to pursue opportunities overseas. After completing
a degree in International Relations, Emma traveled
to Uganda to serve as a research and administrative
assistant to the dean of the School of Development
Studies at Mbarara University in southern Uganda.
“I did a little bit of everything at the university,” Emma
recalls, including teaching classes with over 200
students. Although the large class sizes and the fact
that she was several years younger than many of her
students was at first intimidating, it was through this
experience that Emma realized she wanted to pursue a
career in academia.
After returning to the UK, the London native went on to
pursue a master’s degree in African Studies from Oxford
University. Her dissertation focused on the notorious
Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda. With the
insights she had gained on the LRA, Emma returned
to St Andrews University to work at the Centre for the
IN THE LAB
7
Study of Terrorism and Political Violence. It was there
that she met Dr. John Horgan, who introduced her to
Penn State and ICST.
In the fall of 2011, Emma made another transcontinental
move – this time to State College, where she began a
dual masters/PhD program in Political Science and
African Studies while also working as a graduate
research assistant in ICST.
At ICST, Emma plays a critical role on the project
“Pathways, Processes, Roles and Factors for Terrorist
Disengagement, Re-engagement and Recidivism.” Her
primary task is to supervise the army of undergraduate
interns who are reading and systematically coding
terrorist autobiographies. “Reading the autobiographies
has been quite a revelation,” Emma says. “We often
have this ‘Hollywood’ version of what it means to be a
terrorist, but the autobiographies reveal that in reality
there’s a lot of waiting around and down time while
hiding from the police.”
Emma’s own research focuses on terrorism and political
violence in Africa. “Africa is a geographic area that
we tend to associate with civil wars, not necessarily
terrorism,” Emma explains. “But when groups start to
indiscriminately target civilians during a civil war, does
it count as terrorism?” Emma’s dissertation will focus
on the types of violence used by rebel groups during
civil wars, with a focus on when and why these groups
use discriminate and/or indiscriminate violence such as
genocide and rape.
ICST interns reading terrorist autobiographies.

“Divided We Stand” book release
Terrorism has returned to the streets of Northern
Ireland. In the years after the 1998 Real IRA bombing
of Omagh, which killed 29 people, violent dissident
Republican groups have re-emerged as a major security
threat to a region that has been denied peace, stability,
and prosperity for too long.
Those responsible have many names. They are
breakaways, splinter factions, spoilers, and “residual”
terrorists. The Real IRA, Continuity IRA, and Oglaigh
na hEireann are only some of the groups now responsible
for a growing wave of bombings, shootings, threats,
and intimidation across Northern Ireland. Commonly
NEW BOOK FROM ICST
8
known as “the dissidents,” these are the rejectionists for
whom there seems to be no negotiated settlement, no
peace deal, no consensus solution that will convince
them to accept the will of the majority of the people on
the island of Ireland.
Divided We Stand: The Strategy and Psychology of Ireland’s
Dissident Terrorists presents the results of meticulous
research conducted by the International Center for the
Study of Terrorism at the Pennsylvania State University.
Since 2007, John Horgan, Director of the center, has led
a research project to monitor the activities of Ireland’s
new terrorists. Drawing on one of the largest opensource
militant databases ever assembled, Divided We
Stand describes the activities, histories, motivations,
psychology, and strategy of the small, dynamic, and
rapidly evolving splinter groups that continue to erode
peace, stability, and normalization in Northern Ireland.
Features
• Argues that the threat posed by Irish dissidents is
serious and complex
• Explains why dissident violence is likely to increase
in the next three years
• Presents new data on over 1,200 Irish terrorist
events and over 650 terrorist personnel and their
supporters
Product Details
• 224 pages;
• 6-1/8 x 9-1/4;
• ISBN13: 978-0-19-977285-8
• ISBN10: 0-19-977285-1
To be released December 2012.
Dedicated to the scientific study of terrorism and
political violence, the International Center for the
Study of Terrorism engages in research, teaching, and
training activities that are international in scope and
multidisciplinary in nature. The Center is committed
to promoting and engaging in data-driven empirical
research performed to the highest academic standards.

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
This fall, 36 undergraduate students will join
ICST as interns to work on the a project titled
“Pathways, Processes, Roles and Factors for Terrorist
Disengagement, Re-engagement and Recidivism.”
These interns complete 25 hours of initial training in
data collection and processing for network, semantic,
and event-data analysis. Throughout the course of
the semester, the interns complete assigned readings,
attend regular meetings with postdoctoral fellows and
graduate research assistants, and code and process data
relevant to their research project. Some also choose to
write a 15-20 page research paper in order to receive
academic credit for their internship.
Intern Profiles
Profiled below are two recent ICST interns, Danna
O’Rourke and Ruth Canagarajah. Danna recently began
her first year of a Master of Public Policy program at
the University of Maryland, where she also serves as a
graduate research assistant for the National Consortium
for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism
(START). Ruth will soon be leaving for Sri Lanka,
where she will conduct research as a Fulbright scholar.
Danna O’Rourke
“Two years ago I was an
English major with useful
skills but no idea of how and in
which field I wanted to apply
them. Coming to ICST was not
part of a larger plan, because I
didn’t have one. I do now – and
my experience here has helped
me to determine what I want to do with my future.
Interning for ICST has been challenging, rigorous
and, at times, draining. I make no pretense of the
work being easy, because it never was. But as a result,
9
I’m leaving the internship with a sense of what I want
to do, some amazing skills, experiences and contacts.
Beyond learning from my work, I was fortunate enough
to learn from the speakers ICST brought in and the
Fellows and post-docs who were always kind enough to
put time aside for me whenever I needed it; from these
individuals, I received information, advice, networking
assistance, some guidance and a lot of encouragement.
Interning for ICST was challenging, but it is also
immeasurably rewarding, illuminating and – at times –
fun. Learning that I can enjoy what I do and see the realworld
impact of my efforts absolutely confirmed that
this is the field that I intend to devote myself to. ICST
has opened a door that led me to more opportunities
than I could have conceived of. Because of the many
emerging areas of study in this field, I’m not sure
where I will ultimately end up, but what I can say with
absolute certainty and gratitude is that this internship
has changed my life. I am entering graduate school with
the best preparation I could have hoped for.
This opportunity to use my abilities has been enormously
rewarding and has taught me far more than I thought
it would; it has given me a distinct perspective on the
why, the who and the when of contemporary affairs and
policies. It has not only developed my critical thinking
and communication skills, but it has made me a more
interested and concerned citizen.”

