NPS Alumnus Publishes Book on Terrorism

This year, NPS alumnus Brad Deardorff published "The Roots of Our Children's War: Identity and the War on Terrorism". Drawing on both practical and academic experience in counterterrorism operations, he evaluates the British and Dutch counterterrorism strategies through the lens of Social Identity Theory. This framework allows Deardorff to explain how close collaboration with local communities can initiate progress and mitigate homegrown terrorism in the United States.

Prior to his graduation in 2010, Deardorff also submitted an award-winning thesis, titled "Countering Violent Extremism: The Challenge and the Opportunity" ,which also focused on preventing homegrown terrorism via the use of soft power as opposed to hard power. From his abstract: "Strategies that balance hard and soft power separate radicalizing influences from their recruiting pool, alter the social context of potential recruits in favor of democratic process, and make partners of potential antagonists."

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