Marco de Swart
Marco de Swart is an Associate Fellow at ICCT. With a background in political science and development studies, Marco started his career at the Radboud University as a junior lecturer in Political Philosophy, in Dutch Development Aid, and in International Development Cooperation in 1998. He fulfilled several advisory and consultancy posts related to humanitarian and conflict affairs, governance & civil society issues, human rights, and popular campaigning & advocacy. In Rwanda, Marco worked as programme manager with Norwegian People’s Aid (Civil Society & Justice) and before joining ICCT, he was Oxfam Novib’s programme manager for Governance & Active Citizenship. Rule of law and human rights have always featured prominently in his work.
Marco’s international experience range from posts in Central-Africa (four years in Rwanda), East Africa (one year in Tanzania), North America (six months in Canada), to regular missions to several countries in Africa, the MENA region, Asia and the Caucasus.
Follow Marco de Swart on Twitter @mdeswart.
Photo: Studio Oostrum
Within the territorial boundaries of the Islamic State’s (IS) ‘caliphate’, women were largely confined to the domestic sphere. Their roles centred on support to militant husbands and the ideological upbringing of children. The physical collapse of IS’ proto-state marks a significant turning point in women’s commitment and activism for the group. Many IS-affiliated women are […]
Right-wing violence and terrorism have slowly gained more academic and public attention in recent years, with an increase in anti-immigration and anti-government organised violence from the extreme right in most Western countries. Some evidence exists that right-wing extremists have attempted to infiltrate the military in their home countries to gain access to tactical training, weapons, […]
Climate change indirectly increases the risk of violent extremism, write Reinier Bergema and General (ret.) Tom Middendorp in their PSI-ICCT policy brief The Warning Signs are Flashing Red: The interplay between climate change and violent extremism in the Western Sahel. Development and security cannot do without the other. It is not enough to counter violent […]