Donald Trump could prove to be the most significant disturbance to the fight against terrorism. Despite the shock, regret and the thinly veiled hope from the Democrats that the result of the US presidential election may still somehow be overturned, Donald J. Trump is about to become the 45th...
Extremism cannot be defeated without the inclusion of women. Women should be encouraged to take a greater role in counterterrorism efforts as women and girls are disproportionately affected by terrorist violence. This was the message brought home in a speech by Sarah Sewall, US...
The ongoing policies to prevent radicalization are woefully lagging behind in the US. The struggle against terrorism, and in particular the fight against modern Islamic extremism, could well be described as Sisyphean rather than Herculean. Governments, security agencies and police forces face...
While the Islamic State makes war on the world’s vast majority of “moderate Muslims,” hard-liners in the West pretend they don’t exist. In the 13th century, the Italian town of Lucera was a Muslim island in a sea of Christendom. Here Frederick II, the head of the Holy Roman Empire,...
Iraqi counterterrorism forces are leading a ferocious campaign against the self-styled caliphate in Anbar province. On December 1, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter unveiled a signature expansion of the US special operations footprint inside Iraq, confirming a prominent shift toward intensified...
As Tunisia copes with the fallout of a brutal attack on tourists, questions surface about the radicalization of Tunisians. Tunisia, once hailed as a successful transition model in the wake of the Arab Spring, was recently hit by yet another deadly attack against tourists, leaving 38 people dead...
Concepts of local empowerment can combat both hard and soft security threats in Africa. There is currently an increasing amount of media attention on wildlife poaching in Africa, particularly in relation to the money it injects into local and regional terrorists groups, such as al-Shabab in the...
Governments may negotiate with terrorists for both tactical and strategic reasons. Every responsible government facing a long-term terrorist campaign announces that it does not negotiate with terrorists. And yet virtually every one of them does. Is this just blatant hypocrisy? No government...
Can governments be open to negotiation with modern-day terrorist organizations? Government after government across the world has adamantly declared: “We don’t negotiate with terrorists!” Colombians, Turks, Spaniards, British – confronted by bomb attacks, hijackings and kidnappings...
