By Vicky Mei , Felix Owusu, Sam Quinney, Anita Ravishankar, Daniel Sebastian 

In response to the increase in violent crime and specifically gun crime in Winston-Salem, the Winston-Salem Police Department (WSPD) established a crime gun intelligence center. The WSPD Crime Gun Intelligence Center activities were supported by the Fiscal Year 2019 Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance. To meet the requirements under this grant, the WSPD CGIC Initiative was created. This initiative has been supported by a cohesive infrastructure that includes technology, specialized investigation, ballistic evidence collection & processing, and partnership with external agencies. The majority of these initiative components resulted from WSPD’s CGIC Strategic Action Plan, which created an actionable design for implementing key CGIC elements. The Strategic Action Plan included establishing policies and procedures, additional training information sharing, and new personnel. The Strategic Action Plan was reviewed and approved by an external team of training and technical assistance providers who partner with the Bureau of Justice Assistance. During the grant period, progress was monitored through monthly meetings attended by WSPD personnel and team members from the technical assistance providers. This report provides a chronological narrative of the grant-funded WSPD CGIC Initiative along with data and statistics relevant to the project. All CGIC data and statistics were collected and maintained by WSPD’s crime analyst assigned to this project. The original project period for this grant was October 2019 through September 2022. The site visit from technical assistance providers for developing the Strategic Action Plan and the procurement of a gunshot detection system (per federal and local procurement requirements) took several months. Because of this, the tracking of statistics was not able to begin until August 2021 when the project was fully operational. Furthermore, because several performance metrics had not been tracked before the awarding of this grant, and therefore pre-award and post-award data was not available for those metrics. Among the key findings in this report are: • Consistent performance measurement. The recommendations addressed in the Strategic Action Plan, along with the required tracking and reporting of performance metrics necessitated the need to track and capture data, which gave WSPD opportunities to re-examine its approach to gun violence based on this data. Metrics in this analysis report will allow the Department to continue revising and developing policies and procedures that will enhance gun violence reduction efforts. • Improved case load summaries and overall investigation. The CGIC Initiative has created a more streamlined and cohesive approach to incident response, investigation, and the possible prosecution of offenders. This grant has allowed additional technology, regular intelligence sharing with external partners, and additional personnel dedicated to all aspects of this initiative, including investigative work, administration, and the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). With additional personnel  dedicated to NIBIN activities, WSPD has had consistently high percentages of NIBIN acquisitions within 10 days of the offense. Between January 2020 and September 2023, 38 of the 86 months reported 80% or higher for acquisitions entered within the 10-day mark. • Benefits from the use of a gunshot detection system. WSPD has been using ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology since August 2021. Performance data shows multiple benefits from the use of this technology: ▫ Enhanced response. Dispatch delay was significantly less with ShotSpotter alerts compared to Priority 2 calls. Dispatch delay for ShotSpotter alerts averaged only 3.85 minutes, compared to 10.7 minutes with Priority 2 Calls. Officer travel time for ShotSpotter alerts was faster, averaging 6.25 minutes compared to 9.08 minutes with Priority 2 calls. An average of 44.4 minutes were spent by officers at crime scenes generated by ShotSpotter, compared to 37.10 minutes spent at crime scenes prompted by Priority 2 calls. ▫ Increase in reported gunshot incidents. The majority of gunshot incident responses within the ShotSpotter coverage area were initiated from ShotSpotter alerts versus citizen 911 calls. Of the 3,014 ShotSpotter alerts between August 2021 and September 2023, only 644 of these alerts were also reported via citizen 911 calls. To put this data into percentages, only 21.4% of the ShotSpotter alerts between August 2021 and September 2023 also had citizen 911 calls. ▫ Increase in evidence collection & NIBIN Leads. ShotSpotter’s technology of “pointing” to where shots are fired has made it easier to locate ballistic evidence. The increase in evidence collection is also a result of a more thorough processing of crime scenes. The increase in evidence collection also resulted in more NIBIN leads and connecting incidents that would not have been linked without the evidence. ▫ Lives saved. In two instances, had the ShotSpotter system not alerted law enforcement to the shooting, the victims would most likely have died, since neither of these incidents were reported by citizen 911 calls. When officers responded to the ShotSpotter alerts, they were able to render aid and request EMS, which ensured both victims were transported to a local hospital, where the person was treated for (and survived) life-threatening injuries. ▫ Community Engagement is a fundamental tenet within the guiding philosophy of the Winston-Salem Police Department. WSPD actively encourages the community’s involvement in addressing the prevalent issue of violence. Under the CGIC Initiative, the Department has embraced a multifaceted approach that implements various technologies and establishes numerous avenues for community involvement in combating crime. With the integration of ShotSpotter, officers are now promptly informed of gunfire in the coverage area, which means a significant increase in police responsiveness, approximately 80% more responses than before. Consequently, residents who may have hesitated to report gunfire are witnessing a greater police presence each time such incidents are detected. Moreover, officers, upon response, are actively engaging with residents by exiting their vehicles and initiating discussions about the incidents. This approach has led to a notable upswing in positive police-citizen interactions during times of heightened gun violence in the community. ▫ Cost Benefits. A 2022 report presented to Winston-Salem City Council estimated the use of the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system may save the community between $5 million and $8 million annually. This is based on an annual implementation cost of $230,000 - $350,000. Based on these estimates, savings would be a return of between $15 and $25 for each dollar spent. (A cost savings analysis has not yet been completed for 2023.)   

