Choosing Where to Fight: Do Social Networks Distinguish American ISIS Foreign Fighters from ISIS-Inspired Terrorists?

Jensen, M. A and Ferguson, Neil and Kane, S and LaFree, G (2023) Choosing Where to Fight: Do Social Networks Distinguish American ISIS Foreign Fighters from ISIS-Inspired Terrorists? Journal of Conflict Resolution. ISSN 0022-0027

Text (Accepted version) Jensen et al. Choosing Where to Fight.doc - Accepted Version Download (820kB)

Abstract

Why some did American citizens choose to travel to fight in Syria and Iraq rather than engage in ISIS-inspired terrorism in the United States? We conducted a social network analysis on a sample (n=224) of extremists who either plotted ISIS-inspired attacks within the United States or attempted to travel to Syria or Iraq to join the group between 2013-2020. We test how network size, network interconnectedness, and the importance of trusted network members impact the choice of American ISIS offenders to travel or plot terrorist attacks. Our results show that Americans were more likely to choose to travel to fight when they had access to large, dense networks and were embedded with trusted associates. Those without access to similar networks abandoned their preferences for foreign fighting and instead plotted attacks within the United States. The findings provide pertinent policy implications for countering violent extremism

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information and Comments:	This is the author's post peer review version of an article, accepted for publication in the Journal of Conflict Resolution, published by Sage. The final, published version is available from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00220027231164925
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Human and Digital Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User:	Neil Ferguson
Date Deposited:	24 Jan 2023 09:46
Last Modified:	12 Jun 2023 13:37
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/3741

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