Social Networks, Terrorism, and Counter-Terrorism: Radical and Connected

Abstract

The book aims to show that networks should be at the forefront not only when analysing terrorists, but also when assessing the responses to their actions. The volume makes a unique contribution by addressing two relatively new themes for terrorism studies. First it puts social relations and cooperation issues at the forefront – an approach often identified as crucial to future breakthroughs in the field. Second, many contributions tackle the role of the Internet in the process of radicalization and in recruitment more generally, a highly debated topic in the field today. In addition, the book provides a valuable mix of review essays, critical essays, and original empirical studies. This balanced approach is also found in the topics covered by the authors, as well as their academic disciplines, which include sociology, computer science, geography, history, engineering, and criminology as well as political science. Many of the true advances in terrorism studies depend on the successful collaboration of multi-disciplinary teams, each with a different set of methodological and conceptual tools. This volume reflects the newfound diversity in this field and is a true product of its time.

Full text

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
1 Radical and connected
An introduction
Martin Bouchard and Philippa Levey1
It is easy for the outside observer to make the connection between radicalization
and the Internet. After all, so many of the homegrown terrorists making head-
lines have been involved in online discussion forums, blogs and social media
outlets, while having reported being “self- radicalized” and nding inspiration
through watching videos on YouTube and reading violent literature found on
extremist websites.
Yet things are usually more complicated than that. First, the Internet is a tool
for motivated individuals to search for information and exchange with other like-
minded individuals sharing similar interests on any topic (Rainie and Wellman,
2012). It should therefore be no surprise that the Internet is similarly used by
would- be terrorists, alongside the much larger crowd of curious observers who
are online because of their general interest in exchanging on current world affairs
or religion and who should not be confused with “radicals.” The baseline hypo-
thesis should then be that extremists use the Internet just as much as anyone else,
and as researchers we should therefore investigate the instances where they use
it more, less, differently or with more serious consequences than expected.
Second, the Internet is unlikely to be the sole medium of inuence for the
majority of terrorists. As mentioned by others before us, use of the Internet only
gets you so far: far enough for the majority of individuals who may participate in
online discussions or view content of an extremist nature but never truly “radi-
calize” themselves (McCauley and Moskalenko, 2008); not far enough for indi-
viduals who are joining terrorist groups engaged in planning and committing
violent acts. The latter need ofine interactions to further engage in the process,
to learn specic techniques, and to start participating in conspiracies (Sageman,
2004, 2008; Awan, 2007; Jenkins, 2011; Nash and Bouchard, this volume).
The reality is that online interactions and material should be considered a key
element in the radicalization process of many individuals. Because the Internet
is omnipresent in the life of young people, but also because the size, intensity,
ubiquity and sometimes quality of the motivational material found online is nat-
urally framed to inspire its target audience, the question then becomes: can it be
a sufcient condition for the violent radicalization of individuals? Can the radi-
calization process start, develop and mature solely online? These remain research
questions that can be examined empirically, but despite a growing literature on
436 01 Social Networks 01.indd 1 25/3/15 15:32:39

