Introduction

Maura Conway’s principal research interests are in the area of terrorism and the Internet, including academic and media discourses on cyberterrorism, the functioning and effectiveness of terrorist Websites, and online radicalisation. She has published in First Monday, the Journal of Information Warfare, Current History, and elsewhere, and is currently working on a book tentatively entitled Islamists, the Internet, and International Relations. Maura is currently MA Programme Director in the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University (DCU) in Dublin, Ireland.

Research and Teaching Interests

Terrorism:

Terrorism and the Internet, Cyberterrorism, Technology and Terrorism, International Terrorism, Women and Terrorism

International Relations & Security:

International Relations Theory, Terrorism and International Security, Gender and International Relations, International Communication(s), Public Diplomacy

Politics and the Internet:

Terrorism and the Internet, International Relations and the Internet, Virtual Diplomacy, Virtual Diasporas, Gender and the Internet, the Far-Right and the Internet

Publications

The majority of publications are available online via DCU’s Institutional Repository, DORAS, at http://doras.dcu.ie/view/people/Conway,_Maura.html

Book Chapters

‘Terrorism and the Internet: A Review of the History, Issues, and Responses.’ In Pauline Reich (Ed.), Cybercrime and Security. Oxford: Oxford University Press (Forthcoming 2010).

‘Media, Fear and the Hyperreal: The Construction of Cyberterrorism as the Ultimate Threat to Critical Infrastructures.’ In Myriam Dunn Cavelty & Kristian Søby Kristensen (Ed.s), Securing ‘The Homeland’: Critical Infrastructure, Risk and (In)Security. London: Ashgate (2008): 109 – 129.

‘Terrorism, the Internet, and International Relations: The Governance Conundrum.’ In Dunn, Myriam, Victor Mauer, & Felisha Krishna-Hensel (Eds.), Power and Security in the Information Age: Investigating the Role of the State in Cyberspace. London: Ashgate (2007): 95 – 127.*

‘Terrorism and the Making of the ‘New Middle East’: New Media Strategies of Hizbollah and al Qaeda.’ In Philip Seib (Ed.), New Media in the New Middle East. London: Palgrave (2007): 235 – 258.

‘Terror TV? Hizbollah’s Al Manar Television.’ In James Forest (Ed.), Countering Terrorism in the 21st Century (Vol. 2). Connecticut: Praeger Security International (2007): 401 – 419.

‘Terrorism & New Media: The Cyber Battle Space.’ In James Forest (Ed.), Countering Terrorism in the 21st Century (Vol. 2). Connecticut: Praeger Security International (2007): 363 – 384.

‘Cyberterrorism: Hype and Reality.’ In Leigh Armistead (Ed.), Information Warfare: Separating Hype From Reality. Washington DC: Potomac Books (2007): 73 – 93.

‘Cybercortical Warfare: Hizbollah’s Internet Strategy.’ In Sarah Oates, Diana Owen and Rachel Gibson (Eds), The Internet and Politics: Citizens, Voters and Activists. London: Routledge (2005): 100 – 117.

‘Terrorist Web Sites: Their Contents, Functioning, and Effectiveness.’ In Philip Seib (Ed.), Media and Conflict in the Twenty-First Century. New York: Palgrave (2005): 185 – 215.

‘Cyberterrorism: Media Myth or Clear and Present Danger?’ In Jones Irwin (Ed.), War and Virtual War: The Challenges to Communities. Amsterdam & New York: Rodopi (2004): 79 – 95.

‘Terrorism and IT: Cyberterrorism and Terrorist Organisations Online.’ In Russell Howard & Reid Sawyer (Ed.s), Terrorism and Counterterrorism: Understanding the New Security Environment, Readings and Interpretations (Rev. Ed.). Connecticut: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin (2003): 271 – 288.

