Tag Archives: terrorism

Donald Trump and the Terrorism Loop

Posted on June 5, 2017 by Rayan Zehn

In my most recent post I discussed several explanations of religious terrorism in international relations scholarship. The list is by no means exhaustive, but it is thorough. Bottom line: Terrorism is more common in the Muslim world for a host of … Continue reading →

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Causes of Radical Jihadist Terrorism

Posted on April 17, 2017 by Rayan Zehn

In international relations the concept of terrorism usually always boils down to Islamic radical terror. Few other categories of terrorists operate internationally; therefore, most of the literature centers on violent Islamic Jihad. So what are the causes? How can we … Continue reading →

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Expanded Probability of Falling Victim to Jihadist Terror in the US

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Rayan Zehn

My last post laid out data collection and methodology to determine the probability that an American will be injured or killed by an Islamic terrorist. The answer was, based on the most previous seven years of data, you would have … Continue reading →

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Probability of Falling Victim to Jihadist Terror in the US: A Correction and Update

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Rayan Zehn

The other day I made a blog post pointing out the extraordinary unlikelihood of a person becoming victim to a Jihadist terrorist attack in the United States. I regret to write that I got the math wrong somewhat. The intuition was … Continue reading →

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When Merely Mentioning ISIS is Offensive

Posted on May 1, 2016 by Rayan Zehn

About six weeks ago I gave a presentation on ontological insecurity, cognitive dissonance, and prophetic violence carried out by the Islamic State. It was an informal setting; several pizzas adorned a round table, and the audience had as much talking … Continue reading →

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The Islamic State Blows Up Sand: Time to Pull Out the Jokes

Posted on September 1, 2015 by Rayan Zehn

As many of you know, the Islamic State has resorted to destroying ancient architecture in Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Apparently buildings that predate their prophet are offensive. So, in addition to murdering innocent civilians for not following the … Continue reading →

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Google Searches for “ISIS” and “Join ISIS” Compared

Posted on August 30, 2015 by Rayan Zehn

The other day I posted about a remarkable surge of people using Google to search for ISIS at a rate that dwarfs the previous 11 years of searches for other terrorist organizations. I discovered this using Google Trends. The visual … Continue reading →

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The Islamic State and the Obsolescence of Terrorism (SS#16)

Posted on May 10, 2015 by Rayan Zehn

When terrorism enters the repertoire of contention, it does so attached to a socially ticking clock. As is often the case, the clock begins its countdown well before newly emerging terror groups begin their bloody campaigns. The Islamic State (IS) … Continue reading →

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Will the Islamic State Succeed?

Posted on May 9, 2015 by Rayan Zehn

This is a question I’ll be attempting to answer tomorrow. The Islamic State appears to have a lot of small and immediate victories under its belt, thanks to its willingness to use terror as its primary—if not only—weapon. In order … Continue reading →

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ISIS Shows Christians What True Persecution Is

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Rayan Zehn

ISIS is great at making terrible and extremely graphic and overproduced propaganda films. In the latest piece to cross my desk, an ISIS branch in Libya parades 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian men onto a beach in Northern Libya. The orange … Continue reading →

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