Woman in American Violent Extremism: An Examination of Far-Right and Salafi-Jihadist Movements

Executive Summary This report compares women’s participation in far-right and salafi-jihadist movements in the United States through the examination of four case studies: the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, Al-Qaeda, and the Islamic State. To do so, the authors apply a unique analytical framework that examines three key aspects of women’s participation to compare similarities and differences. First, the report takes a top-down approach to analyze how organizations conceptualize women’s roles. Second, it takes a bottom-up approach to explore how women have participated in violent extremism in the United States. Finally, it uses a gendered lens to address how groups have responded when women have participated in violent extremism in America. Key observations and findings include: To understand how groups incorporate women into their ranks, it is essential to look at group ideologies and goals. These factors help determine women’s participation in violent extremism. Far-right and salafi-jihadist movements often adhere to gendered stereotypes, patriarchal societies, and power dynamics that incorporate both overt and underlying gendered beliefs that women must circumvent. These traditional gender roles ensure that women are rarely visible on the ‘frontlines’ of group activities. This in turn enables men to take on more public-facing and violent roles, leaving women’s contributions to these movements often underplayed, underexplored, and misunderstood. Groups driven by conservative gendered ideologies are more likely to cultivate gender segregation and the exclusion of women in their ranks. This can result in the removal of women’s agency and make it harder for women to undertake active, tactical, or leadership roles in organizations. On the other hand, while pervaded by casual misogyny, far-right anti-government groups are more likely to incorporate women into their ranks, while at the same time viewing women as pawns to further their causes. Women involved in violent extremism in the U.S. see themselves contributing to values and ideals they believe in. Despite gendered conceptualizations within violent extremist organizations, women find ways to engage in these movements in various manners, sometimes beyond the roles created by groups. While organizations may have clear conceptualizations of women’s roles and gender dynamics, women themselves can be inspired by groups and movements, and reinterpret dictated gender roles in order to shape their own actions. Far-right movements in the U.S. provide women with greater personal capacity to participate in public-facing and leadership roles. In contrast, women in salafi-jihadist movements participate in auxiliary and, more frequently, operational roles that serve the strategic activities of the groups. However, women operating in the U.S. and inspired by salafi-jihadist ideology often have greater autonomy to carry out violent acts as they operate outside of the direct control of groups. When faced with women’s participation in violent extremism, far-right and salafi-jihadist movements respond to women in varying ways, much of the time guided by their ideological and strategic goals. Women’s engagement in violent extremism is often due to and shaped by these ideological and goal-oriented drivers

Reintegration of Foreign Terrorist Fighter Families: A Framework of Best Practices for the U.S.

This report outlines a comprehensive framework of best practices in the reintegration of foreign terrorist fighter spouses and children (i.e., “the FTF family”). It collates and synthesizes a suite of interlocking principles to guide reintegration policy and implementation, covering practical challenges and programmatic objectives, the organizational structure and process of reintegration management in the U.S. context, the role of strategic communications and trauma-informed care, and the use of specialized risk assessment tools. Drawing on original work conducted in previous investigative streams, this report combines scholarly analyses from both theory and practice, interviews with practitioners and stakeholders, case study investigations, and the authors’ collective experiences in the field. Four key findings are central to this report. First, overarching policy and programmatic planning must take into account a suite of core objectives that are central to the reintegration of FTF families. Four main categories of objectives emerge within which are a range of policy and programmatic goals: align domestic policy and programmatic responses with the scope and nature of the returnee problem, develop a strategically guided approach to reintegration, integrate existing legal bases and systems of reintegration, and consider how FTF management may be instrumentalized towards broader policy objectives. These core objectives provide a compass for guiding how policymakers and practitioners navigate through the complex and interrelated challenges associated with reintegration work. Moreover, in order to achieve the goals and objectives outlined above, this report has identified a set of best practices relating to the formal structures and roles and responsibilities assigned to the reintegration mission community in the U.S. Second, we argue that the coordination and efficacy of reintegration activities can be improved with a greater focus on the role of strategic communications at the overarching planning and management level. It is broadly recognized that reintegration efforts should not be stovepiped. Less acknowledged is the role that a robust and integrated approach to strategic communications can play in helping to improve the sequencing and synchronicity of standard programming activities. This coordination issue also extends to how the age, gender and psychosocial needs of FTF returnees and their families are addressed. Third, we highlight the need for better incorporation of gender, age, and trauma-informed considerations at the program and case levels. The synthesis of trauma-informed approaches during the repatriation and reintegration process is vital and case managers must be appropriately equipped to develop tailored plans that harness gender, age, and familial factors too. Together, the coherent integration of compatible reintegration efforts and supporting activities will enable a more strategically focused approach. Finally, this report presents the broad parameters of a risk assessment tool for assessing FTF returnees and their families based on the project’s multidisciplinary and multisectoral findings. The framework is underpinned by a rigorous methodology and an evidence-based theory of change. However, it also seeks to be accessible and adaptable to ensure usability. The development and further refinement of this risk assessment instrument presents a promising avenue for future applied research

