START’s graduate program is launching a new course, Special Topics in Terrorism Studies: Social Research Methods and Socioinformatics, taught by ICONS Director Dr. Bob Lamb. The course introduces research methods for studying complex problems in extremism, security, and human well-being, with a focus on the enabling conditions for extremism. In the Q&A, Dr. Lamb explains why he developed the course and what competencies and deliverables students can expect by the end of the semester.
Read the Q&A with Dr. Bob Lamb
Our Master of Professional Studies (MPS) degree student in Security and Terrorism Studies, Anthony Busani, examines in his capstone how states use proxies and gray-zone forces to project power while avoiding direct confrontation. Through case studies of Iran, Russia, and China, he shows both the advantages—deniability and reduced political risk—and the downsides, including limited control and reputational costs, arguing proxy warfare is becoming a defining feature of modern geopolitical rivalry.
The START Consortium is dedicated to generating knowledge of the human causes and consequences of terrorism. Applying rigorous standards to both research and education, START seeks to illuminate one of the most highly politicized and understudied phenomena in the social sciences for students, practitioners and policymakers. Funded primarily through research grants to date, START is seeking to generate an endowment that will provide the flexibility and autonomy to ensure that it can continue to serve as an objective source of data and empirically based analysis into the future.
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