By Institute for Economics & Peace

From the Executive Summary: "This is the third edition of the Ecological Threat Report (ETR), which analyses ecological threats in 228 independent states and territories. Produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), the report covers over 3,638 sub-national administrative districts, or 99.99 per cent of the world's population, assessing threats relating to 'food risk, water risk, rapid population growth and natural disasters'. Many ecological threats exist independently of climate change. However, climate change will have an amplifying effect, causing further ecological degradation. The research takes a multi-faceted, multidimensional approach by analysing risk at the national, administrative district and city level, while also assessing these entities by ecological threats, societal resilience and levels of peace. Additionally, the research provides projections to 2050. To assist the international community in prioritising its focus, IEP has identified the countries, administrative districts and cities most at risk."

Institute for Economics & Peace. 2022. 81p.

By: Goodman, Ryan, Kim, Sang-Min; Steinman, Jon; Ford, William

"For the first time in American history, a sitting president of the United States sought to overturn the results of a presidential election and block the peaceful transfer of power to his rightful successor. Former President Donald Trump waged this campaign for months, spreading baseless claims about widespread election fraud and pursuing an array of schemes at the local, state, and federal levels in an effort to reverse the 2020 electoral outcome. This multifaceted campaign--which culminated in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol--has chipped away at many Americans' faith in our democratic processes, emboldened extremists who threaten violence to secure their political preferences, and left a blueprint for future efforts to subvert elections. This crisis is made worse by shortcomings in an array of federal laws, which leave key government institutions vulnerable, and provide legal loopholes that can be exploited by actors looking to subvert the will of the American people. In June 2021, the House of Representatives created the January 6 Select Committee to investigate the events surrounding the attack on the Capitol including their causes. This Guide presents an overview of the Select Committee's findings to date, revealed to the public in a series of hearings that allege President Trump and his associates engaged in a seven-part conspiracy to hold onto power. This Guide covers the numerous threats to American democracy that have emerged, responsive reforms under consideration by policymakers, and how Americans can learn more about these events and possible paths forward toward a more resilient democracy in the future."

Just Security. September 2022. 43p.

By Laura Sciafe

Terrorism. Why does this word grab our attention so? Propaganda machines have adopted modern technology as a means to always have their content available. Regardless of the hour or time zone, information is being shared by somebody, somewhere. Social media is a game changer influencing the way in which terror groups are changing their tactics and also how their acts of terror are perceived by the members of the public they intend to influence. This book explores how social media adoption by terrorists interacts with privacy law, freedom of expression, data protection and surveillance legislation through an exploration of the fascinating primary resources themselves, covering everything from the Snowden Leaks, the rise of ISIS to Charlie Hebdo. The book also covers lesser worn paths such as the travel guide that proudly boasts that you can get Bounty and Twix bars mid-conflict, and the best local hair salons for jihadi brides. These vignettes, amongst the many others explored in this volume bring to life the legal, policy and ethical debates considered in this volume, representing an important part in the development of understanding terrorist narratives on social media, by framing the legislative debate. This book represents an invaluable guide for lawyers, government bodies, the defence services, academics, students and businesses.

London; New York: Routledge, 2017 216p.

By Suzi Mirgani

This ground-breaking book explores the points of convergence between corporate capitalism and terrorist practice. Assessing the increase in the number of terrorist attacks directed against commercial entities in urban areas, such as the Westgate mall in Nairobi or the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris, Suzi Mirgani offers a fascinating and disturbing perspective on the spaces where supposedly oppositional ends of the spectrum meet on common ground. How is it that these urban commercial spaces provide ground zero for a conference between the most powerful forces of contemporary culture: the most mainstream and the most extreme?

Bielefeld, Germany: transcript Verlag. 2016. 199p.

Edited by Jens Rydgren

The resurgence of strong radical right-wing parties and movements constitutes one of the most significant political changes in democratic states during the past several decades, particularly in Europe. This resurgence has attracted interest from political scientists, sociologists, historians, and other scholars, most of whose research focuses on party and electoral politics. This book covers that literature, focuses on how the radical right manifests itself as movements rather than parties, and include a number of case studies both in Europe and beyond. The chapters cover concepts and definitions; ideologies and discourses; a range of contemporary issues including religion, globalization, gender, and activism; and cases such as France, Russia, the United States, Australia, Israel, and Japan. By integrating various strands of scholarship on the radical right, the book provides an authoritative and state-of-the-art overview of the topic and sets the agenda for future scholarship on the radical right for years to come

London; New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. 760p.