Hezbollah\u27s Operations and Networks in the United States: Two Decades in Reviews

Executive Summary ● This report aims to provide a comprehensive examination of Hezbollah-affiliated activity in America by examining all publicly-known federal criminal cases from 1997 to 2020 in the United States with a concrete link to Hezbollah. The authors found evidence of 128 individuals that meet these criteria. ● The majority of cases involve small, centralized hubs of Hezbollah operatives, who engage in illegal activities in conjunction with wider criminal enterprises to create an array of networks across America. These relationships of convenience have resulted in Hezbollah operatives collaborating with financially-motivated individuals, criminals, and other non-ideological actors, in furtherance of a broader operational mission. These arrangements, in turn, have allowed Hezbollah to profit financially and deepen its influence in the United States, even as many such cases display minimal direct connective links to the terrorist organization itself. ● Based on analysis of the cases, the authors identified two distinct categories of participation in Hezbollah-affiliated activity in America: individuals who provided financial support to Hezbollah (109 individuals), and those who provided operational support (19 individuals). ○ 87% of individuals provided financial or material support to Hezbollah as money launderers, bundlers, fraudsters, and goods smugglers, with many raising funds from others to be provided to Hezbollah or directly providing funds to the group themselves. This finding supports existing assessments that Hezbollah’s primary aspirations in the United States are to use it as a financial support hub. ○ 13% of individuals in the dataset engaged in operational conduct in support of Hezbollah, including as human smugglers, weapons procurers, pre-operational surveillance, and travelers who sought to join the group. Despite the prominence of Hezbollah’s financing activities in the United States, elements within Hezbollah remain intent on developing the capacity and capability to plot attacks on U.S. soil. ● The vast majority (92%) of cases involved network activities between two or more individuals. Larger geographic hubs operated out of Michigan (55 cases), California (19 cases), North Carolina (16 cases), and New York (15 cases). 90% of individuals operating in these four states and 76% of all cases in this dataset were a part of just six networks. ○ Large parts of network activity involved individuals with limited evidence to suggest a direct link to Hezbollah. As discussed above, these individuals actively collaborated with persons with an evidenced connection to the terrorist organization, and in many cases appear to be driven primarily by financial rather than ideological motivations. This in and of itself is a manifestation of Hezbollah’s activities in the United States, which sought to use local criminal actors in furtherance of their illegal activities. Further, in several significant instances, network activity often involved friends or family members engaged in organized conspiracies. ● 84% of individuals were convicted and sentenced to an average of 49.6 months in prison. Notably, only 19 of the 128 individuals (14%) were charged with providing material support to Hezbollah, while the others were charged with non-terrorism related offenses. Individuals sentenced on terrorism material support charges received an average sentence length of 85.6 months, almost twice as long as the average sentence for individuals not sentenced on material support charges. ● Hezbollah-affiliated individuals were primarily male (83%) and tended to be older (average age: 37) than members of other designated foreign terrorist organizations in the US, in particular the Islamic State (average age: 28)

