Hello, my name is Sarah Evans! My research this
semester is a qualitative analysis of whether transnational terrorist groups
benefit more from the use of weak states or failed states as havens. For my
project, I have operationalized the word ‘benefit’ through four criteria:
prospects of financial gain within the country, rule of law within the country,
ease of movement within the country, and ease of travel to other countries.
Within my final paper, I will use several countries as ‘case studies’ to examine
these ideas in the real world. For example, one country I plan to incorporate
as a case study is Yemen, a failed state which has increasingly become a threat
due to the operation of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
I originally became interested in the study of
terrorism by taking CRIM 475: Theory and Politics of Terrorism, last fall. Both
this class and the large-scale terrorist attacks of last November made me feel
that terrorism was an increasingly important issue to understand and address knowledgeably.
More specifically, reading several articles about Al-Qaeda’s use of weak and
failed states through CRIM 475 highlighted the significance of working to
understand what type of country is most likely to harbor a transnational
terrorist organization. For my research,
I use scholarly journal articles, media publications and books related to my
topic. In a typical week at this stage of the process, I spend time finding,
reading, and summarizing sources to incorporate into my paper.
Recently I have been doing a lot of reading
about the differences between ISIS and Al-Qaeda (ISIS used to be an Al-Qaeda
affiliate, Al-Qaeda in Iraq). In reading
about their structural differences, one thing I learned is that while Al-Qaeda
has always used a selective process for approving members, ISIS is much more
open to letting any recruits join. I have appreciated the chance to do this
independent study about terrorism because I am interested in working in U.S.
counterterrorism or foreign policy in the future.
