David C. Hofmann

Leadership protection in drug-trafficking networks

Effective leadership is a crucial component in organisational success. This also applies to criminal networks that have the added challenge of operating in a high-risk hostile environment. While criminal networks commonly employ communicative and structural practices meant to buffer leadership from exogenous threats, there has been little empirical examination as to their effectiveness. In this article, we review the research literature on the various approaches that profit-oriented illicit networks employ to protect their leaders. We then present sociometric and qualitative data from a previously unexamined drug-trafficking network (the Prada cocaine-trafficking network) as a case study on leadership protection tactics employed by illicit entrepreneurial networks. Results of our analysis are discussed in the conclusion, along with study limitations and areas for future research.

The Neglected Role of Charismatic Authority in the Study of Terrorist Groups and Radicalization

Recent scholarship has called for additional research into the role of charismatic authority in terrorist groups and the process of radicalization. However, the sociological concepts of charisma and charismatic authority are being widely misused in terrorism studies. Current radicalization research often indirectly flirts with core concepts of charismatic authority, but fails to properly tap into its analytical utility. This article proposes to begin addressing this gap in knowledge in three ways, with: (1) a synthesis of social scientific research on charismatic authority, (2) a critical analysis of how charismatic authority is being misused and overlooked in the terrorist radicalization literature, and (3) an exploration of challenges and opportunities for future research concerning charismatic authority and terrorist radicalization.

Quantifying and Qualifying Charisma: A Theoretical Framework for Measuring the Presence of Charismatic Authority in Terrorist Groups

In the past four decades, there has been increased multidisciplinary scholarly interest in the study of charismatic authority. However, there has yet to be any systematic examination of charismatic authority in the context of terrorism, despite widespread acknowledgment of the importance of charismatic leaders in the recruitment, radicalization, and operation of terrorist groups. This article seeks to contribute to future empirical research by presenting a theoretical framework for measuring the presence of charismatic authority in terrorist groups that is based on Max Webers seminal work on legitimate domination (herrschaft) and on theoretical insights drawn from the study of charismatic authority in new religious movements. The framework is then applied to an illustrative case study of the relationship between charismatic authority and the radicalization process within the far-right terrorist group “the Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord.” The article concludes with a discussion of findings and suggestions for future research.

The Influence of Charismatic Authority on Operational Strategies and Attack Outcomes of Terrorist Groups

Despite the historical and contemporary prevalence of charismatic terrorist leaders, there has been very little empirical examination of the relationship between charismatic forms of authority and the strategic operation of terrorist groups. In response to this gap in knowledge, this study seeks to investigate if charismatic authority has a real-world impact on strategic choices and attack outcomes of terrorist groups. Using a theoretical framework meant to help measure charisma in terrorist organizations, this study quantitatively examines how differing levels of the presence of charismatic authority contributes to the choice in operational tactics (e.g., weapon and target choices) and the results of attack outcomes (e.g., success rates, lethality) within a sample of thirty international terrorist groups. In the concluding section, relevant findings, policy recommendations, study limitations, and areas for future research are discussed. Acknowledgements This manuscript is an adapted version of a chapter from the author’s Ph.D. dissertation. This research was conducted with financial support from a Public Safety Canada Research Affiliate Grant (2013-2014). This article is available in Journal of Strategic Security: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/jss/vol9/iss2/3

The study of terrorist leadership: where do we go from here?

Purpose Despite the recognition of the importance of leaders to the formation and ongoing success of social and political movements, the study of leadership in terrorist groups remains underdeveloped. This article therefore aims to stimulate additional research into terrorist leadership in three main ways: (1) by providing a broad overview of the theoretical perspectives that scholars have used to examine terrorist leadership, (2) by critically reviewing the current state of the academic literature on terrorist leadership, and (3) by presenting various ways in which future research on terrorist leadership can be improved. Design/methodology/approach This article takes a conceptual and critical approach to reviewing the scholarly literature on terrorist leadership, and draws upon the author’s expertise with the wider multi-disciplinary literature on leadership to make methodological and conceptual recommendations to improve related future research. Findings There is a paucity of empirical and theoretical r...

Frazer Egerton. Jihad in the West: The Rise of Militant Salafism

Frazer Egertons Jihad in the West: The Rise of Militant Salafism is a well-written and thoughtful exploration of Western militant Salafism within the context of modern terrorism. Egerton notes tha...

“Confrontational but Not Violent”: An Assessment of the Potential for Violence by the Anti-Authority Community in Canada

ABSTRACT Despite a pervasive concern among law enforcement and security agencies, there are relatively few academic explorations of the likelihood of violence associated with anti-authority activists from groups such as the Freemen-on-the-Land, Sovereign Citizens, and similar movements within Canada. In order to begin addressing this gap in knowledge, this article uses a multi-method approach to explore and assess the potential for violence by the Canadian anti-authority community against the state in particular. Data were gathered from interviews with law enforcement, lawyers, judges, notaries, and movement adherents (n = 32), as well as from the analysis of open source data which included media reports, court documents, and movement websites. Results suggest that there are three distinct classes of violent activity, directed specifically at the state and state actors, that are prevalent among Canadian anti-authority movements: a) offensive/extremist violence; b) defensive/reactionary violence; and c) harassment and intimidation. The article concludes with a discussion of two emerging areas of concern related to Canadian anti-authority violence and responses to the anti-authority community in Canada.

How “Alone” are Lone-Actors? Exploring the Ideological, Signaling, and Support Networks of Lone-Actor Terrorists

Abstract Conventional knowledge and early academic work on lone-actor terrorists has popularized the concept that they radicalize, operate, plan, and execute plots in relative anonymity, with little connection to formal or more organized terrorist groups and networks. However, recent scholarship has increasingly challenged the notion of the “loneliness” of lone-actors. In order to further empirically test this notion, this article uses social network analysis to examine the ideological, signaling, and support networks of two case studies of lone-actors during the twenty-four months prior to the commission of their first act of terrorist violence.

The psychology of terrorism fears

While a single definition of terrorism has yet to be universally adopted, there is consensus among most major definitions that it is a communicative strategy aimed at causing widespread fear beyond...