The concept of creating counter-narratives1 in order to push back against extremist recruitment and propaganda has become well established in recent years. In practice, however, it has proven difficult to curate this content in a systematic way, target it toward at risk audiences, and – most importantly – measure constructive…

Unemployed, idle, and fanatical – this is how young people in the ranks of the armed jihadist groups in Mali are portrayed. However, there is little empirical data to support this characterisation. Little research has been done in the Malian context where the young people involved in these groups have…

There is something of a paradox emerging around global efforts to counter violent extremism. In the wake of terrorist attacks in Aden, Baghdad, Dhaka, Istanbul, Kabul, Nice, Orlando, and elsewhere, public awareness of the problem and the need to address it has never been greater. The White House’s CVE summit…

Hundreds of thousands of athletes and tourists are about to arrive in Rio de Janeiro from around the world for this year’s Summer Olympics, whose opening ceremony is just more than two weeks away. Security is going to be extremely tight. The police and army are on high alert for…

The causes and consequences of the Boko Haram insurgency as well as its possible solutions have been subjected to different interpretations among scholars, politicians, and journalists. Little is known, however, about how the Nigerian populace thinks about the uprising. The present study contributes to the literature on Boko Haram by…

Shadi Hamid and Rashid Dar provide a brief cheat sheet on the distinctions between the terms and movements in Islam – “Islamism,” “Salafism,” and “jihadism.”

One day in 2012, a group of policemen in a Danish town were sitting around in the office when an unusual call came in. This town, called Aarhus, is a clean, orderly place with very little crime. So what the callers were saying really held the cops’ attention. They were…

This study analyzes how Inspire and Dabiq seek to appeal to and radicalize English-speaking Muslims. It examines how each magazine strategically designs ingroup, Other, crisis, and solution constructs and interplays these via value-, dichotomy-, and crisis-reinforcing narratives. This analysis also explores how narrative, imagery, and counternarrative messaging are used to…

The mounting tide of foreign fighters leaving Britain for the Middle East to fight, sacrifice or find new lives has blighted European governments and led to the further tightening up of counter-terrorism measures. Since the first British arrest of a Syrian returnee (Choudhury) in 2014, the latest figures of foreign…

MIRAMAR, Fla. — Nezar Hamze stood before those crowded into the mosque’s prayer room, speaking through his headset mic. He explained their rights to ­self-defense and talked up the benefits of home security systems. And had all the women received their complimentary canisters of pepper spray? Nods spread across the…

The following publication discusses the development, implementation and evaluation of Youth Innovation Labs conducted by the Youth Civil Activism Network (YouthCAN). Youth Innovation Labs are immersive, activist-led events that provide a space for innovation, cocreation and learning while giving participants the contacts, tools and resources needed to develop counter-narrative campaigns…

The creation of strategic narratives is at the core of modern strategic communication strategies in business, politics and even in warfare. The battle of narratives has become the bedrock of international politics, and social media a powerful tool to fight this battle. The unique characteristic of social media is that…