United States. Congress. House. Committee On Veterans' Affairs

From the Hearing Overview: "Having established why DVE [Domestic Violence Extremist] groups target veterans in their recruitment efforts during the October 2021 hearing, the Committee's March 31, 2022, hearing, entitled 'Helping Veterans Thrive: The Importance of Peer Support in Preventing Domestic Violent Extremism,' turned to the veterans' side of the story. The hearing had two main objectives: 1. To further examine some of the risk factors that place a small but growing number of military veterans at risk of radicalization and recruitment by DVE groups; and 2. To identify and evaluate various civil society efforts to combat domestic violent extremism. [...] As a result of the hearing, the Committee identified two main findings: 1. There is no single pathway toward radicalization, but there are certain risk factors that veterans who engage in violent extremism often share[; and] 2. Peer support, including support from other veterans, military families, and Veterans Service Organizations, is vital to countering the threat of domestic violent extremism."

United States. Congress. House. Committee On Veterans' Affairs . 2022. 21p.

By Pijpers, Peter B.M.J.

From the Summary: "The Russian invasion of Ukraine, while primarily a kinetic war, saw new actors and novel activities exploiting cyberspace. Numerous non-state actors, hacker groups and commercial enterprises have entered the virtual battlespace, taking sides with one of the warring states without necessarily being belligerent entities. While states were already struggling with how to regulate activities in cyberspace, the new tropes, techniques and tactics have increased legal uncertainty. International law is based on the state, a territory, and the distinction between war and peace, while cyberspace and the activities conducted therein are not. The Russo-Ukraine war has made it clear that non-state actors such as Microsoft or Anonymous cannot be attributed to a state, and that they do not participate directly in hostilities, at least not physically. Moreover, the attributes of cyberspace have not only blurred the differences between state and non-state actors, but also transformed the dichotomy between war and peace. Not only do the challenges of how to apply international law to the new tropes, techniques and tactics in cyberspace increase differences in interpretation, but the ensuing uncertainties can be exploited, causing legal asymmetry."

European Centre Of Excellence For Countering Hybrid Threats (Hybrid Coe) . 2002. 20p.

By Ravich, Samantha Fay; Fixler, Annie

From the Introduction: "In 2018, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) published a series of monographs analyzing cyber-enabled economic warfare (CEEW) as practiced by Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran. The four studies brought together for the first time an assessment of each adversary's CEEW attacks on America's economic infrastructure. At the time, the term CEEW was only beginning to seep into the consciousness of the U.S. national security community. The White House had used the term in its 2017 National Security Strategy, noting how adversaries are using technology to 'weaken our businesses and our economy.'1 But the connection between such malicious activities and the overall strategies of America's four principal adversaries remained unclear. The risks associated with CEEW are now clearer, thanks less to the rigorous analysis of adversarial intentions than to the increased scale, scope, and frequency of attacks across the American economic landscape. Still, the federal government has a blind spot that leaves the United States vulnerable to a catastrophic strategic surprise -- one that could simultaneously destabilize the U.S. electrical grid, water supply, banking system, transportation sector, or other critical infrastructure necessary for survival. That blind spot is intelligence that anticipates the adversary's strategy. For too long, the United States has tried to patch its way to safety with the enemy inside its networks."

Foundation For Defense Of Democracies 2022. 68p.

By Graeme R. Newman and Ronald V. Clarke.

This manual is intended to help police executives and other senior executives meet the new challenges involved in countering the threat of terrorism by summarizing writings on the essential components of a counterterrorism plan. It does not deal with the specifics of such matters as (1) conducting surveillance of suspected terrorists; (2) protecting different types of vulnerable targets, such as ports and chemical plants; or (3) achieving interoperability in wireless communications among different disaster-response agencies, such as fire, police, and emergency medical personnel. Although junior officers need this type of detail, chiefs require more general information about a broad range of issues that can help them develop plans and policies to counter the terrorist threat. This manual seeks to meet the needs of chiefs and other senior personnel by summarizing information about 50 key topics in the form of advice to the chief.

