The book “Security and Society in the Information Age. Vol. 2” has just been published. The book features contributions by American students – participants in the Summer School and the internship program at the Terrorism Research Center (TRC) at Collegium Civitas.
The Program “Security and Society in the Information Age” is organized in Warsaw jointly by Collegium Civitas and SRAS (USA). Composed of summer school courses and semester or academic year study abroad opportunities, it aims at presenting global topics from the unique perspective of Central and Eastern Europe. Courses devoted to a wide range of history and security issues are designed with the region serving as a case study. They are taught in English and are aimed at ambitious students who are eager to really engage in and out of the classroom. The participants are also given the opportunity to embark on a research internship in Warsaw at the Terrorism Research Center. During the internship the students are invited to work on their own research project, supervised by academic mentors. The interns conduct research, interviews, analysis, attend events and meet with experts and professionals.
In summer 2019 the interns have been working for almost 2 months on research projects under academic supervision by TRC experts. The main thematic focus of the internship was the shifting paradigm of security and tinterns explored a variety of important security issues facing modern societies:
Meghan Lovett (University of Texas, Austin) analyzed the “Growing Threat of the Alt-Right”; Gar Lovejoy (University of Pittsburgh) looked “Inside the Dark Web”; Alex Thompson (Miami University) focused on the “Increasing Use of Post-Truth and Fake News in Political Discourse”; Kayla Ritchie (The University of Tennessee) posed the question “How Social Constructs are utilized in the Securitization of Migration”; Mara Royse (University of Texas, Austin) analyzed a case study on “Cultivating Children for War”; Brendon Fujisawa (California State University, Fresno) examined whether there is an “Effect of Rodrigo Duterte’s Policies on the Rise of Terror”; Albert James Contreras (University of Texas, El Paso) investigated the issue of the “Return of European Foreign fighters from Iraq and Syria”; Mason Connor Shuya (University of Texas, El Paso) analyzed the topic of “Mobilizing the Population in Reaction to Russian Aggression”; Seth Kraman (Miami University) examined the “Guidance Required for Protections of Cyber Participation in Hostilities Under International Humanitarian Law”; Eric Nesbitt (Michigan State University) looked at “The Scope of Cryptocurrency in the Information Age” and Andrew Holub (Oakland University) researched the “Introduction to human evolved psychology and political violence”.
The contributors paint in this book a complex picture of security challenges in today’s interconnected world. It is not merely an analysis of the issues; the authors look for solutions and the papers are accompanied by recommendations for administration, policy makers and for each of us living in modern societies and confronted with various security threats.
The book can be downloaded in PDF format and is distributed under Creative Commons license: Security and Society in the Information Age
Founded in 2006, the Terrorism Research Center is a research unit within Collegium Civitas. The Center is one of the leading think-tanks in Poland with renowned experts participating in projects conducted by the Center. The main fields of activity include scientific research, analytical undertakings as well as education and raising awareness about security issues in society. Center research focuses on the wide range of issues of international terrorism and its combating, as well as on the impact of those phenomena on the functioning of the state and its citizens, both in the public and private sectors. The Center’s interests include, but are not limited to: defining terrorist threats, evolution of modern terrorism, psychology of terrorism, tools to fight terrorism, risk assessment and analysis, issues related to mass media. In 2018 Terrorism Research Center launched an internship program, aligned with the Summer School at Collegium Civitas. In result of the internship, books entitled “Security and Society in the Information Age” (Vol. 1 and Vol. 2) were published, containing papers written by the interns and experts on security issues.
Learn more:
Terrorism Research Center: https://www.civitas.edu.pl/en/research/terrorism-research-center
2019 edition of the Summer School: https://www.civitas.edu.pl/en/our-university/news/summer-school-2019
For more information about the Summer School program “Security and Society in the Information Age” please visit: www.securityandsociety.org