2 M. Bouchard and P. Levey
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
this very topic (see Ducol, this volume), the role of the Internet has not been
investigated systematically enough to give us clarity on the current situation.
Third, sometimes obscured from the discussions on the role of the Internet in
the radicalization process is perhaps the most fundamental question, or the one
with the most consequences: does the Internet “create” violent radicalization
(and terrorism) where radicalization does not exist? In other words, are there
more radicalized individuals because the Internet exists as a communication
medium? This is a question also being asked in criminology more generally for
many types of crimes, in the cyber context (are there more pedophiles because
child pornography is readily available on the Internet?) but also ofine (are more
individuals becoming drug users in areas where drugs are more available?). This
is an exposure argument whereby the availability of online material (violent or
extremist in nature) and the possibility of interacting with similarly minded indi-
viduals in a virtual community provide an opportunity for radicalization to indi-
viduals who otherwise might not have considered this path (Neumann, 2013).
These individuals would not have been proactively seeking information on their
own. Instead, they would have stumbled upon these ideas for the rst time
during their routine online activities.
While the possibility of a personal radicalization process occurring solely on
the Internet cannot be rejected, it may not be the most common pathway for
current terrorist and those of the recent past. The Internet may act as a facilitator
and conduit for radical views online, but rarely as an all- encompassing creator of
radical ofine behavior. The missing element, for many scholars, is the deep
friendships of trust that develop as a result of face- to-face interactions evident in
small groups (Sageman, 2004, 2008; Awan, 2007; Jenkins, 2011; McCauley and
Moskalenko, 2008; Horgan, 2008). This research shows that personal grievances
are common among radicals; however, the difference between all individuals
with similar grievances and the ones who violently radicalize is often found in
the differential socialization of the latter within radical groups (for a summary,
see Bouchard and Nash, this volume).
Even if the importance of social ties in the radicalization process is increas-
ingly acknowledged by terrorism scholars, the exact mechanisms under which
this occurs have been given less attention. McCauley and Moskalenko (2008)
discuss these various mechanisms, such as the slippery slope where individuals
gradually become involved with a group, taking on small tasks and actions
before complete adherence and membership ensues. More commonly, the mech-
anism that scholars have in mind, and that radicals are describing, refers to the
implications on personal behavior of group cohesion and solidarity to friends.
Face- to-face interactions and engagement in group activities provide those
involved with a sense of emotional belonging to the group, creating pressure for
conformity to group norms and behavior. These sorts of group- level factors are
not unique to the context of extremism and terrorism. For instance, group pro-
cesses help explain why street gang members commit more crime than other
offenders but, more importantly, why many are ready to risk serious personal
injuries and death for group- level grievances (e.g., Bouchard and Spindler,
436 01 Social Networks 01.indd 2 25/3/15 15:32:39

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Radical and connected: an introduction 3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
2010). Cohesive groups have a tendency to isolate themselves from the rest of
the world, cutting most out- group ties held prior to their radicalization (Sageman,
2004). They are, in essence, trading one network for another (Horgan, 2008).
The case study of Omar Hammami analyzed in the chapter by Nash and Bou-
chard in this volume provides a clear demonstration of how a person’s pre-
radicalization network gradually gives way to a more cohesive network of
radicals.
Developments in the understanding of the importance of social networks and
the Internet in terrorism are used in this book as a backdrop to propose a relat-
ively wide- ranging set of contributions. The title of the book reects our
objective to cover a wide- ranging set of issues in the eld while specifying the
importance of social networks in our interpretation of the individual contribu-
tions to this book. The sub- title of the book, Radical and Connected, captures in
two words many of the elements that introduce the nature of the contributions
included in this volume. While the word “radical,” and its importance for the
book, is not mysterious by now, it is the word “connected” which carries with it
much of the common thread that can be found in the chapters of this volume:
“connected” in the sense that some of the attention of our authors is devoted to
the Internet as a medium of inuence for many individuals, whether they belong
to the “radical few” or the much larger population of online sympathizers.
But more to the point, these individuals are connected in the sense of “social
networks”: social networks of terrorists, on the one hand, but also social net-
works of the agencies organizing responses to terrorist acts and planning for the
risks of such events. These agencies are connected as well. They are connected
to the Internet, where their investigations inevitably lead them given the import-
ance of computer- mediated communications for terrorist groups and violently
radicalized individuals (Sageman, 2004; Neumann, 2013; Soriano, 2012). But
they are also connected to other agencies in the context of multi- jurisdictional
investigations and/or task forces specically devoted to terrorist groups (Dupont,
this volume; Kitchen and Molnar, this volume). Moreover, they are connected
within their own ranks, where issues of internal relations and cooperation never
cease to be both a challenge and a source of potential benet when efcient net-
working leads to better organizational outcomes. It may not take a network to
ght a network (Dupont, this volume), but it takes a team that can effectively
cooperate, share information, trust one another, avoid internal conicts, and
work towards similar goals.
Research on cooperation in small groups has consistently shown how the
manner in which individuals connect and cooperate have implications for group
performance. This is true of terrorist groups whose structure inuences the
lethality of their attacks (Heger et al., 2012) and their ability to avoid detection
(Helfstein and Wright, 2011), but also of security and law enforcement agencies
(Brewer, 2013; Dupont, 2006; Whelan, 2014). For example, Whelan (2014)
interviewed 20 upper- level security ofcials comprising Australia’s national
security division for the purposes of examining the internal structural and organ-
izational design of their network. Such a design is said to be most effective at
436 01 Social Networks 01.indd 3 25/3/15 15:32:39

