Development Services Group, Inc., to Study Far-Right Terrorist Groups in the United States for the National Institute of Justice

    BETHESDA, MD, October 22, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Development Services Group, Inc. (DSG), has been awarded a three-year grant from the National Institute of Justice for characterizing and preventing domestic terrorism. DSG will study five categories of far-right domestic terrorists, beginning Jan. 1, 2021.

"This is an excellent domestic complement to the work we're doing currently for the Department of State's Counterterrorism Bureau," offered DSG President Marcia I. Cohen, referencing the Global Terrorism Trends and Analysis Center's work to develop and maintain a database of global terrorism incidents.

"The research we'll be doing on domestic terrorism will fill a critical information gap by examining the characteristics and operations of groups and individuals," said Cohen.

The study will be led by Arie Perliger, an expert in right-wing domestic terrorism, from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, who recently published American Zealots: Inside Right-Wing Domestic Terrorism.

DSG will investigate the characteristics of far-right terrorist groups and construct an analytical framework that law-enforcement agencies and their partners can use to shape counterterrorism strategies tailored to each group's tactics and operational environment.

DSG will use mixed methods, including incident analysis, perpetrator analysis, and discourse analysis in the investigation.

These analyses will lead to the formation of tools that can

• Identify and distinguish between radicalization and pre-attack behaviors of perpetrators of different far-right groups.
• Identify which societal, economic, and political environment is most likely to facilitate violence of a specific far-right group.
• Distinguish between the specific patterns of online communications and activities of the different far-right groups.
• Recognize the linkages between individuals' emotional manifestations online and their potential radicalization as they relate to specific types of far-right groups.

Findings from the study will serve as the evidence base for online learning modules and an outreach campaign to practitioners, policymakers, law enforcement agencies, and cyber divisions.

About DSG: DSG is a woman-owned research and consulting firm headquartered in Bethesda, Md. Since its founding in 1977, it has been leading the way in finding, assessing, and applying what works in international development, society and justice, education and development, and behavioral health and wellness. DSG is dedicated to providing federal, state, and local governments and other organizations with the highest-quality products and services in research and evaluation, training and technical assistance, management consulting, communications, and website and application development. Visit www.dsgonline.com for more.

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