Washington DC:  The Lab @ DC, Office of the City Administrator, 2019. 67p.

By Matteo Vergani,  Angelique Stefanopoulos, Alexandra Lee, Haily Tran, Imogen Richards, Dan Goodhardt, Greg Barton

Bias indicators – that is, facts, circumstances, or patterns that suggest that an act was motivated in whole or in part by bias – can be a useful tool for stakeholders working on tackling hate crimes. Government and non-government agencies can use them to improve and standardise data collection around hate crimes, which can have a cascade of positive effects. For example, they can help to demonstrate in court the prejudice motivation of a crime – and we know that this is often hard in Australia, because the legislation has a very high threshold of proving hateful motivation. They can also improve the precision of measurements of the prevalence of hate crimes in communities, which is necessary for planning appropriate mitigation policies and programmes and for assessing their impact. Bias indicators can also be useful for non-government organisations to make sure that their data collection and research is reliable, consistent and a powerful tool for advocacy and education. We acknowledge that bias indicators can be misused: for example, our lists are not to be read as exhaustive, and users should take them as examples only. Also, incidents can present bias indicators from multiple lists, and coders should not stop at trying to code the incident as targeting one identity only. Importantly, our bias indicators lists should not be used by practitioners to make an assessment of whether an incident is bias motivated or not. The absence of bias indicators does not mean that an incident is not hate motivated – if a victim or a witness perceives that there was a prejudice-motivation. At the same time, the presence of a bias indicator does not necessarily demonstrate that an incident is bias motivated (as the term ‘indicator’ implies). Ultimately, a judge will make this decision. In the Australian context, we are proposing that bias indicators should be used to support data collection, and to make sure that all potentially useful evidence is collected when an incident is reported. This report is structured in two parts: in Part 1, we introduce and discuss the concept of bias indicators, including their uses, benefits, and risks. In Part 2, we present a general list of bias indicators (which might be used to code a hate  motivated incident), followed by discrete lists of bias indicators for specific target identities. We also present a separate list for online bias indicators, which might apply to one or more target identities. We are keen to engage with government and non-government agencies that plan to use bias indicators and find this report useful. We welcome opportunities to share additional insights from our research on how 

Melbourne: Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies. 2022. 40p.

By Maria Cleary, David O’Loughlin, Rebecca Higgins, and Jessica Nolan.

Executive Summary This report examines the attitudes of employers in Ireland to hiring people with convictions(s) (PWCs) and the experiences of PWCs in employment. Employment remains a key protective factor on the desistance journey and supports the development of an inclusive, fair, and equal society (Carr et al., 2015; Healy, 2017; Reich, 2017). Successful reintegration can partially be measured by employment outcomes for PWCs (Ramakers, 2021). There is evidence that employers are broadly open to hiring PWCs, but raise concerns based on perceptions of risk in doing so. The absence of guidance and uncertainty about evidence-based approaches and legal requirements leads to inconsistent policies and practices while PWCs continue to face intersecting barriers to employment and reintegration. This report draws on a multi-method study of employers’ attitudes to hiring PWCs and experiences of employment pathways for PWCs, comprised of a survey (n = 55), interviews (n = 23), and a participatory symposium of key stakeholders in the summer of 2023. The report presents 10 recommendations based on the key findings listed below. – Perceptions of risk without an evidence base underpinned employer concerns about hiring PWCs including but not limited to safeguarding, reputational damage, reoffending, personality, qualifications, job performance, and lack of support. – Opportunities for progress emerged, with employers broadly willing to hire PWCs, but seeking guidance, information, and support to do so. – Half of the survey participants did not have specific policies or practices that require disclosure of criminal convictions but Garda Vetting and GDPR requirements are not clearly understood by all employer participants or PWCs. – Persistent barriers to employment for PWCs include stigma, lack of transparency in hiring processes, demands on resilience, motivation and desistance, and narrowing job opportunities. – The imperative of shifting mindsets from moral censure to inclusive policies and practices was highlighted, with the need for clear communication and messaging

