WORKING PAPERS

Working Papers are scholarly analyses of various lengths that provide analysis based on TSAS-funded research projects. We are no longer accepting submissions for this series.

WORKING PAPERS

Bridging the National Security Accountability Gap: A Three-Part System to Modernize Canada’s Inadequate Review of National Security

This paper examines existing challenges associated with the current structure of national security accountability review in Canada. It then draws on best practices in other jurisdictions to propose a systematic overall of the Canadian national security review system. The paper hopes to contribute to current discussions about reform in this area. It focuses particular attention…

WORKING PAPERS

Taking Hoaxes Seriously: Characteristics of Terrorism Hoaxes and their Perpetrators

What can existing literature and available data tell us about terrorism hoaxes (i.e. those incidents that are believed to be acts of serious terrorism, but do not actually involve any real risk of harm)? Terrorist hoaxes do not result in death or harm to people or property, but they do impose costs on governments and…

WORKING PAPERS

Impromptu Initiative: Security Certificates and Scale

This paper offers some background and theoretical framing as part of a larger project on the Canadian Security Certificate Initiative. Here I consider questions about different ways of thinking about responses to national security and how they contrast with security concerns that do not invoke the need for secrecy. The use of secret information in…

WORKING PAPERS

Policies and Responsibilities for Governing Violent Extremism at Ontario Universities

This research looks at the governance of violent extremism on Ontario university campuses. Specifically, it explores: 1) how Ontario universities are governed; 2) how student organizations (such as clubs) and student governments are governed, and; 3) pre-existing policies that could apply to the governance of violent extremism. The policies of ten universities and the governance…

WORKING PAPERS

Traits de personnalité et terrorisme

Plusieurs chercheurs ont conclu que les traits de personnalité ne peuvent pas être liés au terrorisme. Cette conclusion est maintenant admise comme un fait dans les cercles académiques et gouvernementaux, ainsi que dans le monde du renseignement. Cependant, un examen méthodique de la documentation scientifique pertinente n’a révélé aucune preuve à cet effet, et n’a…

WORKING PAPERS

Personality Traits and Terrorism

Many researchers claim that individuals who engage in terrorism do not share distinct personality traits, a claim well accepted in academia, government, and the intelligence community. A thorough review of the literature, however, has yielded no evidence for this claim and found only three studies where the personality traits of terrorists were measured. Each study…

WORKING PAPERS

No Sandwiches Here: Representations of Women in Dabiq and Inspire Magazines

As we know from a wealth of mass media reporting, women are increasingly the focus of recruiters from pro-jihadist networks. Much of this reporting focuses on the Islamic State, in particular, as representing a new threat because of the nature of some of its female empowerment messages and imagery. However, we know very little about…

WORKING PAPERS

Quantifying and Qualifying Charisma: A Theoretical Framework for Measuring the Presence of Charismatic Authority in Terrorist Groups

In order to stimulate the production of robust and replicable empirical research on the dynamics of charismatic leadership in terrorist groups, this working paper operationalizes the social-scientific concept of charismatic authority. It presents and justifies a theoretical framework consisting of fourteen indicators meant to be used as a heuristic to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the…

WORKING PAPERS

Terrorist Babble and the Limits of the Law: Assessing a Prospective Canadian Terrorism Glorification Offence

Since 2007, the Canadian government has repeatedly expressed interest in a terrorism “glorification” offence, responding to internet materials regarded by officials as terrorist propaganda and as promoting “radicalization”. In the wake of the October 2014 attacks, this idea clearly remains on the government’s shortlist of responses. This article addresses the merits of such a criminal…

WORKING PAPERS

The Global Fight Against Terror: An Analysis of the Effectiveness of Counter-terrorism Governance

What does counter-terrorism governance currently look like at the national, regional, and global levels, how effective has it been, and what are some possible ways forward? Since 9/11, intense efforts have been undertaken at all levels of government to strengthen and expand counterterrorism governance. While these efforts are correlated with a reduction in terrorist activity…

WORKING PAPERS

Perceptions of Muslim Faith, Ethno-Cultural Community-based and Student Organizations in Countering Domestic Terrorism in Canada

What are the perceptions of Muslim community based organizations and university student organization leaders on domestic terrorism and counter-terrorism in Canada and what are their suggestions to prevent radicalization and improve existing counter-terrorism policy? Importance: Explore the phenomenon of radicalization within the Muslim community and examine community perceptions Identify reasons for the lack of community…

WORKING PAPERS

Can “Dangerous Speech” be Used in Explaining “Lone-Wolf” Terrorism?