* Reprinted in C. Sri Krishna (Ed.). 2010. Internet Access: Techno-Legal Barricades. Hyderabad, India: Amicus Books, ICFAI University Press: 181 – 199.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

‘Combining Social Network Analysis and Sentiment Analysis to Explore the Potential for Online Radicalisation’ (with Alan Bermingham, Lisa McInerney, Neil O’Hare & Alan F. Smeaton, DCU). Lecture Notes in Computer Science (In Press).

‘Jihadi Video and Auto-Radicalisation: Evidence from an Exploratory YouTube Study’ (with Lisa McInerney, DCU). Lecture Notes in Computer Science Vol. 5376 (2008): 108 – 118.

‘Terrorist Use of the Internet and Fighting Back.’ Information & Security: An International Journal Vol. 19 (2006): 9 – 30. *

‘Terrorism and the Internet: New Media, New Threat?’ Parliamentary Affairs 59(2) (February 2006): 283 – 298.

‘Hackers as Terrorists? Why it Doesn’t Compute.’ Computer Fraud and Security 12(12) (2003): 10 – 13.

‘Code Wars: Steganography, Signals Intelligence, and Terrorism.’ Knowledge, Technology and Policy (Special issue entitled ‘Technology and Terrorism II’) 16(2) (Summer 2003): 45 – 62.**

‘What is Cyberterrorism? The Story so Far.’ Journal of Information Warfare 2(2) (March 2003): 33 - 42.

‘Public Diplomacy and the Politics of Self-Representation: The Case of Hizbollah.org.’ Journal of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations 4(2) (December 2002).

‘Reality Bytes: Cyberterrorism and Terrorist ‘Use’ of the Internet.’ First Monday 7(11) (November 2002): http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_11/conway/index.html

* Reprinted in Akbar Khan (Ed.). 2006. Cyber Terrorism. Hyderabad, India: ICFAI University Press.

** Reprinted in David Clarke (Ed.). 2004. Technology and Terrorism. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers:
171 – 191.

Invited Contributions

‘Le Cyber-Terrorisme: Le Discours des Médias Américains et ses Impacts.’ Cités: Philosophie, Politique, Histoire 39(2009): 81 – 94.

‘Terrorism and Internet Governance: Core Issues.’ Disarmament Forum No. 3: 23-33 (September 2007): 2 – 33.***

‘Nitro to the Net.’ The World Today 60(8/9) (2004): 19 – 22.

‘Cyberterrorism.’ Current History 101(659) (December 2002): 436 – 442.

*** Reprinted in G. Usha (Ed.). 2008. Internet Governance: Techno-Legal Solutions. Hyderabad, India: ICFAI University Press: 36 – 53.

Book Reviews

Review of Richard English’s Terrorism: How to Respond (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009) in the Irish Literary Supplement (forthcoming 2010).

Review of Yonah Alexander’s Counterterrorism Strategies: Successes and Failures of Six Nations (Washington DC: Potomac Books, 2006) in e-Extreme 8(2) (Spring 2007): http://www.tufts.edu/~dart01/extremismanddemocracy/newsletter/News8_2.htm

Review of Pramod K. Nayar’s Virtual Worlds: Culture and Politics in the Age of Cybertechnology (New Delhi & London: Sage, 2004) for the Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies (April 2007): http://rccs.usfca.edu/bookinfo.asp?ReviewID=445&BookID=355

Conferences and Lectures

‘Hizbollah’s New Cool: Internet Influences?’ International Studies Association (ISA) Annual Conference, New Orleans,
17 – 20 February 2010.

‘Combining Social Network Analysis and Sentiment Analysis to Explore the Potential for Online Radicalisation’ (with Alan Bermingham, Lisa McInerney, Neil O’Hare & Alan F. Smeaton, DCU). Paper presented at ASONAM (Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining) Conference, Athens, Greece, 20 – 22 July 2009.