Dublin: Irish Penal Reform Trust, 2024.  48p.

By Program on Extremism staff, including Lorenzo Vidino, Lara Burns, Sergio Altuna, Rosa Cabus, Cynthia Martinez and Jake Gilstrap.

The Islamic Republic of Iran and its network of proxies (often identified as Axis of Resistance) have a long history of activities targeting the United States, as opposing America constitutes one of their foundational dogmas. Said activities range from influence operations and propaganda to terrorist and military attacks. Tensions between the two sides have substantially escalated in the wake of the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel and the conflict that followed making an assessment of these activities and their possible future developments highly relevant. While most of the anti-American activities by Iran and its proxies have been carried out in the greater Middle East, some of them have taken place inside America. Iran and its proxies have, in fact, been operating inside the United States for decades, engaging in a broad array of nefarious activities that can be divided into three main categories: lethal operations, procurement and propaganda.

• Lethal operations:

  • Iran has a history of carrying out assassinations inside America that dates back to 1980, when it commissioned the assassination of an Iranian dissident in Bethesda, MD.

  • While in recent years dissidents have been targeted with increasing frequency, Iran has also escalated its target selection by including US-based foreign diplomats and, even more brazenly, high ranking US officials.

  • Most of these plots appear to have been outsourced to hired guns, a choice largely dictated by necessity, but that also offers the Iranian regime the advantage of plausible deniability. The proxies so far used by Tehran to carry out assassinations inside the US have tended to be elements who were not ideologically aligned (mostly from the criminal underworld) and who displayed relatively low levels of professionalism.

• Procurement: Iranian-linked networks have also been active on American soil for decades to procure sensitive goods (high- tech equipment, dual-use tech, software, etc.), and conduct financial activities in violation of US sanctions. Schemes used have at times been very elaborate, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.

• Propaganda: America is home to a broad web  of entities (mosques, Islamic centers, schools, student groups) and individuals with close personal, financial, organizational, and ideological links to the Iranian regime and its proxies. They spread Iran’s religious and political worldview, glorifying the regime and its allies, undermining America and disseminating antisemitic views.

  • The New York-based Alavi Foundation is arguably the most prolific actor in the spread of Iranian regime influence in the United States. With its multimillion-dollar budget, it either directly owns or funds through grants, no-interest loans, and donations a broad array of mosques and entities nationwide that disseminate Tehran’s viewpoint. In 2008, the Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint against Alavi, arguing that it “secretly served as a front for the Iranian government and as a gateway for millions of dollars to be funneled to Iran in clear violation of U.S. sanctions laws.” In 2017, a jury found Alavi guilty, but the judgment was overturned by the appellate court due to procedural errors in the district court’s rulings. The legal battle is ongoing.

  • This report identified more than a dozen organizations that disseminate pro- Iranian regime and pro-Hezbollah viewpoints and operate schools and mosques nationwide that host radical preachers who weave anti-US and antisemitic sentiments throughout their teachings. Some of the most important ones are based in Houston, New York and Potomac, Maryland. Additionally, Dearborn, Michigan is a particularly important hub, as it hosts several prominent institutions disseminating Tehran’s worldview.

  • Many of the key individuals behind this web of entities maintain close connections to the Iranian regime, frequently traveling to Iran and actively participating in Iranian soft power organizations like Ahlul Bayt World Assembly and Al-Mustafa International University.

  • Many of the Iran-aligned institutions identified in the report host events like commemorations of the anniversary of the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the anniversary of the death of Iran’s first post-revolution Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini; ceremonies memorializing the lives of IRGC-Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani and Hezbollah spiritual leader Hussein Fadlallah; and Quds Day, a day of protest against Israel declared by Khomeini in 1979 and commemorated the last Friday of every Ramadan.