4 M. Bouchard and P. Levey
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
managing and preventing security- related incidents when high levels of collabo-
ration are present within the network structure (Whelan, 2014). In a similar
fashion, Kitchen and Molnar (this volume) examine Canada’s counter- terrorism
strategy with the goal of observing the effects of integration among social agents
(people at all levels of government as well as civilians and foreign partners) and
the sharing of national security technological devices. Park and Tsang (this
volume) offer some intriguing insight into the recent computational frameworks
being designed and tested as a means of identifying the most efcient and
effective security responses when faced with possible terror attacks. In the spirit
of integration, Kitchen and Molnar (this volume) address the benets and pos-
sible complexities associated with high levels of integration in a manner consist-
ent with Dupont (this volume), who further elaborates on the tension between
collaboration and competition among national security organizations within
Canada.
The point of departure of this book is the assumption that integrating network
concepts and network methods to the study of terrorism and counter- terrorism is
of central importance, from theoretical, empirical, and policy perspectives, in
bringing the eld forward. This is not exactly a new idea, although the move to
study terrorist networks did not truly take off until the events of 9/11 (Krebs,
2002). Not all studies in this volume adopt a pure network approach or even use
its methods. But all have a deep concern for examining the nature and impact of
social interactions and cooperation in shaping the trajectories of terrorists and
the nature of the responses to the threat of terrorism.
The organization of the book
Two characteristics make this collection of original papers stand out compared
to others. First, it includes scholars from a wide range of disciplines, from the
more traditional international studies, sociology and political science to crimi-
nology, history and computing science. What we gain in knowledge from the
diversity of points of views and training of our authors, we may lose, to a certain
extent, in specicity and depth. At the same time, we strongly believe in the
need for a book that reects such a wide variety of approaches under a single
cover, as this allows for a broader understanding of the implications of the topic
at hand, notably via the natural cross- disciplinary learning that is bound to occur.
Second, this book focuses on a wide spectrum of the possible research themes
in the eld, as opposed to a single one. The book title reects this diversity of
interest among authors, where new developments in research on radicalization
and terrorism are found alongside work on counter- terrorism. The book is
divided into two parts. Part I covers issues in radicalization, from the angle of
history, network trajectories and the role of the Internet. Part II moves to issues
in counter- terrorism, providing critiques of some of the current policies, but also
describing some of the promising approaches currently being developed. A
common thread among the majority of those contributions is a concern for exam-
ining social networks—either as an analogy, a concept, an explanatory variable
436 01 Social Networks 01.indd 4 25/3/15 15:32:39

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Radical and connected: an introduction 5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
or an object of inquiry. Each author accomplishes this in his or her own way,
whether small or large, reecting the relative place social interactions and
cooperation have in the work they have chosen to feature in this book. It will be
obvious to the reader that no framework was imposed on authors when inviting
their respective contributions to this book. The freedom authors received was
given in exchange for the meaningful contributions they could provide as experts
in their own sub- elds of terrorism studies.
In Chapter 2 André Gerolymatos reminds us how revisiting the history of
political Islam can help us better understand the different incarnations of the
threats evident today and the security challenges we currently face in the twenty-
rst century. The social movement around “political Islam” that we see today
has its roots in the Ottoman empire of the fteenth century. This is a story
merging the political struggles, religion and identity of Muslims around the
world and the perception among some that they belong to one global network
where the battles of some are the battles of all. This sort of interdependence is a
key idea when understanding the local and global consequences of counter-
terrorism policies. After this voyage into the roots of modern terrorism, Laura
Huey brings us back to the present in Chapter 3 with her essay on how we
approach the study of domestic radicalization. In reviewing recent cases of radi-
calized Canadians who do not t the expected prole of terrorists (e.g., such as
second- generation converts), Huey demonstrates how standard methodological
tools overlook the unexpected cases; ignoring those outliers or “grey swans”
puts us at risk of missing valuable and informative information on the process of
radicalization. This essay is especially timely in light of the two separate events
of October 2014 in St- Jean-sur- Richelieu and Ottawa, where two Canadian con-
verts each killed a member of the Canadian military.
This book argues that attention to social networks is key to the development
of the eld, and the following contributions make this argument explicit. First,
Bouchard and Nash devote a full chapter to reviewing the recent research in ter-
rorism and counter- terrorism using network methods. Their chapter is meant to
demonstrate the utility of network methods but also to highlight some of the
areas in which additional work is required. The authors clarify the difference
between network concepts and network methods and situate the development of
network analysis in the wider context of research on radicalization, both online
and ofine. The next chapter can be seen as almost a response to the rst, as the
authors move from the conceptual to the empirical analysis of social networks.
The contribution by Nash and Bouchard looks at the network trajectory of a
homegrown terrorist, Omar Hammami. This chapter, more than any other in the
book, draws from network methods. Omar’s autobiography and other sources
were used to recreate the social structure around Omar at six points in time,
based on his travel to six different locations: Daphne, Toronto, Alexandria,
Mogadishu, Chiamboni and Baraawe. From these six locations, 71 contacts were
extracted as part of his network at any one time, divided between family ties,
friends, jihadi brothers, jihadi leaders and religious/teacher inuences. The
authors show how Omar’s network signicantly changed from one location to
436 01 Social Networks 01.indd 5 25/3/15 15:32:39

