Center for Security

Strategies for addressing terrorism and homeland security will be the focus of a new center that Duke is establishing with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and RTI International, a research institute based in Research Triangle Park.

Initially headquartered at Duke, the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security will draw upon the resources of the two universities to stimulate cross-disciplinary discussion and scholarship on military, diplomatic, and domestic counterterrorism strategies and policies to protect against future terrorist attacks. It also will take advantage of expertise at RTI International to conduct federally supported research on homeland-security topics and seek partnerships with private companies that develop and address security technologies or challenges. The center will provide a bridge between the academic community and policymakers at the state, national, and international levels.

Among the center's goals will be increasing understanding of the causes of terrorism and its philosophy and ideology; studying the tactics, structure, and methodology of terrorist organizations; examining how the issue of terrorism intersects with U.S. foreign policy, the politics of the Middle East and other parts of the world, and international security institutions; exploring the effectiveness of current military, diplomatic, and law-enforcement strategies to disable terrorist organizations; and promoting dialogue and scholarship about homeland-security issues. The overarching aim will be to bring scientific, technological, and theoretical scholarship to bear on practical public-policy problems. David H. Schanzer, a government lawyer and former Capitol Hill staff member, has been hired as the center's director.