  • Particularly troubling is the presence in the suburbs of various American cities of Islamic schools—some of which receiving state funding—that teach the Iranian regime’s interpretation of Islam and political worldview to scores of American children.

US authorities have repeatedly highlighted that “Iran typically relies on individuals with preexisting access to the United States for surveillance and lethal plotting” and, similarly, that “the arrests of individuals in the United States allegedly linked to Hezbollah's main overseas terrorist arm and their intelligence collection and procurement efforts demonstrate Hezbollah's interest in long-term contingency planning activities here in our homeland.” In substance, the possibility that Iran and its proxies could mobilize known and trusted assets based in the US rather than hired guns to carry out some kind of violent action in the future is a concrete one. In light of these dynamics, procurement and propaganda networks should be seen as natural recruitment pools for Iranian security apparatuses and their proxies seeking to plan attacks. Hezbollah is the oldest and most established of Iran’s proxies. It has long operated in the US, and Program on Extremism research has identified 142 US- based individuals who have been prosecuted for Hezbollah-related activities since 2000. Most individuals provided financial assistance to the group as money launderers/ bundlers/fraudsters and goods smugglers. About 13% of the prosecutions related to individuals who provided operational support as human smugglers, weapons procurers, and surveillance operatives. Clusters of friends or family members, some of them based out of Michigan, New York, California and North Carolina, play a central role in Hezbollah’s activities in the United States, particularly in fundraising operations. Iran and its proxies are also active in Canada and many Latin American countries. Exactly as in the US, their activities in those countries range from the creation of extensive propaganda centers to networks engaged in procurement and other financial activities and, occasionally, terrorist attacks (most recently, Brazil thwarted an alleged Hezbollah attack against Jewish targets in 2023). Many Latin American countries constitute a highly permissive environment that allows Tehran and its proxies to operate almost undisturbed. This dynamic poses a security challenge, not just to those countries, but also to the United States, given their geographical proximity. Given the heightened geopolitical tensions that have followed the October 7, 2023 attacks and Iran’s unrelenting commitment to highly adversarial positions towards the United States, an in-depth understanding of its networks inside the US and throughout the Western Hemisphere is of paramount importance. This required awareness applies not just to actors who are directly engaged in violent actions, but also to procurement and propaganda networks, as they not only serve useful roles for Tehran in and of itself, but can also potentially be utilized to support or carry out attacks.


Washington, DC: Program on Extremism at George Washington University,2024. 126p.

By Stuart Wexler,  Jon Lewis,  Jessa Mellea,  M.B. Tyler

This report traces the evolution of the Christian Identity milieu in the United States. From its origins in 19th-century Great Britain through its subsequent transnational spread, the Christian Identity movement has long enjoyed a small but fanatical following within the American far right. A racist and antisemitic theology whose followers believe that white people are God’s chosen ones, the Christian Identity ideology has long influenced a wide range of white supremacist and anti-government extremist movements in the United States.[1] Christian Identity militants have engaged in terrorist violence since at least the late 1950s, working under the idea that God will endorse an end-times racial holy war against “demonic” Jews and the sub-human minority groups they have manipulated for centuries.[2] In contextualizing the Christian Identity movement within the broader domestic violent extremist landscape, this report finds that Christian Identity militants often sought to downplay their apocalyptic, genocidal goals to infiltrate, appropriate, and influence more “mainstream” religious extremists, enabling individuals like white Christian nationalists to engage in provocative acts of dangerous violence. In assessing this movement, this report examines the prevalence of two well-worn tactics used by Christian Identity extremists — propaganda of the deed and entryism — and offers a new strategy of necessity evidenced by the movement: co-optive extremism. Through this effort, this report argues that Christian Identity extremists are likely to attempt co-optive extremism to manipulate or provoke larger and more robust (but less outwardly violent) groups, such as militant, white Christian nationalists, into potential acts of mass violence. It also explores the modern strands of Christian Identity ideology that has emerged in a range of domestic extremist movements and ideologies as a result of the mainstreaming of antisemitism within this ecosystem.    

Washington DC:  Program on Extremism at George Washington University, 2024. 37p.

By Jill Rutter and Sunder Katwala, British Future; Andrew Dixon and Jamie Scudamore, Belong; Emeka Forbes and Brendan Cox, Together.  