‘Connecting the Dots: In Defence of Data-Driven Terrorism Research’ (with Lisa McInerney, DCU). Paper presented at the workshop European Datawars: Fighting Terrorism through Data, University of Amsterdam, 11 – 12 June 2009.

‘The Global War on Terror and the Future(s) of the Net: Legislative Responses to Terrorist Internet Use.’ Paper presented at the International Studies Association (ISA) Annual Conference, New York,
15 – 18 February 2009.

‘'Broadcast Yourself': Terrorism, Reality TV, and the YouTube Generation.’ Paper presented at the British International Studies Association (BISA) Annual Conference, University of Exeter, 15 – 17 December 2008.

‘Jihadi Video and Auto-Radicalisation: Evidence from an Exploratory YouTube Study’ (with Lisa McInerney, DCU). Paper presented at EuroISI, Ejsberg, Denmark, 3 – 5 December 2008.

‘'Broadcast Yourself': A History & Categorisation of Terrorist Video Propaganda’ (with Lisa McInerney, DCU). Paper presented at Web 2.0: An International Conference, hosted by the New Political Communication Unit, Royal Holloway, University of London, 17 – 18 April, 2008.

‘Assessing the Quiet Online "War on Terrorism".’ Paper presented at the International Studies Association (ISA) Annual Conference, San Francisco, 26 – 29 March 2008.

‘Blogging and/in the Middle East: History, Types, Discourses, Impacts.’ Paper presented at the British International Studies Association (BISA) Annual Conference, Cambridge University, 17 – 19 December 2007.

‘A Comparative Analysis of Online Representations in English and Arabic of the US & EU by Political Violence Groups in the Middle East’ (with Mahmoud Eid, University of Ottawa). Paper presented at the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada, 17 – 20 November 2007.

‘Broadcast Yourself: Terrorism, Reality TV, and the YouTube Generation.’ Paper presented at the ECPR’s Sixth Pan-European Conference on International Relations, University of Turin, Italy,
12 – 15 September 2007.

‘Hizbollah’s Media Strategy: An Integrated Approach.’ Paper presented at the Media, War & Conflict Journal Launch Conference, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 19-20 April 2007.

‘Info-War, Info-Peace: Computer Games/Gaming in the Theory & Practice of International Relations.’ Paper presented at the International Studies Association (ISA) Annual Conference, Chicago,
28 Feb. – 3 March 2007.

‘Ethnopolitical Mobilization Online: The Case of Ulster Loyalism.’ Paper presented at the British International Studies Association (BISA) Annual Conference, University College Cork,
18 – 20 December 2006.

‘Terrorist use of the Internet and the Challenges of Governing Cyberspace.’ Paper presented at the conference The Internet: Power and Governance in a Digitised World organised by the St. Antony’s International Review (STAIR), Oxford University, 6 December 2006.

‘“Functional Democrats” Online: A Comparative Study of the Websites of Hamas and Sinn Fein’ (with Paul Reilly, University of Glasgow). Paper presented at iCS: Tenth Anniversary International Symposium, University of York, UK, 20 – 22 September 2006.

‘Islamists and the Internet.’ Paper presented at the Fourth International Conference on Information (Info ’06), University College Cork (UCC), 1 – 5 August 2006.

‘Terrorist Use of the Internet and Fighting Back.’ Paper presented at the Twentieth International Political Science Association (IPSA) Congress, Fukuoka, Japan, 9 – 13 July 2006.

‘Islamists, International Relations, and the Internet.’ Paper presented at the International Studies Association (ISA) Annual Conference, San Diego, California, 22 – 25 March 2006.

‘C4I: Islamists, International Relations, Intelligence, and the Internet.’ Paper presented at the British International Studies Association (BISA) Annual Conference, University of St. Andrews, 19 – 21 December 2005.

‘Cyberterrorism and the Media: A Study in the Construction of ‘Reality.’ Critical Infrastructure Protection Workshop, Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, 12 September 2005.

