CENTRE FOR LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
INTERNATIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL FOR UNDERGRADUATES
UNDERSTANDING AND COUNTERING RADICALISATION AND TERRORISM
Key Information
Module code
Taught during
Module workload
Module leader
Department
Credit
Level
Pre-requisites
Assessment
ISSU1017
Block One: Monday 4 July - Friday 22 July 2016
45 teaching hours plus approximately 100 study hours
Dr Noemie Bouhana and Dr Paul Gill
Security & Crime Science, Faculty of Engineering
0.5 UCL credits, 7.5 ECTS, 4 US
Level 1, first year Undergraduate
Standard entry requirements
10-minute presentation (25%)
3,000-word essay (75%)
Module Overview
This module provides students with an introduction to the phenomena of radicalisation and terrorism,
including key definitions, causal accounts, empirical trends, past and present manifestations, current groups
and tactics. With a rigorous grounding in the empirical reality of terrorism trends and processes, the course
then outlines a number of prevalent counter-terrorism practices and asks the question: what works in
countering terrorism?
Week One
 History of Terrorism
 Understanding Terorism
 Radicalisation
Week Two
 Jihadi Terrorism
 Lone Actor Terrorism
 Mental Health Issues
 Terrorist Methods
Week Three
 Situational Crime Prevention
 Deradicalisation Programmes
 Attacking the Financial Basis of Terrorism
Please note that this module description is indicative and may be subject to change.
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Module Aims
Through successive case studies, students will familiarise themselves with five approaches to prevention and
disruption: 1) Efforts to anticipate and prevent terrorism acts through situational measures; 2) enforcement
measures used to disrupt, disable or suppress the activities of terrorist networks; 3) interventions aimed at the
individual actor, their risk factors, belief systems and pathways out of terrorism involvement; 4) removal of
the economic basis for terrorist activities by attacking organized crime; 5) strategies which focus on the "root
causes" of terrorism and radicalisation.
Teaching Methods
Interactive lectures and seminars, open class and small group discussions, excursions, group work and private
study. Reading lists will be available online via the UCL library site. Students will be directed towards class
materials, further support and discussion forums on Moodle.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this module, students will:
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Be able to understand terrorism and radicalisation from a distinctive security and crime science
perspective
Understand ‘what works’ in preventing and disrupting radicalisation and terrorism
Critically reflect on the conceptual and methodological issues involved in studying radicalisation and
terrorism as concrete scientific problems
Be able to consider what a scientific approach implies for the design and implementation of
preventative or disruptive social technologies
Assessment Methods
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
10-minute presentation (25%)
3,000-word essay (75%)
Key Texts
Horgan, J. (2014). The psychology of terrorism. Routledge.
Gill, P. (2015). Lone-Actor Terrorists: A Behavioural Analysis. Routledge.
Bouhana, N., & Wikstrom, P. O. (2011). Al Qai'da-Influenced Radicalisation: A Rapid Evidence Assessment
Guided by Situational Action Theory.
Sageman, M. (2004). Understanding terror networks. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Borum, R. (2011).”Radicalization into violent extremism I: A review of social science theories”. Journal of
Strategic Security, 4(4), 2.
Borum, R. (2011). ”Radicalization into violent extremism II: A review of conceptual models and empirical
research.” Journal of Strategic Security, 4(4), 3.
Pape, R. A. (2003). “The strategic logic of suicide terrorism.” American political science review, 97(03), 343361.
Lum, C., Kennedy, L. W., & Sherley, A. (2006). “Are counter-terrorism strategies effective? The results of the
Campbell systematic review on counter-terrorism evaluation research.” Journal of Experimental Criminology,
2(4), 489-516.
Freilich, J. D. (2009). Reducing terrorism through situational crime prevention. G. R. Newman (Ed.). Monsey,
NY: Criminal Justice Press.
Braithwaite, A., & Johnson, S. D. (2012).”Space–time modeling of insurgency and counterinsurgency in Iraq.”
Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 28(1), 31-48.
Please note that this module description is indicative and may be subject to change.
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