Trying to move on from the violent disorder without addressing its causes or putting in place the foundations to address them, the publication says, could “risk recurring episodes of the kind of disturbances we have seen, and increased polarisation and social conflict in future.” Instead, “Central government needs to provide leadership and a policy strategy, empowering local stakeholders to take action,” with a national social cohesion strategy and resources supporting and empowering local strategies from councils. The report includes recommendations for increasing social contact between people from different backgrounds in communities; piloting restorative justice programmes; pressuring social media companies to tackle hate speech and mis/disinformation and helping children to identify misinformation; and ensuring that asylum accommodation does not become a focus for community grievances. 

London: British Future, Belong and Together, 2024. 16p.

MAY COTAIN MARKUP

By Victor Turner

Symbolism in Rituals:Turner emphasizes that symbols are the smallest units of ritual, each carrying multiple meanings and associations. These symbols are integral to the rituals, which are frequent and vital in Ndembu life.

Properties of Ritual Symbols:oSymbols possess three main properties: condensation (multiple meanings in one symbol), unification of disparate significata (linking diverse ideas), and polarization of meaning (ideological and sensory poles).oDominant symbols, such as the mudyi (milk tree) and mukula tree, recur in various contexts and represent core values and beliefs.

Examples of Dominant Symbols:Mudyi Tree: Central to the girls puberty ritual, symbolizing motherhood,matriliny, and tribal unity. Mukula Tree: Associated with blood, masculinity, and hunting prowess, used in circumcision and hunting rituals. Chikoli Tree: Represents strength and masculinity, used in boys circumcision rituals.

Optional and Positional Meanings:oOperational meaning is derived from how symbols are used in rituals,revealing social dynamics and conflicts.oPositional meaning comes from the symbol’s relationship to other symbols within the ritual, determining its specific sense in different contexts.

Rituals of Affliction and Life-Crisis Rituals:oRituals of Affliction: Aim to propitiate ancestor spirits causing misfortune,involving public confessions and symbolic acts to restore harmony.

Life-Crisis Rituals: Mark significant transitions in an individual’s life, such as birth, puberty, and death, emphasizing social and moral order.6.Color Symbolism.

The Forest of Symbols”provides a comprehensive analysis of Ndembu rituals, illustrating the intricate interplay between symbols, social structure, and individual experience.Turner’s work underscores the importance of understanding the multifaceted meanings of symbols to grasp the full significance of ritual practices in Ndembu society. This book is crucial contribution to the fields of anthropology and religious studies, offering deep insights into the symbolic dimensions of human culture.

Cornell University Press, 1967, 405 pages

By Russell L. Ackoff

"The Design of Social Research" outlines the principles and methodologies essential for conducting social research. It begins by defining methodologically designed research and emphasizes the importance of formulating clear research problems. The text discusses the idealized research model and practical research design, focusing on sampling techniques and the logic behind statistical procedures. It covers hypothesis testing, including analysis of variance and covariance, and the observational and operational phases of research design. The document also highlights the significance of methodological rigor in research,suggesting methods for evaluating operational specifications through pilot studies andpretests. Overall, it serves as a comprehensive guide for researchers to design effective studies, ensuring that their findings are valid and reliable.

University of Chicago Press, 1953, 420 pages

By Sara Rahman and Nadia Chronopoulos Theore

The Magistrates’ Early Referral into Treatment (MERIT) program is a voluntary, pre-plea program for adults in 62 NSW Local Courts. Participants have their court matters deferred for 12 weeks while they undergo drug and/or alcohol treatment. The program aims to improve participant health and reduce their risk of reoffending. It may also help participants demonstrate their potential for rehabilitation before sentencing.

We use justice, mortality, emergency department, hospital admissions, and ambulance data for 9,874 court appearances involving a MERIT referral and 322,711 court appearances for eligible defendants not referred to MERIT between 2012 and 2017. We then compare the outcomes for a matched group of MERIT and non-MERIT defendants against the cost of MERIT staffing, administration, and outpatient treatment in 2019 dollars.

Key findings

Figure 1 shows our estimates of the average costs and benefits in the two years after referral to the program. Our findings estimate the key benefits of a referral to MERIT to include:

• $4,552 in avoided prison costs over two years, from those referred to MERIT spending 22 fewer days in custody than those not referred to MERIT

• $1,185 in avoided community corrections costs and $1,069 in avoided victim costs, from those referred to MERIT committing 0.32 fewer reoffences in the first year after referral compared to those not referred to the program

• $116 in additional ambulance and emergency department costs.