Center for Problem Oriented Policing. 2005. 134p. Read more at the Center for Problem Oriented Policing

By U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security

Preventing terrorist attacks remains a top priority for both the FBI and the DHS, and the FBI serves as the lead investigative agency on terrorism matters. The threat posed by international and domestic threat actors has evolved significantly since 9/11. One of the most significant terrorism threats to the Homeland we face today is posed by lone offenders3 and small groups of individuals who commit acts of violence motivated by a range of ideological beliefs and/or personal grievances. Of these actors, domestic violent extremists represent one of the most persistent threats to the United States today. These individuals are often radicalized online and look to conduct attacks with easily accessible weapons. Many of these violent extremists are motivated and inspired by a mix of ideological, socio-political and personal grievances against their targets. With this report, we are providing our strategic intelligence assessments on DT, a detailed discussion of our procedures and methods to address DT threats, as well as data on DT incidents and FBI investigations.

Washington, DC: FBI, Department of Homeland Security. 2022, 44p.

By: Hugo Micheron

The trial of the November 2015 Attacks in Paris that ended in June 2022 in part symbolizes the end of an important phase of jihadism in Europe. But jihadism continues to pose an intellectual and political challenge to European societies. The need to understand it is urgent, but the task is made difficult for two reasons. First, Islamist militancy has penetrated the Western European media space in the last few years, and now provides the backdrop for a muddled public debate on immigration, the place of religion, and terrorist violence. Since the 9/11 attacks on the United States, nearly 150 Islamist attacks have assailed Europe causing 800 deaths and nearly 5,000 injuries. Hundreds of other attempts have been thwarted from Brest to Vienna, from Glasgow to Milan, from Barcelona to Oslo, and even in Geneva. The sheer proliferation of these violent acts often gets in the way of making sense of the broader phenomenon. Second, Islamism tends to produce anabolic effects within the societies it affects. These are fixed around two postures in the debates on terrorism and its causes: extreme relativization, or excessive hysterization. These two postures often trap public reflection in slogans and lead to paralysis.

Washington, DC: George Washington University, Program on Extremism, 2022. 39p.

By The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

The use of the Internet for terrorist purposes is a rapidly growing phenomenon, requiring a proactive and coordinated response from Member States. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) plays a key role in providing assistance to Member States, in furtherance of its mandate to strengthen the capacity of national criminal justice systems to implement the provisions of the international legal instruments against terrorism, and does so in compliance with the principles of rule of law and international human rights standards. In particular, in 2011, the General Assembly, in its resolution 66/178, reaffirmed the mandate of UNODC to continue to develop specialized legal knowledge in the area of counter-terrorism and pertinent thematic areas, including the use of the Internet for terrorist purposes. Despite increasing international recognition of the threat posed by terrorists’ use of the Internet in recent years, there is currently no universal instrument specifically addressing this pervasive facet of terrorist activity. Moreover, there is limited specialized training available on the legal and practical aspects of the investigation and prosecution of terrorism cases involving the use of the Internet. The present publication complements the existing resources developed by UNODC in the areas of counter-terrorism, cybercrime and rule of law. It also addresses the importance of developing integrated, specialized knowledge to respond to the technical assistance needs of Member States in combating this continually evolving threat.

Vienna: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2012. 158p.

By Alastair Reed, Joe Whitter, Fabio Votta and Sean Looney

This paper assesses whether social media platforms’ personalisation algorithms promote extremist material, finding evidence that only one platform studied – YouTube – prioritises extremist material by the recommender system.

London: Global Research Network on Terrorism and Technology, Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI) , 2019. 19p.