‘Terrorist Use of the Net and Fighting Back.’ Paper presented at the conference on Cybersafety: Safety & Security in a Networked World, Oxford Internet Institute, Oxford University, 8 – 10 September 2005.

‘Striking Back at Terrorist Net Users: The Role of Law Enforcement.’ Paper presented at the Turkish National Police Conference on Democracy & Global Security, Istanbul, 9 – 11 June 2005.

‘Cyberterrorism and the Media: A Study in the Construction of ‘Reality’.’ Paper presented at the First International Conference on the Information Revolution and the Changing Face of International Relations and Security, hosted by the Centre for Security Studies (ISN) at the Swiss Federal Institute for Technology (ETH), Lucerne, Switzerland, 23 – 25 May 2005.

‘Terrorist Web Sites: Leveraging the Power of Information.’ Paper presented at the British International Studies Association (BISA) Annual Conference, University of Warwick, 20 – 22 December 2004.

‘Cyberterrorism: Academic Perspectives.’ Paper presented at the Third European Conference on Information Warfare, Royal Holloway, University of London, 28 – 29 June 2004.

‘Terrorist Web Sites: An Empirical Analysis.’ Paper presented at the International Studies Association (ISA) Annual Conference, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 17 – 20 March 2004.

‘What are the Functions of Terrorist Web Sites? A Comparison with Political Party, NGO, and Hate Sites.’ Paper presented at the British International Studies Association (BISA) Annual Conference, University of Birmingham, 15 – 17 December 2003.

‘Code Wars: Steganography, Signals Intelligence, and Terrorism.’ Paper presented at the European Conference on Information Warfare (ECIW ’03), University of Reading, 30 June – 1 July 2003.

‘What are the Functions of Terrorist Web Sites? Developing a Framework for Analysis.’ Paper presented at the Political Studies Association of Ireland (PSAI) Postgraduate Conference, Trinity College Dublin, 20 June 2003.

‘The Changing Media and Uncivil Society.’ Paper presented at the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) 2003 Joint Workshop ‘The Changing Media and Civil Society,’ Edinburgh, 28 March – 2 April 2003.

‘Terrorism and IT: Cyberterrorism and Terrorist Organisations Online.’ Paper presented at the International Studies Association (ISA) Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon, USA, 25 February – 1 March 2003.

‘Women and Terrorism: Towards a Research Agenda’ Paper presented at the Local-Global Seminar Series, Institute for International Integration Studies (IIIS), TCD, 12 February 2003.

‘Terrorism and Telecommunications: An Analysis of Terrorist ‘Use’ of the Internet.’ Paper presented at the American Political Science Association Annual Conference, Hynes Convention Center, Boston, 29 August – 1 September 2002.

‘What is Cyberterrorism?’ Paper presented at the conference on War and Virtual War: The Challenge to Communities, Mansfield College, Oxford, 16 – 18 July 2002.

‘Cyberterrorism: The Story So Far.’ Paper presented at the European Conference on Information Warfare and Security, Brunel University, UK, 8 – 9 July 2002.

‘Public Diplomacy and the Politics of Self-Representation: The Case of Hizbollah.org.’ Paper presented at the conference on Media Representation of Islamic Societies and War, University of Sussex, UK, 1 – 2 July 2002.

‘Terrorism, IT, and Global Politics: The Aftermath of September 11th’ (Revised Version). Paper presented at the Trinity College Dublin-Dublin City University Joint IR Seminar, Dublin City University, 5 February 2002.

‘Terrorism, IT, and Global Politics: The Aftermath of September 11th.’ Paper presented at the British International Studies Association (BISA) Annual Conference, University of Edinburgh, Scotland,
17 – 19 December 2001.

‘Reality Bytes: ‘Cyberterrorism’ and Terrorist Organisation(s) Online.’ Paper presented at the ECPR 4th Pan-European International Relations Conference, University of Kent at Canterbury,
6 – 10 September 2001.

