04/27/2021
By Karen Mullins
The School of Criminology and Justice Studies is proud to announce a Dissertation Proposal Defense by Juan Merizalde entitled, “Insurgency and the Human Terrain: Evaluating General Strain Theory of Terrorism in Afghanistan."
Date: Thursday, May 13
Time: 1 to 2:30 p.m.
Location: Zoom meeting
Committee:
- Neil Shortland, Chair
- Angélica Durán-Martínez
- James Forest
- Christopher Linebarger
ABSTRACT: The war in Afghanistan nears two decades of conflict, and combat operations led by the International Assistance Force (ISAF) have increasingly expedited the country's security responsibility to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). As a result, relying on these partnerships has become critical to the state’s overall security. However, the incessant cases of insurgent attacks throughout the countryside demonstrate a deeper problem with the transfer of security responsibilities, impacting every sociological aspect of the country. These security conditions fluctuate across Afghanistan, and similarly, its effects are perceived differently by the various populations. This proposal aims to unearth these effects by understanding the relationship between military combat operations (kinetic action) and their impacts on insurgent activity. As it stands, explanations of insurgent activity have been mainly dominated by theories emerging from political science and, to some effect, economics. This study intends to use the general strain theory of terrorism (GSTT) as the theoretical framework to better understand these relationships and outline causal mechanisms for insurgent activity. As a criminogenic theory, strain theories have demonstrated some success in explaining deviant behavior across various social populations and multiple societies. Similarly, the ability to explain such behavior is central to understanding the human landscape, and in the concept of counterinsurgency (COIN), it is essential.