Much has been written about the young men and women who join the Islamic State. We are familiar with their biographies and pathways, backgrounds and motivations. But virtually nothing is known about those who quit: the ‘defectors’ who didn’t like what they saw, abandoned their comrades, and fled the Islamic…

As a field of policy and practice, countering violent extremism (CVE) has emerged rapidly in recent years and represents the most significant development in counterterrorism over that time. Ideologically driven violent extremists are a primary threat to national and human security in the developed and developing worlds, suggesting that, in…

This Communication provides an account of the measures the Government has implemented to safeguard democracy against violent extremism. The aim of these measures is to improve our knowledge of violent extremism and develop preventive initiatives and methods. These measures will enable authorities, municipalities and civil society organisations, including faith communities,…

Four decades of political instability, violent conflict, and socioeconomic crisis has had a devastating impact on Afghanistan and its citizens. As this Peace Brief explains, understanding the process of radicalization and the drivers of violent extremism is vital to designing effective counterstrategies.

The President’s focus has helped bring the issue of violent extremism (VE) to the fore, and it also highlights the complex, systemic, multi-faceted root causes of the allure of extremism. Although it is growing, the body of evidence regarding what works and what does not in countering violent extremism (CVE)…

Religion and ethnicity is widely associated with the unrelenting Taliban-led violence in Pakistan. Their shari’a rhetoric coupled with a sympathetic politico-religious constituency compounds the terrorism landscape for the general audience. Besides, less academic treatment of the phenomenon entailing analysis of its wholesome dimensions further constrains its understanding. Conceding the fact…

On June 14, 2015, over 100 heavily-armed special forces clad in military fatigues with their faces obscured by balaclavas raided the homes of residents of Georgia’s Pankisi Gorge whom they suspected of recruiting for the Islamic State. Captured by video and still cameras, the media blitz that accompanied the operation…

Two recent false alarms concerning gunshots at military installations in Washington, D.C. were not terrorism related but do highlight the persistent public fear of lone wolf attacks. The massive law enforcement response to such incidents is understandable since the threat is uncertain upon arrival; it is the public response and…

Bottom Line Up Front: • The reported death of British foreign fighter Abu Abdullah al-Britanni by a U.S. airstrike in Syria highlights how the nationalities and borders that once limited military action are fading in light of the true borderless nature of the threat • At the counter-terrorism level, nationalities…

The current state of countering violent extremism (CVE) in Australia and other Western nations is characterised by definitional dilemmas around its relationship to the concepts and practice of counterterrorism (CT) and security. While attempts have been made to engage the civil society sector in CVE through programmes that provide funding…

With increasing numbers of terrorism offenders in custodial settings across the globe, effectively managing this specific prison population and ensuring that violent extremist radicalization does not spread through the system have become key priorities for many governments. Certain prisons seem to have become incubators for radicalization and recruitment, while others…

This report summarizes the discussions during the “Countering FTF Recruitment Workshop: Counter-Messaging and the Role of Disillusioned Former Fighters” workshop held in Abu Dhabi, June 2015.