1st Edition
Prosecuting Political Violence Collaborative Research and Method
This volume unpacks the multidimensional realities of political violence, and how these crimes are dealt with throughout the US judicial system, using a mixed methods approach.
The work seeks to challenge the often-noted problems with mainstream terrorism research, namely an overreliance on secondary sources, a scarcity of data-driven analyses, and a tendency for authors not to work collaboratively. This volume inverts these challenges, situating itself within primary-source materials, empirically studied through collaborative, inter-generational (statistical) analysis. Through a focused exploration of how these crimes are influenced by gender, ethnicity, ideology, tactical choice, geography, and citizenship, the chapters offered here represent scholarship from a pool of more than sixty authors. Utilizing a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods, including regression and other forms of statistical analysis, Grounded Theory, Qualitative Comparative Analysis, Corpus Linguistics, and Discourse Analysis, the researchers in this book explore not only the subject of political violence and the law but also the craft of research. In bringing together these emerging voices, this volume seeks to challenge expertism, while privileging the empirical.
This book will be of much interest to students of terrorism and political violence, criminology, and US politics.
Foreword
Solon Simmons
1. Introducing the Prosecution Project 2017-2020: Its Aims and Means
Michael Loadenthal
2. Signals of How and Why Socio-Politically Motivated Crimes are Completed
Tia Turner and Brenda Uriona
3. Labelling Terrorism Before and After 9/11
Lauren Donahoe
4. Friend or Foe? An Analysis of Factors Influencing Sentence Length in the Prosecution of Terrorism
Megan Burtis and Liz Butler
5. What Tactic to Choose: Examining the Relationship Between Ideological Affiliation and Tactic Choice
Elizabeth Springer
6. The Impact of Foreign Affiliation and Citizenship on the Prosecution of Political Violence in the United States
Isabel Bielamowicz
7. Gender, Jail, and Injustice: Gender Interaction Effects on Judicial Sentencing Rhetoric
Madison Weaver and Alexandria Doty
8. "What’s in a name?" The Construction of Eco-Terrorism and Legal Repercussions of the AEPA/AETA
Sarah M. Moore and Athena Chapekis
9. Conclusion: Collective Reflections on tPP and Undergraduate Scholarship
Anwyn Bishop, Kathryn Blowers, Megan Burtis, Morgan Demboski, Lauren Donahoe, Sara Godfrey, Brendan McNamara, Stephanie Sorich, and Madison Weaver
10. Afterword
Michael Loadenthal
Biography
Michael Loadenthal is the founder and Executive Director of the Prosecution Project, and the Executive Director of the Peace and Justice Studies Association, Georgetown University, USA.
'It’s rare that the work of undergraduate students is brought to bear on contemporary issues in a way to help academics and policymakers. The Prosecution Project – itself a valuable resource for data on sociopolitical violence – has achieved this goal. With this book, Loadenthal and his undergraduate colleagues have pulled together a collection of excellent chapters featuring qualitative and quantitative analyses that are designed to help us not only understand ideological violence, but to effectively confront it as well.'-- Kurt Braddock, Homeland Security Studies program, Penn State University, USA
'Creative, thought-provoking and forward-leaning, Loadenthal's collection of essays highlights the extraordinary potential of younger scholars for future legal and policy reform. These contributions into the study of political violence and the prosecutions that follow highlight the strengths and weaknesses of a system in need of new answers. A unique and eye-opening collection.'-- Karen Greenberg, Center on National Security, Fordham School of Law, USA
'The contemporary global upsurge in political violence requires a skilled courtroom response from prosecutors. Strategies that are data driven are essential in effectively addressing violent actions, and Prosecuting Political Violence is a timely and welcome tool for America’s strained justice system. Its innovative premise offers the integrity and creativity we need in this tumultuous moment.'-- Heidi Boghosian, Attorney and National Lawyers Guild former executive director
'How we define and distinguish terrorism from other forms of violence has long been a subject of intense debate among scholars. Prosecuting Political Violence contains an impressively rigorous and systematic discussion of this issue. It is impressive for its insights, innovative approaches, and thoroughness. The fact it represents the work of a new generation of terrorism scholars makes it a particularly novel and noteworthy contribution to the literature.'-- Bruce Hoffman, Georgetown University, USA
