Sept. 4, 2020

Minerva-funded researcher, Mia Bloom on the "Repatriation of ISIS Children"

Minerva-funded researcher, Mia Bloom’s project “Preventing the Next Generation: Mapping the Pathways of Children’s Mobilization into Violent Extremist Organizations” examines how children are recruited, deployed and ascertained whether they were radicalized in a number of different violent extremist organizations (VEOs) in Iraq and Syria, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG Kurdish militia).

Sept. 3, 2020

Inside the Dangerous Mission to Understand What Makes Extremists Tick—and How to Change Their Minds

Artis International researchers have received funding from Minerva in their efforts to push the boundaries of social science, through everything from experimental surveys on armed forces to psychological tests on imprisoned extremists.

July 15, 2020

Best Practices for Supporting the Reintegration and Rehabilitation of Chidlren from Formerly ISIS-Controlled Territories

This brief contributes to this growing body of work by providing a specialized psychosocial approach based in child trauma theory and intervention research that directly addresses the multilevel needs of children returning from formerly ISIS-controlled territories.

June 3, 2020

Mia Bloom's new article "The Forgotten Children of ISIS Fighters"

In Bloom's article she discusses children from war zones, who now find themselves without country, citizenship, protection or much compassion. The countries from which ISIS children originate are confronted with a grave humanitarian crisis. Leaving children to languish and die in refugee camps and prisons is an unconscionable abuse of human rights.

May 4, 2020

Mia Bloom's new article "From Pawn to Knights: The Changing Role of Women's Agency in Terrorism?"

Minerva-funded researcher, Mia Bloom's new article "Mia Bloom's new article "From Pawn to Knights: The Changing Role of Women's Agency in Terrorism?". As terrorist groups became more technologically advanced with their media campaigns, the global audience began to see pictures of women in black burkas pledging allegiance to the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and posing with guns. Although there is a backlash against such change that we see reflected in the ideologies of violent extremism; the shifts in gender relations within these groups are significant to examine.

March 11, 2020

Scott Atran's new article, "Measures of Devotion to ISIS and other Fighting and Radicalized Groups"

Minerva-funded research Scott Atran's new article, "Measures of Devotion to ISIS and other Fighting and Radicalized Groups" has been published in "Current Opinion in Psychology". Read more

March 3, 2020

Minerva-funded researcher speaks on "What I Learned From Scanning the Brains of Potential Terrorist"

Minerva-funded researcher speaks on "What I Learned From Scanning the Brains of Potential Terrorist". This research discusses how understanding the mind of a radical Islamist can prevent the next white-nationalist attack.

Dec. 9, 2019

Mia Bloom's new article on "No Place to Hide, No Place to Post: Lessons from Recent Efforts at "De-Platforming" ISIS

The online media platforms of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) blend graphic audiovisual content with religious writings to sanction and justify violent terrorist attacks throughout the world. ISIS has utilized propaganda to its advantage, not only to bolster its expansion in Iraq and Syria but also to recruit followers and disseminate the group’s ideology worldwide.

June 4, 2019

Weaponizing the Weak: The Role of Children in Terrorist Groups

Bloom, Mia. 2019. Weaponizing the Weak: The Role of Children in Terrorist Groups. In Research Handbook on Child Soldiers, edited by Mark Drumbl and Jastine Barrett. Rochester: Edward Elgar Publishing.

May 29, 2019

Owl in the Olive Tree post on "Telegram and Online Addiction to Terrorist Propaganda"

Minerva-funded researcher Mia Bloom's Owl in the Olive Tree blog post on "Telegram and Online Addiction to Terrorist Propaganda."The online media platforms of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) blend graphic audiovisual content with ideological religious writings to sanction and justify violent terrorist tactics throughout the world. ISIS