Invited Workshops, Conferences, and Lectures

‘The Cyberterrorism Threat.’ Paper delivered at the First European Meeting on Terrorist Threats and the Fight Against Terrorism, Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique, Paris, 11 – 12 February 2010.

‘Online Radicalisation?: Content Aimed at Influencing Middle Eastern Diaspora Youth in Europe.’ Invited paper delivered at the conference Re-Inventing the Mediterranean? The Middle East and Europe after Lisbon and Union for the Mediterranean, University of Southern Denmark, 2 – 4 December 2009.

‘Terrorism and the Internet: What We have Learned To-Date.’ Contribution to the opening roundtable at the workshop on The Current State of Research into the Role of the Internet in Radicalisation Processes, US Department of Homeland Security, Human Factors/Behavioral Sciences Division (HFD), Paul J. Rizzo Centre, University of North Carolina, 18 – 20 November 2009.

‘The ‘Old’ Versus ‘New’ Terrorism Debate: What Can We Learn from Terrorists’ Online Presence?’ Invited presentation at Media and Radicalisation: Closing Symposium, Royal Holloway, University of London, 15 September 2009.

‘Research on Terrorism and the Internet: Methodological Issues.’ Contribution to Scoping Workshop: Digital Media and Security, University of Warwick, 21 – 22 May 2009.

‘Strategic Narratives: Next Steps.’ Contribution to closing roundtable at the workshop Reframing the Nation: Media Publics and Strategic Narratives, Open University, London, 18 – 19 May 2009.

‘New Media, New Generation, ‘New’ Middle East? Hizbollah’s Role.’ Invited paper for delivery to the 25th Anniversary Conference of the Centre for Contemporary Middle East Studies, University of Southern Denmark, 26 - 27 September 2008.

‘Contemporary Cyber Threats: Terrorism.’ Invited paper for delivery to the 22nd Asia-Pacific Roundtable, Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia, 4 June 2008.

‘New Media, New Terrorism?’ Public lecture at Tremough Campus of University College Falmouth and in conjunction with Porthcurno Telegraph Museum, Cornwall, 28 May 2008.

‘Terrorism and Web 2.0.’ Invited presentation at seminar in series entitled An Exploration of the War on Terror: Representations, Risk and Government Strategies, Institute for Advanced Study, University of Warwick, 23 April 2008. [Podcast: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/security/media]

‘Terrorism & Media.’ Invited lecture at the Clinton Institute for American Studies, University College Dublin (UCD), 1 April 2008.

‘The Emerging Cyberinfrastructure Landscape: US, UK, & EU Approaches.’ Paper presented at the ISA pre-Conference Workshop entitled Framing a Research Frontier: Cyberinfrastructure Policy in Global Perspective organised in conjunction with ISA International Communication Section, San Francisco, 25 March 2008.

‘Terrorism & the Internet: An Overview.’ Invited lecture at the Infantry School, Irish Military College, the Curragh, 5 March 2008.

‘Broadcast Yourself: Terrorism, the Internet, & Reality TV.’ Paper presented at the joint BISA-PSA workshop on Security, Aesthetics & Visual Culture at Queens University Belfast, 10 November 2007.

‘ICTs and International Security: Cyberwar & Cyberterrorism.’ Plenary address at seminar entitled Preventing Cyber-Warfare: ICTs and International Security, United Nations, New York, 16 October 2007.

Rapporteur in workshop on The Long-Term Impact of the Internet? The Ditchley Foundation, Ditchley Park, Oxfordshire, 1 – 3 June 2007.

‘The Terrorism-Internet Relationship.’ Invited lecture at the United Nations Training School, Irish Military College, the Curragh, 31 May 2007.

Chair of Working Group II (‘What Role for the Media in Reporting Terrorism?’) at the EuroMed conference Preventing Incitement to Terrorism and Radicalisation: What Role for the Media? Croke Park Conference Centre, 21 May 2007.