Comparing these benefits to the estimated cost of MERIT of $6,339, the program results in a net present value of $887, equivalent to a return of $1.14 per dollar spent on the program. These results are robust to choices of discount rate and uncertainty in our statistical estimates.

• Publication series: Crime and justice bulletin. no. 266

Sydney:  NSW BUREAU OF CRIME STATISTICS AND RESEARCH -2024. 40p.

By Kate Holland, Kieran McGuinness, Kerry McCallum

This report documents findings and recommendations from the ‘Understanding Gambling Harms in the Digital Age’ research project (2022-2024) funded by the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission’s Harm Prevention and Mitigation Fund. The research aimed to explore community knowledge and awareness of gambling harms and to develop an evidence base for public communication strategies to inform the Commission’s work in educating the public about gambling harm. 

Structure of the report
Section 2 reviews contemporary national and international research on gambling harm and the shift from what has been a focus on ‘problem gambling’ and ‘problem gamblers’ as the evidence base for the harmful effects of gambling, to a public health approach that recognises the full spectrum of gambling harms within the community. This includes any negative outcomes of gambling behaviour impacting on financial, relationship, health, emotional, work, cultural or criminal circumstances of the gambler or those associated with the gambler. The report discusses evidence regarding the prevalence and types of harms of different modes of gambling, attitudes and beliefs about gambling and gambling harm, gambling advertising and different harm prevention and communication strategies.Sections 3 and 4 focus on the research findings which show many participants view gambling as harmful to the community but they also recognise that gambling is a normalised activity and part of everyday life, work, social and family relationships for many people. Many believe gambling advertising normalises gambling as a fun and social activity and support further restrictions in this area. Participants tend to associate harm from gambling with financial and relationship harms, extreme consequences and addiction. Stereotypes about who experiences gambling harm were evident and stigma was seen as a barrier that may prevent people from recognising harm, talking about it and seeking help. Section 5 of the report details findings of the final phase of the research, which involved developing and testing messages about gambling harm based on findings from earlier research phases. The themes ‘gambling harm can affect anyone’ and ‘gambling products, services and advertising are designed to keep you spending’ had the most engagement, resonance and impact with focus group participants. We discuss elements of gambling harm messages that worked and why. The final section of the report synthetises the research findings and provides 10 recommendations and advice on messaging content, design and implementation to assist the Commission in its efforts to reduce gambling harm through public health communication and education activities.

Canberra: University of Canberra, 2024.

By Katie Lazaro with Luigi De Martino, Olivia Denonville, Nathalie Fauvarque, Nicolas Florquin, and Lionel Kosirnik, with inputs from Small Arms Survey staff members and consultants.

The year 2023 was significant for a number of reasons. It saw the conclusion of Daniel de Torres’ successful stewardship as director of the Small Arms Survey, and so we thank him for his dedicated service to the Survey over the last four years. This year also marked the final year of the Survey’s five-year strategy and the completion of significant projects such as Strengthening Implementation and Enforcement of the Arms Embargo on North Korea, as well as the announcement of Mark Downes' appointment as the Survey’s new director.  For the Survey, it was a year underlined by innovation, with in-depth regional studies on the socio-economic costs of armed violence in the Caribbean, the trafficking of improvised explosive device components in West Africa, and arms proliferation in Afghanistan, as well as an update to the Global Violent Deaths database. More worryingly for the arms control and armed violence reduction agendas, 2023 saw the reversal of progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 16.1. With increases in conflict-related deaths around the world (including in occupied Palestinian territory, Sudan, and Ukraine), ongoing challenges to real-world implementation of legal arms control measures designed to prevent gender-based violence in parts of Latin America, and the ever-increasing threat of privately made firearms—ranging from artisanal weapons to 3D printed firearms—this past year could be described as a turning point for our agenda.

Geneva, SWIT: Small Arms Survey, 2024. 23p.

By André Brock, Jr.

From BlackPlanet to #BlackGirlMagic, Distributed Blackness places Blackness at the very center of internet culture. André Brock Jr. claims issues of race and ethnicity as inextricable from and formative of contemporary digital culture in the United States. Distributed Blackness analyzes a host of platforms and practices (from Black Twitter to Instagram, YouTube, and app development) to trace how digital media have reconfigured the meanings and performances of African American identity. Brock moves beyond widely circulated deficit models of respectability, bringing together discourse analysis with a close reading of technological interfaces to develop nuanced arguments about how “Blackness” gets worked out in various technological domains.

