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CHERMAK, STEVEN M (6) answer(s).
 
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1
ID:   144895


Commitment to extremist ideology: using factor analysis to move beyond binary measures of extremism / Kerodal, Ashmini G; Freilich, Joshua D; Chermak, Steven M   Article
Freilich, Joshua D Article
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Summary/Abstract This study article focuses on American far-right (FR) extremists who committed ideologically motivated violent or financial crimes in the United States. We examine three research questions. First, are certain types of FR ideological beliefs associated with different types of criminal behavior? Second, can the various indicators of FR ideology be used to create a scalar measure of commitment to FR ideology? Third, which typology of the FR movement provides the most reliable measure of FR extremism? We use data from the United States Extremist Crime Database to measure indicators of FR ideology in a sample of 305 FRs who committed a financial crime or homicide between 2006 and 2010 in the United States. Conspiratorial, antigovernment, and antitax beliefs were positively associated with risk of financial crimes, while xenophobic, survivalist, and anti–gun control beliefs were positively associated with risk of violent crimes. A factor analysis created a commitment to FR ideology scale and identified four sub-types of FRs: Conspiracy Theorist, Survivalist, Movement Participant, and Proud far-rightist. The factor analysis did not support the prevailing typologies. Importantly though, these typologies were useful in predicting criminal behavior patterns of far rightists. We outline a number of other measurement issues for future research to address.
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2
ID:   178932


Examining Ideologically Motivated Cyberattacks Performed by Far-Left Groups / Holt, Thomas J; Stonhouse, Mattisen; Freilich, Joshua; Chermak, Steven M   Journal Article
Chermak, Steven M Journal Article
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Summary/Abstract Over the last two decades, there has been a massive increase in research examining terror and extremist-related violence. Few have considered the extent to which these same groups may engage in attacks against digital infrastructure and the Internet, whether through hacking or other methods. The absence of empirical evidence calls to question the nature and dynamics of cyberattacks performed by extremists and ideologically motivated actors. This study attempted to address this gap in the literature through a qualitative investigation of 26 attacks performed by far-left groups against targets in the UK, US, and Canada from 2000 to 2015. This data was compared to physical attacks documented in the Extremist Crime Database during the same period. The findings demonstrated that there was an increase in cyberattacks during a period of decreased physical violence by far-left groups. Additionally, there was some parity in the targets of far-left groups on- and off-line, with similar motivations to cause harm to or embarrass businesses, government organizations, and individuals. The implications of this study for our understanding of terror and future research were discussed in detail.
Key Words Cyberterrorism  Hacking  Ecoterrorism  Cybercrime  Terror  Far Left 
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3
ID:   132305


Introducing the United States Extremis Crime Database (ECDB) / Freilich, Joshua D; Chermak, Steven M; Belli, Roberta; Gruenewald, Jeff   Journal Article
Freilich, Joshua D Journal Article
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Publication 2014.
Summary/Abstract This note describes a new and unique, open source, relational database called the United States Extremist Crime Database (ECDB). We first explain how the ECDB was created and outline its distinguishing features in terms of inclusion criteria and assessment of ideological commitment. Second, the article discusses issues related to the evaluation of the ECDB, such as reliability and selectivity. Third, descriptive results are provided to illustrate the contributions that the ECDB can make to research on terrorism and criminology.
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4
ID:   144884


Only the bad die young: the correlates of organizational death for far-right extremist groups / Suttmoeller, Michael J; Chermak, Steven M; Freilich, Joshua D   Article
Chermak, Steven M Article
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Summary/Abstract The domestic far-right movement has existed in the United States for many years. During that time, groups have appeared, disappeared, and reappeared. Unfortunately, very little is known about what causes these groups to disband. Prior research has focused on long-lived groups, but the majority of extremist or terrorist groups fail to survive for an extended period of time. This study examined a variety of external and internal correlates of organizational death identified from both terrorism and organizational literature, to empirically test which correlates lead to a group dying young.
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5
ID:   099825


Surveying American state police agencies about lone wolves, far / Chermak, Steven M; Freilich, Joshua D; Simone, Joseph   Journal Article
Freilich, Joshua D Journal Article
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Publication 2010.
Summary/Abstract This study presents state police agencies' perceptions about three significant terrorism issues on which there is little empirical research. All three issues have significant implications for understanding the role of state police agencies in responding to terrorism threats. First, the authors investigated whether the respondents believed that supporters of specified extremist movements tended to commit crimes as lone wolves, with others, or both alone and with others. Second, they were asked to provide data to gauge how often far-right extremists committed 13 crime types that varied in magnitude and motivation. Third, they were asked if they had knowledge about whether far-right extremists and Islamic jihadists had cooperated to commit crimes. These data were collected by surveying the 50 state police agencies in the United States. The results indicate that state police officials are concerned with both group and lone-wolf activities. Importantly, there was variation in the potential for lone-wolf crimes when comparing different types of extremist movements. The results indicate that far-right extremists are involved in a range of terrorist, preparatory, and routine criminal activities, but this involvement varies by region. Two state police agencies also indicated that they knew of Islamic and far-right collaboration. The study identified two other instances of direct collaboration and a number of other interesting cases through open source searches. The article concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of the findings and outlines directions for future research.
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6
ID:   089989


Surveying American State police agencies about terrorism threat / Freilich, Joshua D; Chermak, Steven M; Simone, Joseph   Journal Article
Freilich, Joshua D Journal Article
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Publication 2009.
Summary/Abstract This study presents American state police agencies' perceptions about three significant terrorism and public safety issues. First, we asked about the threat posed by specified extremist groups nationally and to their state. We asked about the number of such groups and their supporters, and the number of activities each group participates in during a typical year in their state. We also asked about the number of criminal incidents each group commits and the number of their supporters arrested in a typical year. Second, we asked the agencies to rate the usefulness of fifteen specified terrorism sources. Third, we queried the agencies about their views of eight terrorism definitions. These data were collected by surveying the fifty state police agencies in the United States. We discovered widespread concern about the criminal activities of various extremist groups, with a particular concern about the threat of Islamic jihadists. Interestingly, although the top rated threat was Islamic jihadists, the respondents indicated that other types of groups were much more criminally active. Further, respondents indicated that various open and non-open sources were valuable terrorism sources. Finally, most respondents reacted more favorably to official terrorism definitions-especially the FBI's-as opposed to academic definitions. We conclude with a discussion of the policy implications of our findings and we outline directions for future research.
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