For this Capstone Case Study Report Project, you will combine the case studies provided surrounding terrorism, terroristic groups, and other aspects of global concerns into one final project about the

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RATIONAL CHOICE ANALYSIS OF ISIS MUJAHID IN BECOMING CYBER-JIHADISTS JOURNAL ANALYSIS

Name

University – Criminal Justice Department

CMJ 6320 - Capstone in Criminal Justice

Dr. Heather Tolle

8/16/2022

Contents 2

Introduction 3

The summary of the article 3

Research problem 3

Criminal justice theory 4

Research design and gathering data 5

Variables 6

Critique of the article 7

Findings 7

Significance of the information 7

Future directions and suggestions for future research 8

Reference 10

RATIONAL CHOICE ANALYSIS OF ISIS MUJAHID IN BECOMING CYBER-JIHADISTS JOURNAL ANALYSIS

The article by Golose (2021) introduces the concepts of cyberterrorism that have occurred due to the introduction of information technology and communication. Over the past few years, there has been a significant evolution of technology which has introduced both positive and negative aspects to the world. The authors agree that among the nations that have received the most devastating terrorist attacks in Indonesia, at first, the terrorist groups were more interested in the wealthy and foreign citizens; however, their attention has shifted to the public areas, police, and worshipping places. Therefore, the sovereignty and integrity of Indonesia have been compromised by the existence of terrorist activities that have led to increased insecurity and violence. For this paper, we shall be critically analyzing cyberterrorism and its negative impacts on the world.

The research problem that the authors sought to cover is how technology has led to a significant increase in radical ideologies, thus promoting terrorism. During the older days, terrorists had to physically recruit their jihadists; however, due to the evolution of technology, media is being used to spread radicalization and increase the recruitment of militia personnel. Therefore, the authors sought to understand the reasons why cyber jihadists have increased significantly over the past few years. The authors agree that due to increased globalization, technology has been globally accepted; however, it has significantly increased the communication of terrorists. Golose (2021).

Social media and the internet have been used for spreading terrorist ideologies, thus increasing their recruits globally. The authors agree that most radicalization is based on religious matters; therefore, groups like ISIS in Iraq and Syria are using the media openly to spread their radical messages. In 2017, the ISIS leader Abu Bakar used telegram channels to spread messages relating to violence and destruction. Additionally, groups like ISIS have allocated over fifty percent of their budgets for media activities.

The criminal justice theory deals with reducing wrongdoings by providing justice and punishment for the perpetrators. The rational choice theory is the most suitable criminal justice theory that can be used to explain the issues relating to cyber terrorism. It is because the theory suggests that all criminal thoughts are based on different societal factors and elements like poverty, education, religion etc. therefore, an individual's environment determines whether they are predisposed to crime or not. The theory disagrees that crime is based on an individual's thinking and deviant behavior. It agrees that there are factors in society that usually coerce people to behave as they currently are. Golose (2021).

Rational choice theory is related to the article since the author agrees that terrorist ideas and ideologists are normally spread through the technology media. Firstly, it is essential to understand that the terrorist group leaders have a specific way of thinking; their religion normally causes that. For example, Muslim extremism leaders normally insist that their religion is more significant than other religions; that is why they recruit people through the internet to kill others who do not believe in their religion. I believe that the core reason this occurs is due to the environment or surroundings of an individual that normally gives them the idea that their religion is great than others. Terrorism is also related to other factors like poverty and education levels; that is why most militia groups are from developing or undeveloped nations.

Research design is the blueprints used by the researcher; for this study, the author used a qualitative design that includes the collection of ideas and opinions from former cyber jihadists. This is the most significant design for this study since it includes an explanation of concepts and ideas, therefore, providing the readers with deeper information regarding how terrorism occurs through the internet. Additionally, the authors analyze propaganda sources from former jihadists on how they used to recruit members, meet their budgetary demands and how cyberterrorism has increased significantly in Indonesia over the past few years. Golose (2021).

While the data is gathered through interviews with former jihadists and recruiters that are already serving a jail sentence, those interviewed include street food sellers, cellphone stall employees, college students, home industry workers etc. they help the authors to gain more comprehensive information regarding how cyberterrorism has increased over the past few years. Therefore, interviews are significant for this study since they enable the author to get direct feedback from the respondents, provide us with firsthand information, and there is the availability of interviewees; therefore, it is the most effective method.

The independent variable is the cause of the activity, while the dependent variable is the effect. Therefore, the changes in the independent variable normally affect the dependent one. The independent variable is the existence of potential media communication methods like encrypted messages, secure websites, codes, spam, and hydra web links. In comparison, the dependent variable is the changes to the individuals that are getting communicated through these methods. Therefore, the internet was used to provide messages and communication using social media tools. While the dependent variable is the changes in the person that receives the communication in terms of whether they will believe that Islam religion is superior to other religions. Golose (2021).

The authors conclude that the internet has been universally used by religious extremism Islam, especially in Indonesia, to spread their violent ideas. After studying two groups (ISIS and al-Qaeda), the authors noted that the internet, especially social media, had been used for preparing for attacks, communicating recruitment of jihadists, fundraising and propaganda. Additionally, the radical ideology has been highly spread by the terrorists through the internet. According to the internet from the former cyber jihadists, the internet is more significant for terrorism activities due to its ease of access and its unanimous nature. Additionally, the internet is preferred due to less time required during communication, lower risk of getting caught by authorities and availability of communication tools.

The information provided by the authors is essential, especially to the criminal justice system and the international terrorist fighting groups. This is because the older days when terrorists were recruited physically are gone. Therefore, there is a need for the criminal justice system to evolve too and understand how they can monitor the internet, especially for spam messages and coded information that may be related to jihadists. Additionally, it is believed that true Muslims must be loyal to their religion by fighting for their religion through jihad, which amounts to religious extremism.

The information is also essential to enhance our knowledge regarding the rational choice theory since it informs us how the media can be used when disseminating radical information. Therefore, the followers are normally encouraged through information disseminated through Twitter, YouTube, Telegram and Facebook. We can also understand that everyone normally makes their decisions make on their preferences. Consequently, an individual may choose the religion in which they believe. This is a right granted to any citizen. A right in which anyone can exercise. Although this occurs, people should not be forced to conform to a specific religion. Golose (2021).

The only future direction is that there is a need for the development of technology to identify radicalized information in social media. There is also a need for government forces to develop new methods that can unencrypt radicalized information. The major problem of social media is author's information may remain unanimous; however, developed technology can be used by anti-terrorism security forces to understand methods to be used in tracing authors of information. However, the author does not provide recommendations for future research relating to cyber jihadists.

How the information can be applied in my country and its impacts

The information regarding cyber jihadists is significant, especially because of the increased and evolved terrorism activities globally. The internet is being used in developing propaganda, fundraising, and organizing terror attacks against the innocent public. Therefore, the information may be used by the security forces to track potential terrorist members through social media and trace their patterns leading to arrests. The impact of tracing potential terror communication will lead to reduced terrorist activities globally because by using social media, terrorist groups can spread their information to people within different countries globally. There is also a need for multi-governmental policies that seek to limit the usage of social media and report potential threats relating to cyber jihadists.

Golose, P. R. (2021). A Rational Choice Analysis of Becoming Cyber-Jihadists. International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 15(1), 50-64. https://doi-org.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/10.5281/zenodo.4766532