Studying Terrorism and the Strategic Use of Religion as a Recruitment Tool

The History & Politics Speaker Series continues with a presentation on one of the most pressing political issues of our day: the global reach of  terrorism and the use of religion in the recruitment of militants by terrorist organizations. 

On Wednesday, April 29, Dr. Nil Satana (Bilkent University, Turkey), will examine how and why terrorist groups transnationalize (expand and recruit beyond domestic borders). The event will begin at 7:00 pm and will take place in the Wick Center Social Room on Daemen's campus, located at 4380 Main Street, Amherst, NY. 

Dr. Satana will be presenting her research from a joint project (co-authored with Dr. Joanna Birnier of the University at Maryland), funded by a grant from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) The presentation demonstrates the value of social science research in understanding and solving complex political problems. 

Dr. Santana's talk is connected to the subject of a Model U.N. simulation that will be held on April 15, 2015, as part of the Daemen College Academic Festival.  Directed by Dr. Aakriti Tandon, the Model U.N. event features more than forty students from PSC 121, International Relations and HST 106, Introduction to World History II, who will simulate a UN Security Council (UNSC) session and discuss approaches to counter terrorism and violent extremism. They will specifically focus on strategies to prevent recruitment of the youth and children into terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State, Boko Haram etc.

Members of the Daemen College Community and public are invited 

to attend both of these timely events. 

About the Speaker (April 29)

Dr. Nil S. Satana received her B.A. from the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, Turkey, and has a M.A. & Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science at the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY). Her research interests include ethnic politics, democratization and civil-military relations, third party interventions in civil conflicts and religious/ethnic extremism and terrorism. Dr. Satana is a research associate at the START Center (the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism) at the University of Maryland and currently holds a grant funded by Department of Homeland Security for her project with Dr. Johanna Birnir (University of Maryland) titled “One God For All? Fundamentalism and Group Radicalization.” She has published several book chapters as well as journal articles in peer-reviewed journals such as the Comparative Political Studies, Terrorism and Political Violence, Armed Forces and Society and Turkish Studies. Dr. Satana is currently completing a manuscript on the normalization of civil-military relations in Turkey and its implications for other countries in the Middle East.

For questions regarding the Model U.N. Simulation at the 2015 Daemen College Academic Festival, or the Daemen College History & Politics Speaker series event on April 29th, please contact Dr. Tandon (atandon@daemen.edu).