Alemtuzumab CARE-MS I 5-year follow-up: Durable efficacy in the absence of continuous MS therapy

$\textbf{Objective}$: Evaluate 5-year efficacy and safety of alemtuzumab in treatment-naive patients with active relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). $\textbf{Methods}$: Alemtuzumab-treated patients in CARE-MS I (NCT00530348) received treatment courses at Months 0 and 12; after the core study, they could enter an extension (NCT00930553) with as-needed alemtuzumab retreatment for relapse or MRI activity. Assessments included annualized relapse rate (ARR), 6-month confirmed disability worsening (CDW; ≥1-point Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS] score increase [≥1.5 if baseline EDSS = 0]), 6-month confirmed disability improvement (CDI; ≥1-point EDSS decrease [baseline score ≥2.0]), no evidence of disease activity (NEDA), brain volume loss (BVL), and adverse events (AEs). $\textbf{Results}$: Most alemtuzumab-treated patients (95.1%) who completed CARE-MS I enrolled in the extension; 68.5% received no additional alemtuzumab treatment. ARR remained low in Years 3, 4, and 5 (0.19, 0.14, 0.15). Over Years 0–5, 79.7% were free of 6-month CDW; 33.4% achieved 6-month CDI. Most patients (61.7%, 60.2%, 62.4%) had annual NEDA in Years 3, 4, and 5. Median yearly BVL improved over Years 2–4, and remained low in Year 5 (Year 1–5: –0.59%, –0.25%, –0.19%, –0.15%, –0.20%). Exposure-adjusted incidence rates of most AEs declined in the extension relative to the core study. Thyroid disorder incidences peaked at Year 3 and subsequently declined. $\textbf{Conclusions}$: Based on these data, alemtuzumab has the potential to provide durable efficacy through 5 years in the absence of continuous treatment. $\textbf{Classification of Evidence}$: This study provides Class III evidence that alemtuzumab durably improves efficacy outcomes and slows BVL in RRMS patients.Supported by Sanofi Genzyme and Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals

Efficacy of a Universal Brief Intervention for Violence Among Urban Emergency Department Youth

BackgroundViolent injury is the leading cause of death among urban youth. Emergency department (ED) visits represent an opportunity to deliver a brief intervention (BI) to reduce violence among youth seeking medical care in high‐risk communities.ObjectiveThe objective was to determine the efficacy of a universally applied BI addressing violence behaviors among youth presenting to an urban ED.MethodsED youth (14 to 20 years old) seeking medical or injury‐related care in a Level I ED (October 2011–March 2015) and screening positive for a home address within the intervention or comparison neighborhood of a larger youth violence project were enrolled in this quasi‐experimental study. Based on home address, participants were assigned to receive either the 30‐minute therapist‐delivered BI (Project Sync) or a resource brochure (enhanced usual care [EUC] condition). The Project Sync BI combined motivational interviewing and cognitive skills training, including a review of participant goals, tailored feedback, decisional balance exercises, role‐playing exercises, and linkage to community resources. Participants completed validated survey measures at baseline and a 2‐month follow‐up assessment. Main outcome measures included self‐report of physical victimization, aggression, and self‐efficacy to avoid fighting. Poisson and zero‐inflated Poisson regression analyses analyzed the effects of the BI, compared to the EUC condition, on primary outcomes.ResultsA total of 409 eligible youth (82% participation) were enrolled and assigned to receive either the BI (n = 263) or the EUC condition (n = 146). Two‐month follow‐up was 91% (n = 373). There were no significant baseline differences between study conditions. Among the entire sample, mean (±SD) age was 17.7 (±1.9) years, 60% were female, 93% were African American, and 79% reported receipt of public assistance. Of participants, 9% presented for a violent injury, 9% reported recent firearm carriage, 20% reported recent alcohol use, and 39% reported recent marijuana use. Compared with the EUC group, participants in the therapist BI group showed self‐reported reductions in frequency of violent aggression (therapist, −46.8%; EUC, −36.9%; incident rate ratio [IRR] = 0.87; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.76 to 0.99) and increased self‐efficacy for avoiding fighting (therapist, +7.2%; EUC, −1.3%; IRR = 1.09; 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.15). No significant changes were noted for victimization.ConclusionsAmong youth seeking ED care in a high‐risk community, a brief, universally applied BI shows promise in increased self‐efficacy for avoiding fighting and a decrease in the frequency of violent aggression.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134298/1/acem13021.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134298/2/acem13021_am.pd