By J.M. Berger

The so-called ‘alt-right’ is an amorphous but synchronized collection of far-right people and movements, an umbrella label for a number of loosely affiliated social movements around the world, although its centre of gravity is in the United States.1 Many factors have contributed to the alt-right’s rise to prominence, but one of the most visible is its online presence. Alt-right views have been promoted online by a small army of trolls and activists staging harassment campaigns, pushing hashtags and posting links to extremist content and conspiracy theories on social media. Since 2016, the alt-right and its allies have held an increasingly prominent place in American and European politics, rallying support behind a variety of causes and candidates. This study seeks to evaluate the alt-right’s online presence with robust metrics and an analysis of content shared by adherents. The alt-right has many components online; this report will primarily examine its presence on Twitter, in part because the movement is particularly active on that platform, and in part because Twitter’s data access policies allow for more robust evaluation than is possible on other platforms.

Dublin: VOX-Pol Network of Excellence, 2018. 59p.

By Lorenzo Vidino, Seamus Hughes and Bennett Clifford

The time period in which the Islamic State (IS) controlled territory in Syria and Iraq between 2014 and 2019 coincided with the largest groundswell of homegrown jihadist activity in United States history. This unprecedented wave of jihadist activism, which hit its peak between 2014 and 2016, could be measured through several indicators. Senior officials in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) testified that the Bureau managed, at any given time between 2014 and 2019, 1,000 active investigations into IS supporters throughout the U.S.; at least 239 alleged supporters were charged in U.S. courts. Meanwhile, more than 80 Americans traveled to Syria and Iraq to join IS, and 16 IS sympathizers that remained in the U.S. conducted terrorist attacks that were inspired by or directed by the group. Others provided resources for IS’ global project in different ways, most notably by supporting IS’ online propaganda dissemination and social media recruitment campaigns. At its peak, IS’ perceived ideological credibility and authority, its predilection for extreme acts of violence, and its ability to direct its on-the-ground resources in Syria and Iraq towards information operations designed to incite terrorism in the West, drove its successes in recruiting Americans. However, as the organization began to hemorrhage territory, leadership, and key personnel, it became less and less able to reach its target audiences around the world, including in the U.S. The loss of the last vestiges of its territory in Syria and Iraq, the targeted killings of key English-speaking IS facilitators and “virtual entrepreneurs,” and eventually, the death of IS’ first “caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi were all harbingers for the decline in IS-related activity in the U.S. Nevertheless, even in a post-caliphate environment, IS continues to inspire American jihadists to conduct activities on its behalf. According to the FBI, the organization remains the predominant homegrown violent extremist (HVE) threat to the U.S., and although the group’s capabilities to recruit and mobilize Americans have significantly degraded, no other jihadist organization has made a significant effort to fill the breach and take IS’ place. While the number of IS-related cases in the American legal system in 2020, 2021, and 2022 have steadily declined from their peak in 2015, the alleged activities of supporters in these cases are more diffuse. In this paper, we evaluate 29 cases of Americans charged in the U.S. with IS-related offenses since January 2020. By comparing and contrasting them with the larger corpus of cases of American IS sympathizers in the U.S. legal system since 2014—when the first IS-related criminal case occurred—this brief report documents emerging trends in the nature of American support for IS and the U.S. counterterrorism response in the world after the collapse of IS’ physical caliphate. Furthermore, it attempts to ascertain what these trends portend for the future of the jihadist movement in America.

Washington, DC: George Washington University Program on Extremism, 2022. 16p.

By Lorenzo Vidino and Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens

The global LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex and asexual/aromantic/agender) community has historically been subjected to hateful rhetoric, discriminatory practices and acts of violence. In the West, this animosity has traditionally mostly originated from a heterogeneous array of actors that can broadly be identified with the far-right. And while in recent years the LBGTQIA+ community has received rights and a degree of acceptance largely unthinkable only a few decades ago, episodes of intolerance and violence are still very much present. Recently, for example, in June 2022, authorities detained 31 members of a white nationalist group called Patriot Front who were allegedly about to attack the Pride in the Park event in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.1 If animosity against the LGBTQIA+ community from right wing circles is a well-known and fairly uncontested topic, less so is that originating from Islamist milieus.2 Yet, an abundance of evidence indicates that, over the last few decades, hateful rhetoric and occasional acts of violence against the LGBTQIA+ community in the United States and virtually all other Western countries have increasingly come from Islamist actors. Both in the Muslim world and in the West, mainstream Islamists, such as those from Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist backgrounds, depict homosexuality as a perversion and a grave sin. Islamist anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric takes different angles. At times, it focuses on warning the Muslim community about engaging in homosexual acts, evoking the divine punishments that await those who do so. In line with some Christian fundamentalists, natural events such as hurricanes and earthquakes or diseases like AIDS are also painted as divine punishments against homosexuality. A substantial part of the messaging also views homosexuality and gay rights as a Western plot devised to pervert and weaken Muslims. This report documents several instances of preachers and top-ranking officials linked to prominent Islamist organizations in the U.S. and Europe, several of whom are engaged as partners by Western governments and civil society, that espouse such views.

