---

What motivates some Islamic clerics to advocate political violence? Prof. Richard Nielsen (MIT) talks about the frustrated pathways that many imams — who see themselves as scholars — face. When their intellectual ambition is blocked by actions of the state and other social conditions, one possible pathway is to advocate rebellion.

We are back from a short sabbatical and hope to have more fresh episodes in the offing.

[ READ THE FULL ARTICLE ]

---

During the 1990s, following the end of the Cold War, the United States began to ramp up counterterrorism efforts around the globe. Some nations proved relatively cooperative with these efforts whereas others did not. Prof. Peter Henne (University of Vermont) explains how religion-state relations condition the response of different governments to these counterterrorism examples. We examine this in a broad perspective and with specific attention to Pakistan, UAE, and Turkey.

Subscribe to us for free on iTunes and other podcast providers.

[ READ THE FULL ARTICLE ]

---

Can a foundation of religious freedom mitigate violent extremism by various religious organizations? This is the question put before a group of scholars at a symposium sponsored by the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkeley Center for Religion, Peace, & World Affairs (Georgetown University). Moderated by Thomas Farr, the panelists include Dan Philpott (Notre Dame), William Inboden (Texas), Allen Hertzke (Oklahoma), and Sahar Aziz (Texas A&M).

Please share our free educational podcast with your family, friends, and colleagues.

[ READ THE FULL ARTICLE ]

---

Can democratic governance on a national scale coincide with Islam? Prof. Paul Kubicek (Oakland University) takes us on a comparative journey to show where predominately Islamic populations have existed successfully with democracy. While much of media and scholarly attention on the topic of Islam and democracy has focused on the Middle East, Paul discusses the interesting cases of Turkey, Senegal, Mali, and Tunisia, while also noting some of the difficulties in democratic transitions in places such as Bangladesh. He also shares his reflections on the Arab Spring.

Connect with us on social media: We are on Facebook and Twitter. See the links in the column to the right.

[ READ THE FULL ARTICLE ]

---

Spring break is upon us, and while many of you are heading to the sunshine, we revive a popular interview from our archives on dark networks. We will return shortly with new episodes.

Dark networks are clandestine organizations that often engage in nefarious behavior. Often associated with religious terrorist groups, these dark networks are the focus of our discussion with Prof. Sean Everton of the Naval Postgraduate School. He covers the nature of these groups, how we learn about them via network analysis, and how counter-insurgency efforts are being crafted to disrupt these networks in places like Colombia, Indonesia, and Iraq.

[ READ THE FULL ARTICLE ]

---

In light of the eleventh anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks and recent assaults on US diplomatic missions overseas, we explore the topic of Christian pacifism in the face of terrorism with Prof. Ron Mock of George Fox University. To exploare the roots and extent of his pacifist beliefs, we ask Prof. Mock whether or not he would have fought during the American War of Independence, which in turn leads to a discussion of his own pacifist background. We then discuss a number of philosophical issues related to pacificism in the abstract and the apply them to the topic of terrorism, discussion why Prof. Mock believes that the recent actions of the US (including drone strikes) have been counter-productive and what strategy would be more appropriate. This podcast was recorded on September 14, 2012.

To download this podcast, “right click” on the download link above and choose “save target as…”. If you find this discussion fascinating, please email it to a friend or colleague. We enjoy the company!

[ READ THE FULL ARTICLE ]

---

Dark networks are clandestine organizations that often engage in nefarious behavior. Often associated with religious terrorist groups, these dark networks are the focus of our discussion with Prof. Sean Everton of the Naval Postgraduate School. He covers the nature of these groups, how we learn about them via network analysis, and how counter-insurgency efforts are being crafted to disrupt these networks in places like Colombia, Indonesia, and Iraq.

Make a New Year’s Resolution to connect with Research on Religion via iTunes or our Facebook page.

[ READ THE FULL ARTICLE ]

---

A week before the 10th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Prof. Monica Toft of Harvard University joins us to discuss what we have learned about religiously-motivated violence over the past decade. She discusses findings from her new book “God’s Century” on terrorism, informal violence, and civil war. Our conversation covers a wide range of geographic territory and faith traditions, touching upon the IRA in Ireland, Hindu nationalism in India, the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, as well as movements in the Arab Middle East.

Subscribe to our series on iTunes and share this podcast with your friends on Facebook and other social media outlets.

[ READ THE FULL ARTICLE ]

---

Eli Berman, professor of economics at UCSD, discusses the economics of religious terrorism, explaining why strict religious clubs have an advantage in securing collective action and why they can be so lethal.

[ READ THE FULL ARTICLE ]

---