This paper proposes a new perspective on how radicalisation occurs. It argues that in group-based environments, radicalisation occurs on an ideologically-agnostic omni-directional spectrum of engagement vs disengagement where susceptibility to influence – not a commitment to a particular ideology at the outset – is a precursor to violent extremism. By…

This policy brief explores new and innovative communications approaches to reduce the threat from all forms of violent extremism in Europe today based on a precise analysis of the strategic problem and corresponding strategic communications solutions deployable in response. In the context of an ever-evolving violent extremist landscape, including new…

This article analyses how and why gender is used in ideological narratives of Salafi-jihadist and extreme right propaganda. It argues that five overarching gendered narratives are leveraged to increase the appeal and resonance of overarching ideological narratives: constructions of a corrupt gender order linked to crisis; constructions of a historically…

Women associated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are returning to their home countries from camps in northern Syria and require prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration. Yet, as feminist security and terrorism scholars have demonstrated, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes are mostly focused on men and neglect women’s experiences….

Targeted by Terrorists was launched on 22 February 2024 in Brussels. This research study was carried out in Indonesia, Iraq and Nigeria with the aim of  increasing knowledge regarding children associated with groups designated “terrorist”. Children’s association with such groups and their abduction, recruitment, use and exploitation by them has gained…

The paper presents a thorough examination of the digital proliferation of far-right extremism, a phenomenon that gained global attention following the tragic Christchurch attack in March 2019. The attack underscored the role of social media in broadcasting violent extremist content, prompting international responses such as the Christchurch Call to eliminate…

Building on calls for more analyses of constructions of gender within extremist groups, this study examines Australian neo-Nazis’ construction of hegemonic masculinity on the digital media platform, Telegram. Undertaking a keyword co-occurrence analysis of 3,279 posts and a qualitative analysis of 624 posts from 6 Australian neo-Nazi Telegram Channels, we…

This policy brief delves into France’s strategy for managing Islamist terrorists and radicalized prisoners (2015-2023). The first part spans the evolution of challenges within the French prison system, covering the return of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) and responses to terrorist attacks carried out between 2015 and 2018. The second part details key approaches…

Reimagine Resilience (2023), designed and established at Teachers College, Columbia University, is an innovative program that builds awareness and understanding among educators and educational personnel in the U.S. on the precursors and causes of educational displacement in students, supporting educators in promoting belonging, connectedness, and resilience to prevent educational displacement,…

This paper brings a systems engineering approach to policymaking in the context of violent radicalization. We test strategies to combat terrorism under the premise that violent radicalization is a complex system of social contagion resulting in terrorism. We built a simulation using DIME-PMESII military standards to replicate a terror contagion…

Background This report presents the findings of a systematic review of research on how, and under what circumstances, trauma might be implicated in individual journeys into, and out of, violent extremism. It builds on previous work carried out by the research team on these dynamics, including a scoping review of…

AI tools have become essential given the vast amount of content posted daily. On average, every minute Facebook users share 694,000 stories, X (formerly Twitter) users post 360,000 posts, Snapchat users send 2.7 million snaps and YouTube users upload over 500 hours of new content. The volume of data generated…