Identifying a criminal act as terrorism is a complicated task, influenced by strict legal definitions and public perceptions. While law enforcement must adhere to the criminal code in prosecuting violent extremist crime as terrorism, politicians, commentators and the media can symbolically label these acts as constituting a range of offenses, regardless of whether they fit within legal definitions. For example, such disparity was evident in the aftermath of the 2015 Charleston church mass shooting when a white supremacist gunned down nine African Americans with the intention of sparking a race war. FBI Director James Comey was hesitant to apply the terrorism label claiming that it was not a political act and therefore did not classify as terrorism, while U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder had no reservations in labelling the crime an ‘act of terrorism.’
Discuss what factor(s) you think complicate(s) the matter?
Keep in mind that you need to use at least one or more sources from the following sites:
Combating Terrorism Exchange (CTX)
https://globalecco.org (Links to an external site.)
Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses (CTTA)
https://www.rsis.edu.sg/research/icpvtr/ctta (Links to an external site.)
Defense Against Terrorism Review (DATR)
http://www.coedat.nato.int/datrvolumes.html (Links to an external site.)
Journal for Deradicalization (JD)
http://journals.sfu.ca/jd (Links to an external site.)
Journal of 9/11 Studies
http://www.journalof911studies.com (Links to an external site.)
Journal of Counter Terrorism & Homeland Security International,
http://www.iacsp.com/publications.php (Links to an external site.)
Journal of Terrorism & Cyber Insurance, The (JTCI)
http://www.terrorismcyberinsurance.com (Links to an external site.)
Journal on Terrorism and Security Analysis, The (JTSA)
http://satsa.syr.edu/home/journal (Links to an external site.)
Perspectives on Terrorism (PT)
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/perspectives-on-terrorism (Links to an external site.)
PRISM
http://cco.ndu.edu/Publications/PRISM.aspx (Links to an external site.)
Terrorism: An Electronic Journal and Knowledge Base
https://www.terrorismelectronicjournal.org (Links to an external site.)
Terrorism Monitor (TM)
https://jamestown.org/programs/tm
Any other source found by you must be peer reviewed factual accurate data from a journal of statistic without interfering opinions. It must be from a Journal.
Keep this in mind:
Excessive paraphrasing and copying and pasting will be reported and Turnitin will be used to analyze the originality of your work. APA in-text citations and references are required for all sources used. Excessive quotations (more quotes than your own words) will not award points. Explain. Do NOT copy from the text in the instructions. Do not plagiarize. Be clear and avoid unnecessary wording as this will result in a lower grade.
Criteria for Success:
Original thought and insightful synthesizing (50%)
Formulating your opinion explicitly in relation to the prompt and the source you read. Use proper references to your sources when needed (30%)
Editing: Make sure sentences are clear and unambiguous. Avoid passive voice.
Double-check to see that sentences are adequately varied in length and style, and that there are no fragments or run-ons. Also proofread carefully to correct any other sentence errors. (20%)
