Ike Barnes EXECUTIVE SUMMARY News reports about cyber-attacks against corporations are commonplace. A search of Google News on July 31, 2017, for cyber-attacks yielded eight articles from the same day on the first page of the search return. To address this problem, organizations such as George Washington University’s Center for Cyber and Homeland Security and…
CHDS Theses: Executive Summaries
Reconsidering CVE: The Unintended Consequences of Countering Violent Extremism Efforts in America
Nabeela Barbari EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Between September 12, 2001, and December 31, 2016, there were eighty-five violent extremist attacks in the United States, which resulted in over 225 fatalities.[1] Tragically, this number became outdated almost immediately after it was reported; at least five attacks killed a dozen more people between January 2017 and November 2017. These incidents…
Fusing the Four Corners: Integrating Intelligence-Led Policing Within New Mexico’s Rural and Tribal Communities
Robert Vasquez EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Collecting and sharing information is the heart of effective intelligence-led policing. One mechanism for managing law enforcement intelligence is intelligence fusion centers, which help partners share threat information between the federal, state, tribal, and local levels. The House Committee on Homeland Security, for example, has called for greater use of fusion…
Conditions of Democratic Erosion: Has U.S. Democracy Reached a Tipping Point?
Christian Tubbs EXECUTIVE SUMMARY For more than half a century, academics have expressed unease over the erosion of democratic governance in the United States and abroad.[1] Scholars have regarded American democracy as a critical stabilizing force in new and emerging democracies as well as those under threat from authoritarian rule.[2] There is a growing concern—both…
The Olive Branch and the Maple Leaf: A Comparative Analysis of Refugee Policies in Canada and the United States and the Potential for Blended Reform
Robert Tisdale EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The topic of immigration continues to be a divisive issue in political and social circles in the United States. Congress’s inability to craft legislatively viable immigration reform is indicative of this situation and the stalemate in which the country currently finds itself. In addition to issues surrounding the southern border, another…
The Watchlist: Improving the Transparency, Accuracy, Efficiency, and Accountability of the Terrorist Screening Database
David Park EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The United States has used terrorist watchlists for over 30 years to identify, track, and screen terrorists. At first, these watchlists evolved to meet the specific requirements of individual agencies’ missions. Subsequent investigations into the failure to detect, deter, and defeat the 9/11 terror attacks revealed weaknesses in the design of…
Out through the Out Door: Policy Options in the Fight against Visa Overstays
Michael Spina EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Every year, tens of millions of non-immigrants visit the United States for business, pleasure, school, or work. The expenditures of these foreign travelers provide revenue to U.S. businesses and create jobs across the country. While the vast majority of nonimmigrant visitors lawfully depart the United States each year, not every visitor…
Tailoring Violent Extremism Prevention: A Targeted Intervention Method
Mourad Mourad EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Terrorist recruitment and radicalization is a hazard facing our nation, regardless of whether the threat is from a domestic or foreign terrorist organization.[1] There are many ways an individual can radicalize, and the path to radicalization is not linear.[2] In order to implement a sustainable program that disengages violent extremists and makes communities…
The God Protocol: In Search of a Common Ethical Approach to Disaster Response
Eric Soucie Executive Summary Domestic disaster relief in the United States has undergone various changes in terms of public expectations, legal authorities, and operational approaches over the last several decades. Some have argued that this trend has gone too far while others argue it has not gone far enough in placing a particular burden,…
Privacy in Plain Sight: Fourth Amendment Considerations for the Collection, Retention, and Use of Data by Law Enforcement in Public Places
Kristen ZimAn EXECUTIVE SUMMARY As cities have become more wirelessly connected, issues have intensified around data collection and the ways in which a person’s privacy and civil liberties are affected when opting in for an interactive experience in a public place. In choosing connectivity to enrich an experience, a citizen might not be aware of…