As Brock demonstrates, there’s nothing niche or subcultural about expressions of Blackness on social media: internet use and practice now set the terms for what constitutes normative participation. Drawing on critical race theory, linguistics, rhetoric, information studies, and science and technology studies, Brock tabs between Black-dominated technologies, websites, and social media to build a set of Black beliefs about technology. In explaining Black relationships with and alongside technology, Brock centers the unique joy and sense of community in being Black online now.

New York: NYU Press, 2020 266p.

May Contain Markup

By Carol J. Adams

Feminist-Vegetarian Connection: The book explores the interconnections between feminism and vegetarianism, arguing that both movements challenge patriarchal structures and the oppression of animals and women.

Patriarchal Culture: It discusses how patriarchal culture authorizes the eating of animals and links this to male dominance and control.

Historical Context: The book provides a historical analysis of vegetarianism and its ties to feminist movements, particularly from the1790s to the present.

Cultural Critique: It critiques how meat consumption is embedded in cultural norms and language, reinforcing gender roles and violence.

Continuum, 2000, 256 pages

May Contain Markup

By Samuel E. Wallace

Two Ways of Living: The document contrasts two lifestyles within the economic system: one bound by societal obligations and the other, amore carefree, nomadic existence.

Skid Row Research: The author conducted extensive research on skidrow, including participant observation and interviews, to understand the community's way of life.

Historical Context: Skid row has been a subject of study for over a century, with numerous empirical studies, biographies, and programmatic statements documenting its existence and the lives of its inhabitants.

References: The document contains many references to previous studies, reports, and literature on skid row and related topics.

Bedminster Press, 1965, 219 pages

By Pamela G. Faber, Megan K. McBride, Sarah Fusco, and Cheryl B. Rosenblum

The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the wide-ranging disruption that nontraditional threats such as pandemics can have on the US economy, military, diplomatic corps, and national security apparatus. The US, its partners, and its competitors have tried to curb the spread of the virus by closing schools, workplaces, social gathering spots, and borders. Militaries have scaled back operations, postponed exercises, and curtailed engagements. Economic futures remain uncertain. Low‑income workers in industrialized countries have been disproportionately affected by rolling shutdowns and stay-at-home orders, and wealth inequality is increasing. Social interactions, such as religious gatherings, family celebrations, athletic activities, and concerts have been forced online or suspended. For many, extended periods of isolation and loneliness are a hidden side effect of the virus, with experts predicting a mental health crisis to come. Although the vaccine rollout is underway in many parts of the world, it will be many more months—possibly years—before the entire global population is vaccinated and a return to “normal” becomes possible. The pandemic, moreover, has affected both violent extremist organization (VEO) operations and US capacity to conduct counterterrorism (CT)  intelligence gathering, analysis, and activities. It has increased global instability—political, economic, and social—which will almost certainly benefit terrorist and extremist groups. Jihadi movements such as ISIS and far-right groups such as the Russian Imperial Movement thrive in environments of uncertainty and chaos. COVID-19 has contributed to instability and expanded opportunities for VEOs to recruit and operate. Accordingly, there has been an observable uptick in VEO activity in places such as sub-Saharan Africa, West Africa, Iraq, and Syria; in addition, movements such as ISIS and Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) have adjusted their rhetoric by claiming that the virus is divine punishment for unbelievers. In the US, citizen frustration with COVID-19 mitigation efforts drove (thwarted) attacks against public officials in New Mexico, a hospital in Missouri, and police headquarters in Orlando, Florida, and extremists have also encouraged followers to disrupt National Guard activities. In addition to COVID-related violence in the US, rising political unrest, including the January 6, 2021, storming of the US Capitol, has drawn attention to domestic security issues.

Arlington, VA: CNA, 2021. 26p.

By Olivia Brown , Laura G. E. Smith, Brittany I. Davidson, Daniel Racek, and Adam Joinson

Psychological theories of mobilization tend to focus on explaining people’s motivations for action, rather than mobilization (“activation”) processes. To investigate the online behaviors associated with mobilization, we compared the online communications data of 26 people who subsequently mobilized to right-wing extremist action and 48 people who held similar extremist views but did not mobilize (N = 119,473 social media posts). In a three-part analysis, involving content analysis (Part 1), topic modeling (Part 2), and machine learning (Part 3), we showed that communicating ideological or hateful content was not related to mobilization, but rather mobilization was positively related to talking about violent action, operational planning, and logistics. Our findings imply that to explain mobilization to extremist action, rather than the motivations for action, theories of collective action should extend beyond how individuals express grievances and anger, to how they equip themselves with the “know-how” and capability to act.  