‘Terrorism and the Internet: An Overview.’ Plenary address, Office of the Director General of Justice, Security and Freedom of the European Commission, Brussels, 20 March 2007.

Roundtable on Weaponizing the Media, sponsored by the University of Amsterdam, Marquette University, the journal Media, War, and Conflict, the Amsterdam Centre for Conflict Studies, and the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation, Amsterdam, 2 February, 2007.

Participation in workshop entitled Can Terrorism be Comprehensively Eradicated? The Ditchley Foundation, Ditchley Park, Oxfordshire, 8 – 10 December 2006.

‘Terrorism and the Internet: The UK Experience.’ Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) workshop on Terrorism in the UK, Whitehall, London, 5 May 2006.

‘Cyberterrorism and the Media: A Study in the Construction of ‘Reality.’ Danish Institute of International Affairs, Copenhagen, Denmark, 13 September 2005.

‘Terrorist Use of the Net and Fighting Back.’ Fourth annual Commercial Information Technology for Military Operations (CITMO) Workshop entitled Information Technology and Terrorism: The Impact of Emerging Commercial Capabilities, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, 15 – 17 June 2005.

‘Terrorist Use of the Net.’ Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Aberdeen, 16 February 2005.

‘Breaching Border Security: The Role of the Internet.’ University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education, special session on ‘Migration, Borders, Resources, and Security’ for HM Forces,
21 – 23 April 2004.

‘So You Wanna’ Be a Cyberterrorist?’ Department of Computer Science, Trinity College Dublin,
5 January 2004.

‘Reality Bytes: Cyberterrorism and Terrorist Organisations Online.’ Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV), University of St. Andrews, 5 November 2003.

‘Cyberterrorism and Terrorist ‘Use’ of the Internet.’ Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford, 23 May 2003.

‘Terrorism and the Internet.’ Department of Computer Science, Trinity College Dublin, 9 April 2003.

Selected Other Conferences and Workshops

International Workshop on Counterterrorism and Open Source Intelligence, Maersk McKinney Moller Institute, Counterterrorism Research Lab, Faculty of Engineering, University of Southern Denmark,
27 – 28 October 2009.

Image Wars: Media & US Foreign Policy strand of the Clinton Institute for American Studies’ Summer School, University College Dublin, 16 – 22 July 2007.

Terrorism , the City and the State conference, Clinton Institute for American Studies, University College Dublin, 26 February 2007.

Conference on Media Coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, organised by the Centre for Arab & Muslim Media Research (CAMMRO), Kings College, London, 17 February 2007.

Conference on Global Agendas: Peacemaking in the 21st Century, hosted by the Delhi Policy Group, Delhi, India, 13 – 14 February 2006.

Summer Workshop on Teaching About Terrorism (SWOTT), College of William and Mary, Virginia USA, 12 – 20 July 2005.

Conference on Facets of Power in International Relations, hosted by Millennium: Journal of International Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE),
30 – 31 October 2004.

Conference on International Relations in the Digital Age, hosted by Millennium: Journal of International Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), 18 October 2003.

The Global Development Challenge Conference hosted by the Institute for International Integration Studies, TCD, 10 July 2003.

Research symposium entitled Feminist Knowledge and Politics: A Dialogue hosted by the Irish Women’s Movement Project, Department of Sociology, University College Cork (UCC),
4 – 5 April 2003.

Symposium entitled Restless Searchlight: Terrorism, the Media, and Public Life co-sponsored by the APSA Political Communication Section and the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, 27 August 2002.

Discourse Theory Summer School at the 34th Essex Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis and Collection, University of Essex, UK, 23 July to 17 August 2001.

British International Studies Association (BISA) Annual Conference, University of Bradford, UK,
18 – 20 December 2000.

Contact

Dr. Maura Conway

School of Law and Government

Dublin City University

Glasnevin

Dublin 9

Ireland

{maura dot conway} at dcu dot ie

MAURA CONWAY