Kellams: Today marks 25 years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and in that time, the nation's relationship with and understanding of terrorism has drastically changed. Jeff Gruenewald is chair and professor of sociology and criminology at the University of Arkansas and former director of the university's Terrorism Research Center. He tells Ozarks at Large's Daniel Caruth that the research center at the UofA, which started in 2003, was one of the first institutions in the country to study the roots and pathology of terrorism.
Gruenewald: The initial focus back in the early 2000s was learning about how terrorists in the U.S., they were prosecuted. How were they sentenced? We didn't have a domestic terrorism law. So what were they being charged with?
Then the focus turned to understanding things like the geospatial aspects of terrorism. So like, how far did people travel to commit attacks in the U.S.? Did they attack close to home? Did they travel long distances?
And then I would say more recently, since I've been here and was director of the center, we've been funded by the Department of Justice again to study pathways to violent extremism. So the idea is, can we learn more about how social and environmental factors combined with these individual psychological factors and even online behaviors, online radicalization, how do all these risk factors combine to lead people down a pathway towards mobilization to violence?
Caruth: And so, obviously, the 25th anniversary of 9/11 is tomorrow. I think when most people think of terrorism, they think of that event. That's like a foundational moment for most Americans and people around the world. Even so, for you and as someone who studies this, how has 9/11 shaped, I guess, the public's understanding of terrorism and how it looks today?
Gruenewald: Yeah, I agree with you. I think the public thinks of, when they think of terrorism, they think of the images of 9/11, and terrorism I think it may be still somewhat synonymous with al-Qaida and ISIS. And we still hear about ISIS-inspired attacks and plots in the U.S.
But I do think it really shaped how most people, most Americans, most people think of terrorism. They think of it as mass casualty attacks happening in iconic places like New York City against skyscrapers. And this is the case despite the fact that we know, based on research, that it takes many forms. Whether it's like mass shootings and other types of vehicle attacks, and it happens across cities and towns across the nation. But I don't think anything has had such an impact on the public conception of terrorism as 9/11, and for good reason.
Caruth: And then for you as a researcher and someone who studies it, how has that moment also informed the study and the resources that were put into studying extremist violence and also counterterrorism policy? Like, how has that moment shaped how all of that is studied and works?
Gruenewald: Yeah. There were a few sociologists, there were a few criminologists studying terrorism in the United States prior to 9/11. Again, it was some psychologists, political scientists, study groups, and usually in other countries. But after 9/11, like in so many other ways, everything changed.
And so the federal government began funding universities, including the University of Arkansas, to build these large scale databases to better understand the who, what, when, where, why of terrorism. So these databases, some of which are still currently housed in the Terrorism Research Center here, they have served as the foundation for countless terrorism studies, whether it's policy briefs, research papers, student theses and dissertations.
So the government put a lot of resources into building a knowledge base about why and how these people were radicalizing. So we know a lot more than we did 25 years ago.
Caruth: And then, so 25 years later, what are you reflecting on about that day? And what do you hope, just like the average person here in Arkansas, what do you want us to take away or to think about as we're approaching this anniversary?
Gruenewald: One of the things I get to do is teach college students about 9/11 and put it in more of a historical context. And it's always a little bit shocking to me how little they know about the event. So I think it is up to us to continue, all Arkansans, all Americans, to tell the stories of suffering, the tragedy, the heroism, and how it changed our society.
Aside from staying vigilant and saying something when you see something, and aside from supporting our law enforcement agencies who do a lot of work to keep us safe, I think the anniversary, it's a time to remember those we lost so tragically, and the families that are still feeling and dealing with the impacts of 9/11.
For me personally, I think I remember the weeks and months after when the country rallied together, we became a little less polarized politically. There was this sense of shared humanity across the nation. And so I think if something could come out of the 25th anniversary, that we could try to recapture some of that sense of shared humanity and put down our walls and come together just for a day at least.
Caruth: And then for you, as someone who studies this and what you guys are working on at the research center, I'm curious about what does the face of terrorism look like today? Like, what is the new frontier that we're looking at? How has it changed in those 25 years? I guess, what is the next area that you guys are looking at?
Gruenewald: I think the scope of what we're studying is expanding. I think we've been pretty narrowly, understandably, but narrowly focused in on radical Islamic terrorism. We've been focused in on right-wing extremism, left-wing extremism. And we've been really guided by the impacts of extreme ideologies. And it makes a lot of sense why we would do that.
But I think now is the time where we're seeing violent extremists start to be less ingrained in one ideology or another. And we're seeing, some people call it a "salad bar approach" to ideological extremism, and picking and choosing different elements of different extreme ideologies.
So as the nature of violent extremism and terrorism evolves in the world, but here in the United States, researchers like the Terrorism Center, we have to evolve as well. We have to expand our scope. And we have a lot of different types of targeted violence threats. We've got mass shooters, school shooters who are still inspired by terrorists of the past. And so the online communities, dangerous websites that kind of glorify a lot of the past attacks, that's the new frontier.
Caruth: Why is the work of this center important? Why should people care that these types of centers and that people are doing this kind of research on terrorism and extremism? Maybe people would say, 25 years later, there's not been another attack like 9/11 since then. Why is it important that this work happens?
Gruenewald: Well, yes, fortunately, we have not had a 9/11-type attack, but we have had attacks every year. We have had, of all different types, from all different types of extreme ideologies. And so attacks that don't always make the front page of the major newspapers.
But there are ongoing investigations into individuals who are plotting against the United States, who are plotting against government figures. They're plotting against different social minority groups every day. And arrests are being made every week. And so I don't see any evidence that the threat has dissipated.
So as the nature of the threat evolves, we need to continue to collect data, analyze data, get findings out to the stakeholders, to the law enforcement who are working to protect us.
Kellams: Jeff Gruenewald is professor and chair of sociology and criminology at the University of Arkansas and an expert in terrorism and extremist research. He spoke with Ozarks at Large's Daniel Caruth yesterday.
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