Mapping terrorist groups using network analysis: Egypt case study

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is twofold; first, it aims to understand the underlying dynamics of the organizations behind the terrorist attacks, and second, to investigate the dynamics of terrorist organizations in relation to one another to detect whether there exist shared patterns of terror between different organizations. Design/methodology/approach To achieve this purpose, the researcher proposes a computational algorithm that extracts data from global terrorism database (GTD); calculates similarity indices between different terrorist groups; generates a network data file from the calculated indices; and apply network analysis techniques to the extracted data. The proposed algorithm includes applying SQL database codes for data extraction, building a tailored C# computer software to calculate similarity indices and generate similarity networks and using GEPHI software to visualize the generated network and calculate network metrics and measures. Findings Applying the proposed algorithm to Egypt, the results reveal different shared patterns of terror among different terrorist groups. This helps us in creating a terror landscape for terrorist groups playing in Egypt. Originality/value The importance of the study lies in that it proposes a new algorithm that combines network analysis with other data-manipulation techniques to generate a network of similar terror groups.