“Lone wolf terrorism” challenges security scholars and practitioners alike with its unpredictable and ambiguous nature. One of the greatest of these challenges is contextualizing the part of socialization and indoctrination in such attacks. What role do extremist communities and speech play in shaping the beliefs a “lone wolf” kills for? The concept of “dangerous speech”…

WORKING PAPERS

Social Perspectives on National Security: A review of recent literature

This review was commissioned by TSAS to survey the ways in which academic researchers have been trying to understand the experiences of exclusion by marginalized youth, and how these might relate to trajectories of radicalization to violent extremism, and community-level security interventions. The primary purpose of this review is to consider the turn to community…

WORKING PAPERS

A Systematic Approach to Develop a Computational Framework for Counter-terrorism and Public Safety

Can agent-based modelling and virtual environment technologies be used to create a decision support, response planning and risk assessment system for emergence preparedness? By using state-of-the-art agent-based modelling and virtual environment technologies, we have built an affordable, flexible and powerful system for decision support, response planning and risk assessment. This system allows the user to…

WORKING PAPERS

A Framework for Estimating the Number of Extremists in Canada

How can researchers appropriately estimate the number of extremists, particularly violent extremists, in Canada? Having a reasonable idea of the size of the threat posed by violent extremists is a central policy consideration. Crucially, accurate estimates would allow for the better allocation and prioritization of limited resources. As well, they would allow afford a better…

WORKING PAPERS

The Process of Radicalization: Right-Wing Skinheads in Quebec

This research studies the radicalization process of right-wing skinheads in the province of Quebec by identifying the mechanisms that shape pathways toward extremism and violence. We look at the role and prevalence of violence in such right-wing groups and how it is used by members. We then consider whether these groups constitute a potential threat…

WORKING PAPERS

(Mis)Understanding Muslim Converts in Canada: A Critical Discussion of Muslim Converts in the Contexts of Security and Society

This research seeks to understand the causes and processes of Islamic conversion in Canada through this initial study of Islamic conversion in Ontario. It attempts to contextualize Islamic conversion within Canada’s national security debate. Canadian census data shows that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the country, and that although most of the Muslim…

WORKING PAPERS

The Effectiveness & Effects of Canada’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams

This paper is part of a larger project that studies the emergence of the idea of integration together with its implications. This paper asks: how has the idea of integration been institutionalized in Canada? What are its implications? Moreover, how should we study the effectiveness and effects of counter-terrorism institutions? The idea of integration in…

WORKING PAPERS

Eco-Terrorism and the Corresponding Legislative Efforts to Intervene and Prevent Future Attacks

This study reviews the extent of attacks related to eco-terrorism from 1970 to 2012 to understand the development of this relatively new phenomenon in Canada, Japan and the United States. Furthermore, we conducted legal analysis to identify important legislation related to prevention and intervention of eco-terrorism. Time series analysis was then applied to data to…

WORKING PAPERS

Right-wing Extremism in Canada

What factors may promote violent right-wing extremism in Canada, and how is it connected to similar movements in the US and Europe? What impacts might this violence have on radicalization within other communities, and what strategies can security and intelligence organizations employ to detect or reduce violent right-wing extremism? Canada’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy notes that violence…

WORKING PAPERS

Between Here and There: Pre- and Post-migration Experiences and Generalized Trust among Recent Immigrants in Canada

This study examines levels and origins of trust among recent immigrants in Canada. Three questions are asked: 1) How much trust do recent immigrants exhibit in comparison to other Canadians? 2) To what extent are immigrants’ levels of trust structured by pre-migration experiences? 3) To what extent are immigrants’ levels of trust structured by their…

WORKING PAPERS

Researching Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism through a Network Lens

In this paper, we argue that integrating network concepts and network methods to the study of terrorism and counter-terrorism are central ingredients in bringing the field forward from theoretical, empirical, and policy perspectives. This is not exactly a new idea, although the move to study terrorist networks did not really take off until the events…

WORKING PAPERS

Les théories des mouvements sociaux et la dialectique des niveaux: un cadre d’analyse pour l’étude des évolutions d’Al-Qaïda au Maghreb islamique

Le développement d’Al-Qaïda au Maghreb islamique (AQMI) dans l’espace sahélo-saharien est-il le résultat de choix stratégiques du groupe en réponse à des contraintes et opportunités environnementales ou le fruit de dynamiques internes sous-tendant un jeu politique interne multiforme ? La présente étude est une analyse multi-niveau à travers une lecture historique et sociologique du groupe…

WORKING PAPERS

Les Dimensions Émotionnelles du Terrorisme

Quel(s) rôle(s) pour les émotions et dynamiques affectuelles dans les processus de radicalisation violente et d’engagement individuel dans le terrorisme ? Par une volonté louable de rompre avec les approches psychologisantes pour ne pas dire pathologisantes du terrorisme qui prévalaient au cours des décennies 1960-70, les recherches contemporaines en matière de terrorisme(s) et de violence(s)…

WORKING PAPERS

Le projet de loi antiterroriste canadien: une sélection sécuritaire

Comment les parlementaires canadiens ont-ils défini le problème du terrorisme dans le cadre des débats sur le projet de loi antiterroriste canadien (C-36), qui ont eu lieu du 15 octobre 2001 au 18 décembre 2001? Quels impacts ces différentes constructions discursives ont-elles eus sur les solutions préconisées par les parlementaires et celles adoptées dans le…

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Submit your research to TSAS for publication

Research Briefs: Research Briefs are invited submissions from TSAS grant recipients only. We do not accept unsolicited submissions to this series at this time.

Research Reports: TSAS welcomes submissions of evidence-based, policy-relevant scholarly analyses on topics related to terrorism, security, and society, broadly defined, that touch on Canada, Canadian issues in comparative context, or global issues of interest to a Canadian audience. Research Reports are 5000-8000 words. At this time, we only accept submissions from current TSAS affiliates. Please contact us for detailed information on submitting your manuscript.

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