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Ruth Canagarajah
“The U.S. Student Fulbright
Program is designed to give
recent college/university
graduates, graduate students,
doctoral candidates, young
professionals and artists opportunities
for personal and
career development and international
experience. The Fulbright
research grant will allow me to study informal
markets in northern Sri Lanka.
As someone who is interested in grass-roots responses,
I intend to look at shifts needed to recreate sustainable
informal activities to further the redevelopment of
northern Sri Lanka. An integral part of the social fabric
in Sri Lanka, the informal economy emerges most
commonly in northern Sri Lanka where the fighting was
the heaviest and where the region is overwhelmingly
dependent on informal economic activities. Studying
the vitally important informal sector in this rural region
is of great importance in order to understand whether
and how the minimal household livelihood for postwar
stabilization is established. My research will take
place from October 2012 – July 2013, during which
time I will be affiliated and working with Institute of
Policy Studies.”
The entire ICST team wishes Danna and Ruth the very
best of success in the next steps of their adventures!
You can find out more about our investigators, their research, and their publications at our Web site:
icst.psu.edu
10
Dr. Braddock receives his award from Dr. Michael Hogan, Liberal
Arts Research Professor and Director of the Center for Democratic
Deliberation, in April 2012.
ICST Research
Associate Wins
Award
Dr. Kurt Braddock
Kurt Braddock, a longtime
ICST collaborator, received the Arnold Award for
Scholarly Excellence in May. This award commemorates
the late Carroll C. Arnold, whose intellectual
curiosity, professional achievement, and good will
touched generations of students at Penn State and
beyond. In tribute to that legacy, the Department of
Communication Arts & Sciences established the award
to recognize outstanding scholarly achievement by a
graduate student.

Lost in Afghanistan
On April 20, Jack Segal, a consultant and lecturer
for the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the
National Defense University, gave a lecture titled “Lost
in Afghanistan: America’s Political and Military Dilemma,”
as part of the ICST Speaker Series. You can see
his talk via our YouTube channel: ICSTatPSU.
ICST SPEAKER SERIES
Radicalization & Recruitment
in U.S. Prisons
Gus Xhudo
September 27th
6:00 - 8:00 PM
The Cybertorium, 113 IST Bldg.
University Park, PA 16802
For more information, visit icst.psu.edu
NEWSWORTHY
11
Geopolitics of Energy
On April 4, Professor Kent Hughes Butts, an internationally
recognized expert on environmental security
and the underlying conditions of terrorism and regional
instability, presented the “Geopolitics of Energy” at
Penn State as part of the Energy, Security and Terrorism
Initiative. Dr. Butts is Professor of Political Military
Strategy and the Director of the National Security
Issues Group at the Center for Strategic Leadership,
U.S. Army War College.
Energy, Security & Stability
Implications for Security, Prosperity and
Sustainability for the United States and our
Allies and Partners
October 8th, 2012
4:00 - 5:30 PM
Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library
University Park, PA 16802
For more information, visit icst.psu.edu

As usual, we have a busy schedule of activity to look
forward to. The forthcoming ‘Energy, Security and
Stability’ workshop promises to deliver exciting
implications for developing knowledge in this area,
and the public lecture that follows this workshop
takes place on Monday, October 8th at 4 PM in Foster
Auditorium in Paterno Library. Also, we look forward
to soon welcoming Professor Zifirdaus Adnan, of the
Indonesian Studies Program at the University of New
England, Australia. Zi will spend time at ICST as a
Visiting Scholar and present his analysis of Indonesian
extremists. In addition, we’ve had the pleasure of
launching a brand new undergraduate course PSYCH
A LOOK AHEAD
ICST website traffic by country.
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490: The Psychology of Terrorism to seniors at Penn
State.
Last but not least, if security issues allow, two of our
senior scholars will travel to Pakistan to explore local
efforts there to counter violent extremism, and we look
forward to announcing the results of that visit at a
public lecture to be announced upon their return.
Until our forthcoming newsletter transformation,
make sure you keep abreast of all developments via our
website icst.psu.edu, and for up to the minute news,
you can always follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
This publication is available in
alternative media on request.