Our Project
Back in October 2019, Dr. Hazel Atuel and Dr. Carl Castro were awarded a three-year, $1.6 million grant by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). Their research will focus on how extremist views grow within military members and veterans, ultimately informing the development of an assessment tool to identify former military service members who are at risk for engaging with homegrown violent extremism. This is the first such study focused specifically on military veterans funded by NIJ. The study is looking to have an impact on three specific areas including helping veterans transition, spotting risk factors, and understanding radicalization.
The USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families (CIR)
The USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families (CIR) conducts and disseminates educational and behavioral health research relevant to the long-term health and well-being of service members, veterans, and their families. Our approach includes identifying critical and emerging issues and fostering collaboration among our faculty and other experts who share a commitment to improving programs and policies that serve those who have served us. Statistics reveal the harrowing after-effects of war. Returning service members face everything from post-traumatic stress disorder, marital problems, traumatic brain injury, and/or substance abuse, among other challenges. Real research leads to real, evidence-based solutions. And with more and more service members returning to their families and communities every day, the time for solutions is now.
The Military and Veterans Programs (MVP)
The mission of the Military and Veterans Programs (MVP) at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work is to advance the health and wellbeing of our nation’s service members, veterans, and their families through innovations in research, education, and community engagement.
Common Terms and Definitions…
Radicalization
As defined by the European Commission, “radicalization can be understood a phased and complex process in which an individual or a group embraces a radical ideology or belief that accepts, uses or condones violence, including acts of terrorism […] to reach a specific political or ideological purpose. While radicalization is not a new phenomenon, the trends, means, and patterns of radicalization evolved. Home-grown lone actors and (returning) foreign terrorist fighters raise security issues and specific challenges for preventative work, while the Internet and social media gave extremist and terrorist groups and their sympathizers new opportunities for mobilization and communication.”
Homegrown Violent Extremism (HVE)
Homegrown Violent Extremism (HVE) is a terrorist act within the context of ideologically motivated violence or plots, perpetrated within the United States or abroad by American citizens, residents or visitors, who have embraced their legitimizing extremist ideology within the United States.
Right-Wing Extremism and White Supremacy
Right-wing extremism and White Supremacy are movements that refer to the use or threat of violence by sub-national or non-state entities whose goals can include racial or ethnic supremacy. The main focus of these groups can include targeting and subjugating government authority, women, the incel movement, liberalism, LGBTQ+ people, racial minorities. Government policies, like abortion, can also be part of their grievances. This list of targeted groups and policies is not all-encompassing.
Radical Islam
Radical Islam can be thought of as a historical, socio-economic, political, and cultural movement that perceives Islam as a religion, a revolutionary political ideology, and a nation-state. Radical Islam is created when there is intent or follow-through to violently undermine and transform the status quo or order of unbelief and injustice into a utopian one of faith (iman) and equality. These terms are associated with radical transformation or destroying and tearing up a system through violent Jihads and replacing it with an alternative Islamic system based on Islamic law (shari’a) and that utilizes the Qur’an and Prophetic traditions (sunnah) as referential frameworks.
Black Nationalism
The Black Nationalist movement is a reactionary movement to centuries of institutionalized White Supremacy in America. Black Nationalists believe the answer to White racism is to form separate institutions—or even a separate nation—for Black people. This idea can be a driving force behind the violent actions carried out by Black Nationalists. Most forms of Black separatism are anti-White, anti-Semitic, and anti-LGBTQ.
Anti-Government Extremism
The term “anti-government extremism” can be used generically to refer to any fringe movement with an antipathy towards the government, or even the idea of government itself. In the United States, the term is usually used to describe a specific set of right-wing extremist groups and their corresponding movements. Anti-Government groups are operating on the assumption that part or all of the U.S. government has been taken over by a conspiracy, is therefore not legitimate, and should cease to exist.
Who are the people associated with HVE?
Lone Wolf
A person who acts on his or her own accord without connections to or orders from a similarly aligned organization. Lone Wolves are harder to track because there is less chance of leakage or group breakdown. Conversely, it is also harder for them to pull off an attack because it is based solely on their motive, plan, and abilities.
Dyad
Dyads are a group of two people that are working in conjunction to carry out the same task. This group formation is seen in couples who are romantically involved, or with a pair of very close friends. A dyad is a riskier type of group because the breakdown of communication or any sort of conflict between the members can lead to the dissolution of the group.
Group
Groups consist of any combination of three or more people as long as they are working together towards a common goal. Groups can be as small as three people or can be as large as a community with thousands of members. Groups face the possibility of leakage and dissent from within the pack.