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The Pentagon is pumping millions of dollars annually into programs that set out to explore the factors responsible for creating civil unrest around the world,
The Guardian reported this week.
An
article by journalist Nafeez Ahmed published by the paper on Thursday this week acknowledges that the little-known United States Department of Defense program -
the Minerva Research Initiative - has since 2008 partnered with universities
"to improve DoD's basic understanding of the social, cultural, behavioral and political forces that shape regions of the world of strategic importance to the US."According to the program's website, it has recently awarded millions of dollars to be divvied up among 12 proposals from colleges that have launched projects relevant to the Pentagon's interest, including a Cornell University study called
"Tracking Critical-Mass Outbreaks in Social Contagions" as well as others involving state stability, social disequilibrium and, in one instance,
"Understanding American Muslims Converts in the Contexts of Security and Society." The funding all comes entirely from the Dept. of Defense.
"Understanding the Origin, Characteristics and Implications of Mass Political Movements," a study out of the University of Washington, was among those selected as well. In Lowell, Massachusetts, researchers there will use $2 million from the Pentagon to study terrorist behavior.
Comment: This crisis may be more than just 'blowback':