[wvns] Student Gets Homeland Security Fellowship
MIT grad student tracks the 'jihad effect'
Sarah H. Wright
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/kaplan-0829.html
An MIT graduate student has received a fellowship from a U.S.
Department of Homeland Security-funded research center to study the
"jihad effect" - that is, how wars impact the trajectory of terrorist
movements.
Stephanie Kaplan, a Ph.D. candidate in political science, plans to use
the funds she receives from the National Consortium for the Study of
Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) to support her work on
the relationship between armed conflicts and terrorism.
Kaplan is particularly interested in the way the Iraq war has shaped
and will shape the future of al Qaeda. Ultimately, she hopes to
contribute to improving the formulation and practice of U.S.
counterterrorism policy.
"Regardless of how the war ends, whether the United States leaves Iraq
now or stays in the months and years ahead, we must understand how the
conflict has mobilized new assets on behalf our enemies--skilled
people, weapons, money, social bonds and legitimacy--and to what end
those assets will be deployed in the future," Kaplan says.
"It is far better to begin this conversation now than years from now,
when the jihad effect will be felt in full force," she adds.
Based at the University of Maryland, College Park, START is a
Department of Homeland Security "Center of Excellence" charged with
researching how terrorist groups form and behave and on how societies
may best respond to terrorist threats.
For Kaplan, MIT provides an ideal venue to develop new concepts for
understanding terrorism within the field of political science.
"When it comes to counterterrorism, all too often the focus remains at
the operational level--catching the next operative and foiling the
next attack. This is a matter of mindset, but it is also a matter of
time--in Washington, very few people have the luxury to step back and
process the information coming at them in a long-term, strategic
manner. I came to MIT so that I could figure out what that big picture
is and do so in a rigorous way. And the political science department
and Security Studies Program here at MIT are perfect homes in which to
do that," she says.
This year, Kaplan will work as a teaching assistant in a political
science course, American Public Policy for Washington Interns,
designed for MIT students in the Institute's summer Washington
internship program.
Before coming to MIT, Kaplan worked in several policy capacities in
Washington, D.C., including as a staff member on the National
Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, known as the
9/11 Commission.
Kaplan, who was managing editor of the commission's final report,
treasures one memory of her experience above all others - a late-night
walk around ground zero after a marathon session with the staff
investigating New York City's emergency response.
"The gravity of 9/11 combined with the responsibility of carrying out
the investigation really hit home," she says.
A native of Arlington Heights, Ill., Kaplan received a B.S. in foreign
service from Georgetown University in 2000; she came to MIT in 2004.
*********************************************************************
WORLD VIEW NEWS SERVICE
To subscribe to this group, send an email to:
wvns-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
NEWS ARCHIVE IS OPEN TO PUBLIC VIEW
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/wvns/
Need some good karma? Appreciate the service?
Please consider donating to WVNS today.
Email ummyakoub@yahoo.com for instructions.
To leave this list, send an email to:
wvns-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvns/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wvns/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:wvns-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:wvns-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
wvns-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
No comments:
Post a Comment