6 M. Bouchard and P. Levey
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
the next, depending on his ability to branch out from the highly connected clique
he usually integrated upon his arrival. Friendship and family ties gradually dis-
appeared to favor jihadi brothers, and especially jihadi leaders in the last two
parts of his journey in Somalia.
The next three chapters move the discussion to issues surrounding terrorism
and the Internet. First, Benjamin Ducol reects on radicalization, showing that to
understand the impact of the Internet on radicalization processes it is imperative
to grasp the impact that both online and ofine communities have on behavioral
outcomes. Such an interaction effect is made more complicated by the ever-
changing nature of the Internet, especially taking into account the change in the
participants who now have access to, and control over, this communication tool.
Ducol addresses the complexities and dangers of assuming radicalization to
occur by means of a single factor in isolation, and he elaborates on the import-
ance of integrating ofine behaviors and cognitive developments supporting
radical beliefs with online activities. The chapter by Davies and colleagues
approaches the notion of terrorism and the Internet by examining recruitment
processes employed by extremist and terrorist groups through ofcial online
websites. Alongside a typological analysis of four online recruitment styles, the
inconsistencies of recruitment tactics and use of social media between groups
allows for a thorough discussion on the extent to which extremist groups use the
Internet to achieve their own ends.
The importance of examining both online and ofine extremist behaviors is
also emphasized by Thomas Holt and colleagues, who presented the results of a
cross- country survey examining the factors predicting the willingness of indi-
viduals to commit attacks online and ofine. The potential for cyberterrorist
attacks have been identied for a long time, and yet empirical research associ-
ated with cyberterrorism is scant. The research results show that the proles of
these “cyberwarriors” overlap considerably with those of traditional online com-
munities of cybercriminals. Out- group antagonism, in particular, was associated
with a higher willingness to carry out attacks both online and ofine.
Part II of the book covers a variety of issues in counter- terrorism. In Chapter
9, Benoît Dupont argues that the commonsensical and widely accepted idea that
“it takes a network to ght a network” is fraught with a host of risks that are
rarely considered in counter- terrorism policies. The author does not deny the
benets of exible partnerships, reciprocal information ows and increased
cooperation more generally, but he reminds us of some of the incompatibilities
of network structures with the actual mandates of counter- terrorism agencies.
The subsequent chapter pushes further this critical assessment of the organiza-
tion of the response to terrorism. Reecting on the tendency of counter- terrorism
institutions (and Canada’s counter- terrorism strategy) to integrate multiple agen-
cies, Kitchen and Molnar suggests that although integration is often presented as
“the” answer for such task forces, it solves only a silo problem but may lead to
new inefciencies, increased complexity and diffused accountability. The
authors also see promises in integration and cooperation if the process is done
correctly. Accounts of units emphasizing joint training events and other
436 01 Social Networks 01.indd 6 25/3/15 15:32:39