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 1–20, 2024.  

By Sarah J. Jackson

Shifting understandings and ongoing conversations about race, celebrity, and protest in the twenty-first century call for a closer examination of the evolution of dissent by black celebrities and their reception in the public sphere. This book focuses on the way the mainstream and black press have covered cases of controversial political dissent by African American celebrities from Paul Robeson to Kanye West. Jackson considers the following questions: 1) What unique agency is available to celebrities with racialized identities to present critiques of American culture? 2) How have journalists in both the mainstream and black press limited or facilitated this agency through framing? What does this say about the varying role of journalism in American racial politics? 3) How have framing trends regarding these figures shifted from the mid-twentieth century to the twenty-first century? Through a series of case studies that also includes Eartha Kitt, Sister Souljah, and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Jackson illustrates the shifting public narratives and historical moments that both limit and enable African American celebrities in the wake of making public politicized statements that critique the accepted racial, economic, and military systems in the United States.

New York; London: Routledge, 2014. 218p.

By Katie N. Johnson

The early drama of Eugene O’Neill, with its emphasis on racial themes and conflicts, opened up extraordinary opportunities for Black performers to challenge racist structures in modern theater and cinema. By adapting O’Neill’s dramatic writing—changing scripts to omit offensive epithets, inserting African American music and dance, or including citations of Black internationalism--theater artists of color have used O’Neill’s texts to raze barriers in American and transatlantic theater. Challenging the widely accepted idea that Broadway was the white-hot creative engine of U.S. theater during the early 20th century, author Katie N. Johnson reveals a far more complex system of exchanges between the Broadway establishment and a vibrant Black theater scene in New York and beyond to chart a new history of American and transnational theater.  In spite of their dichotomous (and at times problematic) representation of Blackness, O’Neill’s plays such as The Emperor Jones and All God’s Chillun Got Wings make ideal case studies because of the way these works stimulated traffic between Broadway and Harlem—and between white and Black America. These investigations of O’Neill and Broadway productions are enriched by the vibrant transnational exchange found in early to mid-20th century artistic production. Anchored in archival research, Racing the Great White Way recovers not only vital lost performance histories, but also the layered contexts for performing bodies across the Black Atlantic and the Circum-Atlantic.

Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2923.  271p.

By Nick Gill, Nicole Hoellerer, Jessica Hambly, Daniel Fisher

Appeals are a crucial part of Europe’s asylum system but they remain poorly understood. Building on insights and perspectives from legal geography and socio-legal studies, this book shines a light on what takes place during asylum appeals and puts forward suggestions for improving their fairness and accessibility. Drawing on hundreds of ethnographic observations of appeal hearings, as well as research interviews, the authors paint a detailed picture of the limitations of refugee protection available through asylum appeals. Refugee law can appear dependable and reliable in policy documents and legal texts. However, this work reveals that, in reality, myriad social, political, psychological, linguistic, contextual and economic factors interfere with and frequently confound the protection that refugee law promises during its concrete enactment. Drawing on evidence from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom, the book equips readers with a clear sense of the fragility of legal protection for people forced to migrate to Europe. The book will appeal to scholars of migration studies, legal studies, legal geography and the social sciences generally, as well as practitioners in asylum law throughout Europe and beyond.

Oxford: New York: Routledge, 2024.

Edited by Dunkel, Mario and Schiller, Melanie

This book focuses on the role of popular music in the rise of populism in Europe, centring on the music-related processes of sociocultural normalisation and the increasing prevalence of populist discourses in contemporary society. In its innovative combination of approaches drawing from (ethno)musicology, sociology, and political science, as well as media and cultural studies, this book develops a culture-oriented approach to populism. Based on shared research questions, an original theoretical framework and a combination of innovative methodologies that pay attention to the specific socio-historical contexts, taking into account musical material as well as processes of reception, the five chapters in this volume offer detailed analyses of the nexus of popular music and populism in Hungary, Italy, Austria, Sweden and Germany. All of these countries have seen a marked increase in populist parties and discourses over the last years, as well as significant interactions between populism and popular music. This book will be essential reading for those investigating popular music as a crucial aspect in the study of populism as a cultural phenomenon in Europe. 

London; New York: Routledge, 202