In the wake of 9-11 Islamist attack and the 22 July 2011 Norway ‘lone wolf’ radical right massacre, terrorism and counterterrorism have come to dominate political agendas and media discourse across the U.S. and Europe. Through a comparative analysis of the history of U.S. and European Union responses to 21st century terrorism this class studies the nature of the threats to Western security by examining types of terrorism and the development, strategies and theories surrounding terrorism. Given special attention in this class are: victims and perpetrators; processes of violent radicalization; typologies of terror (religious extremism, political violence, regional separatism, state-sponsored terror and animal rights/ecological activism); and what can be done to counter and/or limit terrorism (surveillance/policing/de-radicalization/ education/social media); as well as how effective such practices are.

This course explores the history of the Italian Mafia from the national unification of Italy until the present day. Topics studied include relationships within the organization, those between the Mafia and Italian Politics, and those between the Italian and the American mafia. As part of the course students will visit Rebibbia State Prison, the Military Police School, the Italian Parliament/Senate and Libera, a network of over 1,200 associations which support the fight against organized crime.