Drawn from a wider-ranging piece of research into radicalisation processes, this research note presents findings about the backgrounds of British jihadists travelling to fight in Syria. The research identifies biographical factors that are salient to two theories of radicalisation–Social Movement Theory (SMT) and Olivier Roy’s ‘youth revolt’ theory and presents…
How can we understand the social and economic dynamics that enable the operative space of the militant networks in northern Mali? This article argues that jihadist militant groups are actors in local power struggles rather than ‘fighters’ or ‘terrorists’ with extremist ideological motivations. I argue that the sharp distinctions drawn…
The Handbook of the Criminology of Terrorism features a collection of essays that represent the most recent criminological research relating to the origins and evolution of, along with responses to, terrorism, from a criminological perspective.
This paper uses open-source periodicals in Arabic, English, French, and Urdu to examine how authors from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Taliban construct rival claims of leadership and discredit each other in official periodicals. ISIS authors stress their movement’s legitimacy through religious texts that call…
The world is gripped in fear, and day after day, we are reminded why. This ongoing project between Esri and PeaceTech Lab reveals that more than 400 reported terrorist attacks have occurred across the globe in 2017, with the estimated death count nearing 3,000. Our fears are valid, and our…
There are currently few evaluations of interventions designed to counter violent extremism. Various initiatives aim to introduce evaluation to this policy area where robust and rigorous evaluations have not yet become the norm.This report aims to illustrate how exploration of evaluations from established academic fields can be used to inform…
This handbook was developed with a view to providing coherent and consistent guidance to national authorities on the treatment of children recruited and exploited by terrorist and violent extremist groups, with emphasis on the role of the justice system.
This article considers the challenges associated with completing risk assessments in countering violent extremism. In particular, it is concerned with risk assessment of those who come to the attention of government and nongovernment organizations as being potentially on a trajectory toward terrorism and where there is an obligation to consider…
When someone becomes radicalised and behaves in an ‘extreme’ way, this does not only affect the person, but also their family, friends, wider social circle and society. Families, youngsters and children are confronted with recruitment by terrorist/Violent Extremist groups. Today’s reality is one in which radicalisation is not uncommon as…
The 2016 International Countering Violent Extremism Research Conference was held in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 6-8 December. Co-hosted by Hedayah and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and sponsored and organised by Coventry University, Edith Cowan University, Swansea Univer- sity, the Royal United Services Institute, UN Women, and the Wahid Foun-…
This document is meant to give you an overview on the main activities and outcomes of the project “Peaceful Dialogue in Kyrgyzstan – Countering religious extremism”, which had been implemented between March and December 2016 in five regions of the country. The project was designed to increase the awareness of…
BIRMINGHAM, England — I gripped the phone, trying to make out the words on the crackling line. There was a moment of silence before the voice at the other end spoke: “I’m sorry, but your son is dead.” It was the call I had feared for months. How was I…
