This study maps the surface web information ecosystem exploited by the Islamic State (IS) and its followers between December 2020 and June 2021. Open-source intelligence investigation allowed a massive online presence of Daesh, manifested by hundreds of communication channels, to be detected. Its propaganda dissemination was founded mainly on one…

Research has explored how the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a wave of conspiratorial thinking and online hate speech, but little is empirically known about how different phases of the pandemic are associated with hate speech against adversaries identified by online conspiracy communities. This study addresses this gap by combining observational methods…

Domestic violent extremists, specifically white supremacist extremists, have long plotted against U.S. democracy. As the United States experiences a period of heightened animosity toward elected officials and other political leaders, the history of WSE assassination — and the context in which these attacks have occurred — suggests a stark outlook for…

In previous studies, multiagency collaboration was identified as a key strategy for early intervention in violent extremism. However, there has been little focus on professionals’ shared communication to support collaboration. The aim of this study was to describe trust in multiagency collaboration teams in the Nordic countries tasked with preventing…

The potential exploitation of video games, gaming (-adjacent) platforms and gaming-related content by extremist actors has become an increasingly debated issue over the last years. International organisations, policymakers, tech companies, researchers and practitioners alike devote a considerable amount of attention to delineating how and why extremist groups of multiple ideological…

State responses to repatriation of Islamic State (ISIS) foreign fighters and their children detained across Syria and Iraq are highly diverse. Repatriation policies implemented between 2018 and 2020 range from denying repatriation of nationals and revocation of citizenship to repatriation and subsequent gender-responsive rehabilitation programmes. What explains the variation in…

In several conflicts worldwide children are recruited as fighters in irregular forces. These children need to be reintegrated into the society after the conflict. However, concurrent to various reservations in the communities, the reintegration of former child soldiers is challenged by the fact that many of the affected children were…

Large-scale linguistic analyses are increasingly applied to the study of extremism, terrorism, and other threats of violence. At the same time, practitioners working in the field of counterterrorism and security are confronted with large-scale linguistic data, and may benefit from computational methods. This article highlights the challenges and opportunities associated…

This report presents bias indicators for the Australian context and discusses their concept, uses, benefits and risks. The bias indicators presented are the result of extensive consultations with local experts, including academics and practitioners working in law enforcement agencies, government and non-government organisations and community organisations. The researchers’ aim was…

The cataclysmic rise to prominence of the Radical Islamic Network (RIN) in Trinidad and Tobago afforded this small twin island developing state, the unenviable title of Highest Exporter of ISIS foreign terrorist fighters (FTF) per capita in the Western Hemisphere. Such notoriety jolted the nation to re-examine and revise its…

This chapter explores the role of trauma in violent extremism research, offering insights on its effects on the research process, providing insights on the radicalization process of individual cases, and informing reintegration prospects of returning foreign fighters and their family members. The chapter focuses on war-related trauma as a widespread…

This study aims to better understand the plight of families associated with ISIL, including those who remain displaced or imprisoned, to identify opportunities for rehabilitation and sustainable reintegration through gender-responsive recommendations. Mostly women and children, families perceived to be affiliated with ISIL require mental and psychosocial care, livelihoods support, and…