The next part of the process evaluation consisted of qualitative semi-structured interviews with participants of the MAW structures. The original intention was to include three cities per country and five interviews per city (3*15) in order to achieve a representative sample. Due to staff turnover involving our contacts in one…

This report highlights the networks, supporters, and the platforms of Islamic State disinformation disseminators, focusing on popular social media platforms as well as encrypted messaging applications. These disinformation networks are creating self-branded media outlets with followers in the tens of thousands, and often with innocuous names like “Global Happenings,” “DRIL”…

Collaborative research between the Institute for Security Studies and the Judicial Training Institute of Mozambique revealed that people in Cabo Delgado see the discovery and poor governance of natural resources as a cause of the insurgency. The study also found few links between the insurgency and organised crime, and that…

This report explores the three strategic goals of decentralized, unofficial pro-IS networks: create, connect, and deceive. The paper provides a historical overview of the changing strategies employed by such pro-IS supporters online, in response to the changing online environment and stricter content moderation policies, as well as explores each of…

This paper explores the relationship between gamification and violent extremism, as well as emerging trends on the given topic. The main questions the paper seeks to address through literature review are: “what is gamification of (violent) extremism, what are the current and future threats it presents to the European Union…

The Western Balkan states of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and North Macedonia are the only European countries to have voluntarily and publicly repatriated male Islamic State foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) previously detained by Kurdish-led forces in Syria. Their proactive repatriation approach deserves both praise and greater attention. Controlled removal of…

The Gender and Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) Policy Toolkit, presented to the Twentieth GCTF Coordinating Committee in September 2022, provides guidance to support the practical use of the Good Practices on Women and Countering Violent Extremism and its Addendum. The development of this GCTF toolkit was led by Australia and Indonesia, Co-Chairs…

The Gender and Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) Policy Toolkit, presented to the Twentieth GCTF Coordinating Committee in September 2022, provides guidance to support the practical use of the Good Practices on Women and Countering Violent Extremism and its Addendum. The development of this GCTF toolkit was led by Australia and Indonesia, Co-Chairs…

The Gender and Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) Policy Toolkit, presented to the Twentieth GCTF Coordinating Committee in September 2022, provides guidance to support the practical use of the Good Practices on Women and Countering Violent Extremism and its Addendum. The development of this GCTF toolkit was led by Australia and Indonesia, Co-Chairs…

Gendered approaches in preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) have been a topic of professional debate for some time. Practitioners, academics and policymakers are increasingly aware of the need to formulate gender-specific responses. However, key concepts commonly remain elusive and difficult to put into practice. Despite the growing interest, gender-disaggregated…

In Somalia, 26 million people are expected to experience extreme hunger by February 2023, threatening hundreds of thousands of lives. Nearly half of Somalia’s population of 7.1 million people already face acute food insecurity. In the first six months of 2022, the number of children receiving treatment for malnutrition surged…

Salafi-jihadi insurgencies have proliferated in Africa in the past decade. Salafi-jihadi groups had territorial bases in just four countries at the start of 2011: Afghanistan, Kenya, Pakistan, and Somalia. By 2015, Salafi-jihadi insurgencies were active in 14 countries. By 2021, the number had reached at least 35,3 including a dramatic…