Washington, DC: George Washington University Program on Extremism, 2022. 21p.

By Anne Speckhard, Molly Ellenberg, and TM Garret

The following report is an interim report of an ongoing study, with the current results based on 50 in-depth psychosocial interviews of white supremacists in five countries (the U.S., Canada, Germany, UK and New Zealand) collected over the time period of October 2020 to October 2021. The interviews focused on the subjects’ childhood histories, exposures to white supremacism, recruitment and joining processes, experiences in the group including ideological indoctrination and with violence and if disillusioned their disengagement and deradicalization experiences. All of the interviews were conducted over Zoom and video recorded with most participants agreeing to have their interview used to produce a short counter narrative video for use in disrupting white supremacist online and face-to-face recruitment.

McLean, VA: International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism, 2022. 46p.

By Sibusiso Nkomo and Stephen Buchanan-Clarke

Afrobarometer’s Round 7 surveys, conducted between late 2016 and late 2018, asked security-related questions in 34 African countries, including five countries along the East Africa Corridor that have experienced terrorist activity in recent years: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, and South Africa. (While Somalia has been heavily impacted by terrorism, and has been a source of terrorist activity in the region, no Afrobarometer survey has taken place in the country due to security challenges.) In these five countries, citizens show a generally mixed response to their respective governments’ handling of violent extremism. Public trust in the security sector, particularly the police, is low throughout the region, which may hamper efforts to develop sustainable approaches to addressing violent extremism and insecurity. Many citizens in the region report fearing violence from extremist groups, even where actual incidents have been infrequent, and indicate a willingness to accept government restrictions on certain civil liberties, such as rights to privacy, freedom of movement, and freedom of religion. These findings highlight the need for counter-terrorism policies whose national security objectives do not come at the expense of democratic ideals and good governance.

Ghana: Afrobarometer, 2020. 26p.

Edited by Marc Engelhart and Sunčana Roksandić Vidlička

The events surrounding the terrorist group officially known as the Islamic State (IS) have galvanized anti-terrorist efforts far beyond the first reactions after September 11, 2001, and led to varying state responses, especially in Europe, e.g., in addressing the phenomenon of foreign fighters. In »Dealing with Terrorism – Empirical and Normative Challenges for Fighting the Islamic State« an international panel of experts analyses current trends and new developments in legal systems and in law enforcement in Europe as well as in the USA and the Middle East. Offering a succinct overview with special focus on criminal law, police law, and European and international law, the book provides unique insights into what dealing with terrorism means to European and non-European countries. It includes material from non-English-speaking countries that is seldom available to a broader academic community. Its comparative approach offers readers three levels of understanding: by country, in terms of the European Union, and the international community as a whole. The book is geared at specialists in national and international institutions, scholars, and students in the field but will also be of great interest to the wider legal community. Its profound insights and expert perspectives enhance the ongoing national and international debate on public security issues by striking a balance between freedom and security

Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. 2019. 317p.

By Tecj Against Terrorism

A new report from Tech Against Terrorism has found that global terrorist and violent extremist actors are running at least 198 websites on the surface web. In-depth analysis of 33 of the most prominent websites – run by actors such as Islamic State, al-Qaeda, Atomwaffen Division and the Taliban – confirms that these sites have 1.54 million monthly visitors, with the majority of visits coming from Algeria, Pakistan, United States, and the United Kingdom.

Tech Against Terrorism, 2022. 32p.