The Western Jihadism Data Collection
Abstract
The Western Jihadism Project is a comprehensive data collection designed for the study of Al Qaeda-inspired terrorist offenders and organizations from 21 Western states-- in Europe, North America, and the AntipodesÑfrom the early 1990s until today. The collection comprises a comprehensive digital archive integrating quantitative and qualitative observations about 4,000 terrorist offenders and ca. 750 violent and non-violent conspiracies. The American segment of the collection additionally tracks offenders related to Hamas and Hezbollah. The work on the data collection has been ongoing since 2006. The data collection is unique in a number of ways. Individual-level data facilitates analysis of the demographic variations, between countries and over time, and also provides the possibility to study the relationship between local actions and international networks. The time series data present options for studying the dialectic between counter-terrorism policies and the movementÕs adaptive strategies. Likewise, the cross-national data set provides an opportunity to study recruitment structures and the evolution of a self-replicating jihadist community in a comparative framework. In addition, the inclusion of coding of relations between individuals and between entities and individuals also facilitates social network analysis (SNA) on a scope not previously possible on open source data. The project creates a new framework for the existing data collection. Multiple data files will be converted into a single, digital, relational database. A relational database is a collection of data objects, in various file formatsÑpictorial, quantitative and qualitative observations from which data can be accessed or reassembled in many different ways without having to reorganize the basic database tables. The transformation of the current databases into an integrated SQL-compliant relational database will add new functionalities, including the possibility of linking the existing historical data with online streaming analysis mining data, e.g. from online social media. Once completed, the archive and database will present as a multi functional archive integrating quantitative and qualitative data. The collection will then be transferred to the funder or to a host to be designated by the funder. The new relational database format will allow large-scale data mining to take place in real time. Primary source data from online social media networks such as Twitter and YouTube can be fetched through publicly available application programming interfaces (API s) and cross-referenced with the historical data about persons and entities. Videos, Tweets, and other online activities can be added to files from the WJP archive or uploaded in a streaming fashion from the web. Combining live-feeds of social network data with the historical data on interpersonal relationships between terrorism offenders and between offenders and entities can significantly enhance analytical capability. The staffing on the project amounts 14.9 person-months in total, or 2.48 persons months every month, for the duration of 6 months. The project period is January 1 to June 30, 2015.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 04, 2018
- Source ID
- W911NF1510097
Entities
People
- Jytte Klausen
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- Brandeis University
- United States Army