The Mapping Militants Project develops a series of interactive diagrams that “map” relationships among interconnected groups and show how those relationships change over time. Most maps focus on violent non-state actors in conflicts in specific regions or countries.  The Global Al Qaeda and Global Islamic State maps are international in scope, as they document the connections among dozens of militant organizations operating in a variety of geographical areas. The transnational right-wing extremism map shows the links among violent groups with far-right ideologies, such as white supremacism, Neo-Naziism, and accelerationism.  A complete list of our current maps can be found by scrolling through the project’s homepage. 

Once users click on a map, they can change map settings to display different features (e.g., leadership changes) and adjust the time scale. The types of relationships (e.g., splits, merges, rivalries) among groups are recorded with different types of lines, which are described in a legend accessible to users in the toolbar at the top of the viewing page. Additionally, users can click on specific groups to learn more about them. The option to trace a specific group on the map allows users to observe the types of interactions that a specific organization has engaged in over its lifetime.

The Mapping Militants Project currently hosts over 110 complete profiles of both active and disbanded militant groups. These profiles are written according to a standard format to make comparison across cases possible. Profiles include the following sections:

• Overview/Narrative Summary
• Organizational Structure
  • Leadership
  • Name Changes
  • Size Estimates
  • Resources
  • Geographical Locations
• Strategy
  • Ideology and Goals
  • Political Activities
  • Targets and Tactics
  • Major Attacks
• Interactions
  • Designated/Listed as Terrorist Organization
  • Community Relations
  • Relationships with Other Groups
  • State Sponsors and External Influences

All of the information included in the project’s profiles is extensively cited. The Mapping Militants Project relies on open-source publications for its information, and sources are carefully chosen to maximize the veracity and reliability of our published profiles.

The project’s research assistants produce comprehensive profiles of each group based on available open-source information. However, it is important to note that acquiring information on covert organizations can be challenging. Some profiles may be longer than others, and some sections may be left blank if no reliable information is available.

Violent extremist groups on the far right pose a unique challenge for researchers, in that their organizational structure is often informal and amorphous.  Their membership is fluid and shifting.  It can be difficult to identify leaders.  We include such groups because they pose an increasing security risk, particularly for the United States homeland, and their transnational linkages are growing. 

When first documenting militant organizations in Pakistan, team members considered the distinction between UN-designated terrorist groups and other groups in the region to be important. Thus, two Pakistan maps were created. The “Pakistan” map records only UN-designated terrorist organization, while the “Pakistan — ALL” map chronicles a broader set of groups. Mapping Militants research assistants are currently working to combine the two maps into a single map for greater interpretability.

The Mapping Militants Project has been overseen by CISAC-FSI Senior Fellow Martha Crenshaw since its inception in 2009. Stanford Ph.D. candidates in Political Science have assisted with the oversight of the project and managed a team of graduate and undergraduate research assistants: Rachel Gillum, Kerry Persen, Iris Malone and Kaitlyn Robinson. The research assistants are engaged in a constant effort to update existing profiles and author new ones.

The Mapping Militants Project offers three main sources of data. First, each group profile page has been saved in PDF form and is available for download. Second, users can also download a comprehensive list of all groups documented on the Mapping Militants site. Finally, new data on the types of linkages between groups that are captured on the various maps is now available to users.

All of these data are available on the Mapping Militants Project’s public Box folder, located at https://stanford.box.com/v/mappingmilitants

Each profile on our new website has a “How to Cite” section with citation directions. In general, the citation format is as follows:

Mapping Militant Organizations. “[Group name].” Stanford University. Last modified [month, year]. [Profile page URL]

For example, the citation for the project’s page on Boko Haram would read:

Mapping Militant Organizations. “Boko Haram.” Stanford University. Last modified June 2018. mappingmilitants.cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/profiles/boko-haram

Users can communicate with the Mapping Militants team over email by sending a message to mappingmilitants@lists.stanford.edu