Many look at schools to contribute to the prevention of radicalisation leading to violent extremism and terrorism. The school is indeed one of the best places to boost resilience in young people and counter radicalisation in an early stage. School leadership can make the difference. This ex post paper reflects…
Some scholars and others are skeptical of a significant role for the Internet in processes of violent radicalization. There is increasing concern on the part of other scholars, and increasingly also pol- icymakers and publics, that easy availability of violent extremist content online may have violent radicalizing effects. This article…
During the Westgate terrorist attack of 2013, al-Shabaab used Twitter to claim responsibility for and live tweet throughout the attack. This article analyzes 556 of these tweets to understand the motivations for using Twitter during ongoing terrorist operations and builds up a picture of how al-Shabaab interacted with Twitter throughout…
A letter of criticism regarding the FBI’s “Don’t be a Puppet” website initiative
This report explores the drivers of radicalization in East and Horn of Africa. The report explores economic, cultural and religious factors.
In the summer of 2012, first reports emerged of so-called “foreign fighters” (FF) leaving their home and residence countries to join the Syrian uprising against the Assad regime. Since then, the number of these “travellers” to the Syrian, and more recently, Iraqi battlefields has grown significantly: From September 2014 to…
Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States-Foreign Fighters (PIRUS-FF) is a database collected by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) that contains over 100 variables on all phases – pre-travel, travel, and return – of the foreign fighter life cycle. The database…
The One2One initiative by the Institute of Strategic Dialogue (ISD) brings together a team of former extremists from across ideologies that are identifying those at risk of carrying out violent acts and directly reaching out to these individuals online, offering to engage in a constructive dialogue.
The rapid growth of the middle class in the developing world is widely seen as one of the most promising demographic developments in the 21st century. In emerging markets in China, India and increasingly in Africa, millions have been lifted out of poverty and boosted the middle class now driving…
The aim of the Countering Lone-Actor Terrorism (CLAT) project is to understand lone-actor terrorism in a European context. The project will develop a database of lone-actor cases from across Europe. Its overall objective is to see if it is possible to discern any trends or patterns that could be translated…
Boko Haram, one of the world’s deadliest armed groups, is waging an insurgency in the name of creating an Islamic caliphate. This violent conflict in Nigeria’s Northeast has killed nearly 17,000 people since 2009, displaced nearly 2.2 million people, devastated thousands of communities, and slowed the economy. Mercy Corps’ April…
As the Awami League (AL) government’s political rivalry with the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) reaches new heights, so has its repression. At the same time, a deeply politicised, dysfunctional criminal justice system is undermining rather than buttressing the rule of law. Heavy-handed measures are denting the government’s legitimacy and, by…