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Radical and connected: an introduction 7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
opportunities for social interactions among members have shown increased
cohesiveness within integrated units and the reduced tensions that naturally arise
in such contexts.
Finally, in Chapter 11 computer scientists Andrew Park and Herbet Tsang
provide us with a fascinating glimpse into the future with a presentation of the
latest research on simulation models created to help answer some of the “what
if ” questions regarding individual and group dynamics in the event of a terrorist
attack. As articial as the world created by these scientists may initially seem,
the utility of these simulation models for the sound planning of interventions and
crisis management will appear extremely concrete to any reader. The manner in
which our nations respond when faced with attacks of terror and violence has
direct consequences for the general public and rst responders. Such a computa-
tional model as the one explained in this chapter allows us to take one step closer
to this end goal.
Note
1 Martin Bouchard would like to thank Philippa Levey, Evan Thomas and Marie Ouellet
for their assistance in preparing the nal version of this volume as a whole. As Daniel
Hiebert and Lorne Dawson mention in the Foreword, the idea for this book started in
the context of a TSAS workshop where many of the individual contributors presented
their work. Martin would like to thank Dan and Lorne for their encouragements and
continued support, as well as Brett Kubicek for his leadership in the creation of the
TSAS environment. The staff at TSAS who originally helped in the preparation of this
book include Kate Castelo, Vicky Baker, Marit Gilbert and Marni Wedin. TSAS itself
was originally created from a partnership grant between Public Safety Canada and
three universities: University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and Uni-
versity of Waterloo. I would like to thank them all for their support and at the same
time remind readers that the views expressed by the contributors of this book do not
represent those of any of these institutions.
References
Awan, A. N. (2007) Radicalization on the Internet? The virtual propagation of jihadist media
and its effects. RUSI Journal. 152 (3), pp. 76–81. DOI: 10.1080/03071840701472331.
Bouchard, M. and Spindler, A. (2010) Groups, gangs, and delinquency: Does organiza-
tion matter? Journal of Criminal Justice. 38 (5), pp. 921–933.
Brewer, R. (2013) Enhancing crime control partnerships across government: Examining
the role of trust and social capital on American and Australian waterfronts. Police
Quarterly. 16 (4), pp. 371–394.
Dupont, B. (2006) Delivering security through networks: Surveying the relational land-
scape of security managers in an urban setting. Crime, Law and Social Change. 45 (3),
pp. 165–184.
Heger, L., Jung, D. and Wong, W. (2012) Organizing for resistance: How group structure
impacts the character of violence. Terrorism and Political Violence. 24 (5),
pp. 743–768.
Helfstein, S. and Wright, D. (2011) Covert or convenient? Evolution of terror attack net-
works. Journal of Conict Resolution. 55 (5), pp. 785–813.
436 01 Social Networks 01.indd 7 25/3/15 15:32:39

8 M. Bouchard and P. Levey
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
Horgan, J. (2008) From proles to pathways and roots to routes: Perspectives from psy-
chology on radicalization into terrorism. Annals of the American Academy of Political
and Social Science. 618 (1), pp. 80–94.
Jenkins, B. M. (2011) Stray dogs and virtual armies: Radicalization and recruitment to
jihadist terrorism in the United States since 9/11. Rand Corporation.
Krebs, V. (2002) Uncloaking terrorist networks. First Monday. 7 (4).
McCauley, C. and Moskalenko, S. (2008) Mechanisms of political radicalization: Path-
ways toward terrorism. Terrorism and Political Violence. 20 (3), pp. 415–433.
Neumann, P. R. (2013) Options and strategies for countering online radicalization in the
United States. Studies in Conict and Terrorism. 36 (6), pp. 431–459.
Rainie, L. and Wellman, B. (eds) (2012) Networked: The New Social Operating System.
Cambridge MA: MIT Press.
Sageman, M. (ed.) (2004) Understanding Terror Networks. Philadelphia: University of
Pennsylvania Press.
Sageman, M. (2008) Leaderless Jihad: Terror Networks in the 21st Century. Philadel-
phia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Soriano, M. R. T. (2012) The vulnerabilities of online terrorism. Studies in Conict and
Terrorism. 35 (4), pp. 263–277.
Whelan, C. (2014) Managing dynamic security networks: Towards the strategic managing
of cooperation, coordination and collaboration. Security Journal. DOI:10.1057/
sj.2014.20.
436 01 Social Networks 01.indd 8 25/3/15 15:32:39