A Possible Mechanism Underlying the Effectiveness of Acupuncture in the Treatment of Drug Addiction

Clinical trials are currently underway to determine the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of drug addiction. While there are still many unanswered questions about the basic mechanisms of acupuncture, some evidence exists to suggest that acupuncture can play an important role in reducing reinforcing effects of abused drugs. The purpose of this article is to critically review these data. The neurochemical and behavioral evidence showed that acupuncture's role in suppressing the reinforcing effects of abused drugs takes place by modulating mesolimbic dopamine neurons. Also, several brain neurotransmitter systems such as serotonin, opioid and amino acids including GABA have been implicated in the modulation of dopamine release by acupuncture. These results provided clear evidence for the biological effects of acupuncture that ultimately may help us to understand how acupuncture can be used to treat abused drugs. Additional research using animal models is of primary importance to understanding the basic mechanism underlying acupuncture's effectiveness in the treatment of drug addiction

Profiles and behavioral consequences of child abuse among adolescent girls and boys from Barbados and Grenada

The current study used latent class analysis to uncover groups of youths with specific abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual) profiles in and outside the family, and identify how membership in each abuse group is associated with behavioral outcomes. Data were collected among a sample of male (n = 662; M age = 13.02 years) and female (n = 689; M age = 12.95 years) children and adolescents (9 – 17 years old) from Barbados and Grenada. Selfreport surveys were completed by participants in school settings. Three latent classes of child abuse were distinguished among boys, including ‘low abuse’ (39.2% of the sample), ‘physical and emotional abuse high outside/medium in the family’ (43.2%), and ‘high overall abuse’ (17.6%). Among girls, four unique classes were recovered: ‘low abuse’ (40.7%), ‘high physical and emotional abuse outside the family’ (7.6%), ‘high emotional and moderate physical abuse’ (33.9%), and ‘high overall abuse’ (17.8%). Compared with members of low abuse groups, youths who reported having experienced high/moderate levels of various forms of violence, including those who were abused in multiple ways and across the two settings (‘high overall abuse’), were significantly more likely to engage in violent and hostile behavior. Abused and non-abused youths did not differ on non-violent conflict resolution skills. The significance of present findings for future research and practice is discussed

Reducing energy demand through low carbon innovation: a sociotechnical transitions perspective and thirteen research debates

Improvements in energy efficiency and reductions in energy demand are expected to contribute more than half of the reduction in global carbon emissions over the next few decades. These unprecedented reductions require transformations in the systems that provide energy services. However, the dominant analytical perspectives, grounded in neoclassical economics and social psychology, focus upon marginal changes and provide only limited guidance on how such transformations may occur and how they can be shaped. We argue that a socio-technical transitions perspective is more suited to address the complexity of the challenges involved. This perspective understands energy services as being provided through large-scale, capital intensive and long-lived infrastructures that co-evolve with technologies, institutions, skills, knowledge and behaviours to create broader ‘sociotechnical systems’. To provide guidance for research in this area, this paper identifies and describes thirteen debates in socio-technical transitions research, organized under the headings of emergence, diffusion and impact, as well as more synthetic cross-cutting issues