Extremist groups like ISIS, Boko Haram, al-Shabaab, and others have used indiscriminate violence and violated human rights on many occasions. Despite their inhumane activities, these groups still manage to attract followers. This fact shows that one cannot combat these groups by countering their acts of terrorism alone, but one must…
This article reports on field research undertaken in Kyrgyzstan during November 2016. It explores radicalization to violent extremism in Kyrgyzstan in general as well as women’s roles within Kyrgyzstan both in becoming violent extremists and in preventing and countering violent extremism.
The recruitment, radicalization, travel, and return of opposition foreign fighters to Syria and Iraq pose unique challenges at home and abroad in both the short and long term. In an efort to shed more light on the nature of this problem, the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point collected…
Given the proliferation of violent extremist content online in recent years, developing effective counter-narratives – messages that offer a positive alternative to extremist propaganda, or deconstruct or delegitimise extremist narratives and challenge extremist ideologies – is an increasingly necessary alternative to online censorship.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) issued today a groundbreaking report from its Commission on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) calling for a new comprehensive strategy to address “the global scourge of violent extremism” in the United States and abroad. Cochaired by Leon Panetta and Tony Blair, the Commission…
While a considerable amount of research has been conducted on community-based initiatives aimed at preventing violence, including the role of the ex-political prisoner community in preventative and counterterrorism work, little is known about how the ex-prisoners themselves manage their identity transition between the role they occupied during the conflict and…
This action plan describes programming and policy that are currently being, or could be, led/sponsored by the GCTF members and other interested stakeholders including: Hedayah, the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), the UN Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF), the UN Center on Counter-Terrorism, the UN Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate…
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is dedicated to countering violent extremism and plays a leading role in the Federal Government’s efforts. To accomplish this, DHS equips CVE community partners with the necessary information, grants, tools, training, and other support to help them identify and counter radicalization to violence. Through…
Earlier this month, 18-year-old Mahin Khan of Tucson, Arizona pleaded guilty to terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism, and conspiracy to commit misconduct involving weapons. The plea is unusual because it was entered in state court rather than federal court, making it Arizona’s first terrorism-related case. State terrorism prosecutions are extremely…
Countering violent extremism (CVE) is a widely used and defined term. From a practitioner’s perspective, it works on three levels: prevention of radicalization, intervention with individuals in danger of radicalization, and de-radicalization. The European Union pursues a holistic approach, which includes transnational collaboration and eliminating possible root causes of radicalization….
Since 9/11, the U.S. government has spent many billions and mobilized thousands of employees to thwart jihadi terrorist plots in America and abroad. Measured by American lives saved, the U.S. government has had extraordinary success using all elements of its national security toolbox to capture, arrest, and kill terrorists worldwide….
