The recent New York Times investigation into the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi has reignited the debate over the nature and trajectory of al Qaeda. The conclusion of the report – that there was no evidence of an al Qaeda role in the attack –…

The Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT), in collaboration with the Embassy of the United States of America in Malaysia, successfully organised the Southeast Asia Regional Workshop on Countering Online Violent Extremist Narratives in Kuala Lumpur from 4 to 6 November 2014.

Lone-wolf terrorism is a threat to the security of modern society, as was tragically shown in Norway on July 22, 2011, when Anders Behring Breivik carried out two terrorist attacks that resulted in a total of 77 deaths. Since lone wolves are acting on their own, information about them cannot…

Marian Kotleba, a well-known figure of the Slovak neo-Nazi scene, was recently elected as governor of the central Slovak region of Banská Bystrica. Radka Vicenová asks if this is the mere consequence of a protest vote, or the indicator of a much more disturbing trend?

Is radical Islamism spreading in South Africa? The answer has to be an emphatic ‘yes’. When discussing issues of radicalisation in Africa, commentators often examine the case of Somalia’s al-Shabaab or al-Qaeda’s North African franchise, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Very little attention is paid to radicalisation amongst South…

Russia has been targeted with a series of terrorist attacks over the past several years, and there are a growing number of extremist groups operating throughout Russia’s society utilizing the Internet/ social media to promote their narratives and objectives. Russia’s policy community has created institutional mechanisms and laws to address…

The security sector and the development sector have not traditionally been natural partners, and have not traditionally cooperated to a large degree. However, given the recent developments in Countering Terrorism (CT) that shifted the focus from reactive measures to a more preventive and multi dimensional approach, the Security sector and…

This meeting note outlines the key recommendations on the role of education in countering violent extremism concluded from a group of experts, policymakers, government officials and practitioners brought together by Hedayah and the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation held in New York, September 2013.

A paper investigating the political landscape in Hungary, in particular the alarming rise to power of the extreme right party Jobbik. It concludes that although the extent of the far right goes beyond Jobbik, the party ensures there is a hardcore of fanatical and potentially violent far-right adherents.

This research paper examines some of the challenges, as well as possible strategies and legal mechanisms available for European policymakers to address the foreign fighters phenomenon. It first assesses the complex threat (potentially) posed by returning mujahidin to Europe’s security. The Paper then outlines some of the risk assessment and…

This manual focuses on the investigation process and has been produced following requests from law enforcement officers working in the field for a practical tool to aid their work. It is designed to help improve democratic policing practice across the OSCE and to assist law enforcement practitioners in strengthening their…

This note describes a new and unique, open source, relational database called the United States Extremist Crime Database (ECDB). We first explain how the ECDB was created and outline its distinguishing features in terms of inclusion criteria and assessment of ideological commitment. Second, the article discusses issues related to the…