Publications

This policy brief provides an overview of the sociological issues underpinning the issues of far right and Islamist reciprocal or cumulative radicalisation in the Western European context.

In this Policy Brief, ICCT Programme Manager Faisal Khan & Isioma Kemakolam present policy recommendations implementable by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs on community inclusion in R&R programming across Nigeria & the Sahel after conducting on the field research.

From early dial-up bulletin board systems to contemporary social media and messaging apps, this Policy Brief traces how Western right-wing extremists have exploited the power of the internet.

In this Policy Brief, Sam Jackson presents a schema of three main forms of right-wing extremism in the United States in order to more clearly understand the landscape: racist extremism, nativist extremism, and anti-government extremism.

In this Policy Brief, Willemijn Tiekstra critically analyses current EU border management in the context of terrorist attacks that have hit the EU since 2015.

In this Policy Brief, Gina Vale charts the evolution of women’s ideological commitment, adopted roles, and activism for Islamic State from the ‘caliphate’ to post-territorial internment camps.

In this Policy Brief, Daniel Koehler assesses the current and historical links between the extreme right and the military across Europe and North America.

In this Policy Brief, Reinier Bergema and General (ret.) Tom Middendorp warn of how climate change opens a dangerous window of opportunity for terrorist organisations—as witnessed by the recent renewal of interest of the Islamic State in the Western Sahel.

In this policy brief, Tore Bjørgo and Jacob Aasland Ravndal highlight the distinctions between extreme-right violence and Jihadi violence and provide recommendations for practitioners working in this area.

In this Policy Brief, Jacob Ware assesses the rising threat posed by far-right extremism in the United States, using the Atomwaffen Division as a case study.

In this Policy Brief, Marina Tapley and Gordon Clubb examines the role former extremists and former combatants have in countering violent extremism (CVE).

In this policy brief, Nick Brooke examined the benefits of studying failed terrorist campaigns to have a more informed counter-terrorism policy by using the case studies of Scotland and Wales.

Using Germany as a main case study, Daniel Koehler argues that far-right violence has a potential risk of being misunderstood and under-classified as a form of political violence and terrorism. He also offers several recommendations on how to avoid this potentially resulting in an elusive threat.

In this Policy Brief, Kurt Braddock emphasizes the importance of rigorous social scientific methods within terrorism research and describes methods of experimentation that can be put into practice to aid in the study of terrorism.

In this Policy Brief, EJ Hogendoorn suggests what the EU could do to address the drivers of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. Hogendoorn argues that although the EU has increased its humanitarian support to those affected by Boko Haram, it has thus far refrained from becoming to involved in a direct counter-terrorism response.

Behnam T. Said and Hazim Fouad examine Germany's approach to preventing and countering violent extremism. This policy brief outlines the framework for prevention within Germany's federal system and gives an overview of the development of the German approach to CVE and PVE challenges.

Associate Fellow Seran de Leede explores the importance of women in contemporary jihadism. de Leede assesses how women's facilitative and supportive contributions have maintained and propagated jihadist ideology.

In this Policy Brief, Cameron Sumpter analyses the impact of returning Foreign Fighters to Indonesia. Sumpter recommends that intrastate coordination of CVE and CT initiatives is required to clearly define the role of stakeholders.

In this Policy Brief, Dr. Lorne L. Dawson asks: with the military defeat of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, what will become of the remaining fighters? Will IS remain a significant terrorist threat, especially outside of Syria and Iraq? And, how will the demise of IS affect the future of jihadism in general?

In this Policy Brief, authors Pieter Van Ostaeyen and Guy Van Vlierden explore the backgrounds of Belgian foreign fighters and find that while most Belgian foreign fighters are linked to Morocco, the second most prominent ancestral link is Russia.

In this Policy Brief, Walle Bos, Dr. Bibi van Ginkel and Tanya Mehra address capacity-building challenges in relation to the implementation of good practices in dealing with (returning) Foreign (Terrorist) Fighters.

A range of social, cultural, religious, economic, political, demographic drivers and identity factors converged to create a fertile ground for receptive radicals to emerge and break away from democratic values. Informed by these issues, this Policy Brief aims to identify avenues of further development for the French counter-terrorism strategic communication strategy.

Despite the fact billions of euros have been sent to Somali over the last two decades, the country remains a "failed state". This Policy Brief argues that to be more effective, the EU needs to become more adept at understanding local political dynamics.

Uighurs, specifically individuals of Turkic decent from China’s northwest province of Xinjiang, have become a noticeable part of the constellation of globally active jihadist terror groups. This Policy Brief explores the scope and scale of Uighur Foreign Fighters (UFF) activity in various locations, its implications and how their participation in global jihadist groups may evolve.

