CPS: Scott Helfstein -- Complexity in the Social Dynamics of Political Violence


Mar
19
2012

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  • Host Department: Political Science
  • Date: 03/19/2012
  • Time: 12:00PM - 1:00PM

  • Location: 6006 Institute For Social Research  (Show map)

  • Description: Many studies of sub-state political violence rely on political or macroeconomic explanations, often relegating social variables to the margins. Social factors, specifically societal-level social capital or trust developed through healthy commercial and cooperative interaction, play an important role in explaining patterns of terrorist activity. The systemic relationship between societal-level trust and terrorism, however, is hidden at first glance and only emerges through the lens of complexity where macro-level implications arise from micro-level forces. The impact of trust or social capital, theoretically cast as a neutral force, becomes conditional on breadth of violent elements within the population. The talk will explore the underlying foundations of the theory linking social capital to political violence and provide supporting empirical assessments. Lunch Provided
    Scott Helfstein is the Director of Research for the Combating Terrorism Center and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Science at the United States Military Academy. His research has appeared in numerous academic journals and addresses transnational issues such as terrorism, nonproliferation, interstate conflict, behavioral economics and economic interdependence. In his government capacity, Scott has consulted for or worked with numerous government offices such as the National Security Staff, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Department of State Policy Planning, and the Joint Staff. He holds a Joint Doctorate in Public Policy and Political Science from the University of Michigan focused on world politics. Scott also degrees in finance and war studies and worked in the financial sector for five years. He is a Term Member in the Council of Foreign Relations and a member of National Defense University's Combating WMD Program for Emerging Leaders. **** This talk is sponsored by the Center for Political Studies, Institute for Social Research