In ICCT's latest Policy Brief, Kiriloi Ingram analyses how IS recruits Western women through a detailed qualitative narrative analysis of the contents of all fifteen issues of a Dabiq magazine. Ingram argues that counter-terrorism strategic communications must be paired with community based initiatives.

In ICCT's latest Policy Brief, Dr. Lorne L. Dawson discusses the underlying vision of IS in propagating an apocalyptic struggle for its followers. He argues this cosmic struggle is characterised by the "caliphate legacy" which will survive despite military defeat.

This Policy Brief focuses on a linkage-based analysis of a 2017 audio message by Islamic State spokesperson Abu Hasan al Muhajir and outlines potential insights into crafting effective content for competing and alternative messages.

In this Policy Brief, Alastair Reed, Johanna Pohl and Marjolein Jegerings provide a concise outline of four main threats related to the issue of foreign fighters with the aim of clarifying the parameters of the phenomenon in its current manifestation.

This Policy Brief outlines a “linkage-based” approach to combating militant Islamist propaganda tailored for practitioners in order to help them synchronise campaign planning and message design.

This Policy Brief lays out a multi-tiered framework for counter-terrorism strategic communications programmes and concrete evaluation of programme results.

As part of the Counter-Terrorism Strategic Communications Project, this Policy Brief lays out key policy-relevant lessons for developing effective counter-terrorism strategic communications.

This Policy Brief provides an overview of what is known about converts’ involvement in homegrown jihadism and the foreign fighter phenomenon, analysing data from various Western countries.

This Policy Brief sheds light on and increases understanding of al-Qaeda Central's (AQC) latest affiliate al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).

This policy brief focusses on the difficulties of prosecuting Foreign Terorrist Fighters, and the role that the military can play in assisting prosecutors in collecting evidence and arresting suspects in countries of destination.

This Policy Brief aims to inform the current debate on integrating rehabilitation into the overall approach to foreign fighters by highlighting the challenges and opportunities within the criminal justice sector response.

In this Policy Brief, experts of ICCT and Clingendael shed light on some of the pressing questions that currently take central stage in the debates following the Paris attacks.

In this Policy Brief, Dr. Alex P. Schmid discusses various definitions of Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) by disaggregating the “foreign”, “terrorist” and “fighters” elements of the UN Security Council definition in resolution 2178 (2014). Subsequently, an attempt is made to bring structure to the widely diverging estimates of the numbers of foreign fighters and their origins.

In this article published in the framework of George Washington University's Program on Extremism, ICCT Research Fellow Dr. Tinka Veldhuis discusses rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for violent extremist offenders.

In this Policy Brief, Prof. Dr. Edwin Bakker and Peter Grol studied several cases of potential foreign fighters. These observations form the basis of policy suggestions that could contribute to the prevention policy within the framework of the “Comprehensive Action Programme to Combat Jihadism” of the Dutch government.

In this Policy Brief, Dr. Alastair Reed, Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn and Prof. Dr. Edwin Bakker look at the different pathways foreign fighters could take once they have arrived in Syria or Iraq.

The number of young Western women travelling abroad to join the "Islamic State" (IS) continues to increase. However, little is known about these women, including their motivations and roles within organisations such as IS. This Background Note provides preliminary answers and explain what is known so far.

A Policy Brief based on the expert meeting at the European Union to discuss the implications of UN Security Council Resolution 2178 (2014) on foreign fighters and to explore responses to the threat foreign fighters pose.

In this Background Note, Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn and Prof. Dr. Edwin Bakker investigate three historical cases of foreign fighting: Afghanistan (1980s), Bosnia (1990s) and Somalia (2000s).

In this Policy Brief, Research Fellow Seran de Leede examines the position of women in Afghanistan towards the Taliban to a better understanding of the role of women in (countering) political violence in Afghanistan.

In this Policy Brief, Dr. Howard Stoffer emphasises the need for a global UN Counter-Terrrorism Coordinator to oversee the smooth and efficient running of all UN counter-terrorism related activities.

Conducting empirical research in the field of terrorism is not an easy task: gaining access to police files, interviewing (former) terrorists or accessing intelligence information can be arduous.

Research Fellow Dr. Bibi van Ginkel and Clingendael Senior Research Fellow Ivan Briscoe analyse the relationship between the development and counter-terrorism sectors in light of the changing nature of terrorism.

In this Policy Brief, Research Fellows Prof. Dr. Edwin Bakker and Dr. Tinka Veldhuis explore the dynamics of fear in response to terrorism.