The base: an analysis of recruiting, vetting, and motivations of potential members

This research report examines the gender dynamics of radicalization to violence in Libya and efforts to counter and prevent violent extremism. Based on primary research in Libya, this report analyses new data collected in the field (October 2018 to March 2019), and via a survey instrument (March-June 2019). The research investigates the gendered motivations of individuals to join violent extremist and terrorist groups, and how gender inequality and discrimination within Libyan society interact with other economic, political and religious factors to spread violent extremism. The report explores how social constructions of masculinity and femininity are manipulated by violent extremist groups through their recruitment strategies and tactics of group control. As well as these gender dynamics, the research investigates Libyan women’s responses; how and why they seek to counter and prevent violent extremism in their communities

This report presents research findings on gender and violent extremism in the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Indonesia for a project led by Monash Gender, Peace and Security Centre for UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (2018-2019). The aim of the research is to examine women’s roles in supporting, countering, and preventing violent extremism and how gender identities and relations may be used to garner support for intolerant social attitudes and groups as well as recruitment to violent extremist groups. The research has generated novel findings – possibly the first such robust findings to date – on the relationship between support for misogyny, violence against women, and extremist violence: • There is a positive and significant correlation in survey responses in all three countries and for both genders between support for violent extremism and their support for violence against women; • Attitudes about violence against women explain more of the variation in support for violent extremism than other factors (such as age/youth, education level) commonly theorised to explain individual support of violent extremism. The results of an ordered logit regression model reveal that support for violence against women and the prevalence of hostile sexist attitudes are both better predictors of support for violent extremism than religiosity; • Misogynistic attitudes among women are also strongly correlated with support for violent extremism; • Where a male relative – a partner, son or brother supports or is a member of a violent extremist group - women are more likely to support violent extremism. • Most survey respondents and qualitative research participants in all three countries reported having come across online media supporting violent extremism or jihad; • Baseline attitudes can be sexist, especially among men; anti-women’s rights “backlash” is politicised by extremist groups on platforms aimed at men and women members;

As climate change intensifies in many parts of the world, more and more policymakers are concerned with its effects on human security and violence. From Lake Chad to the Philippines, including Afghanistan and Syria, some violent extremist (VE) groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State exploit crises and conflicts resulting from environmental stress to recruit more followers, expand their influence and even gain territorial control. In such cases, climate change may be described as a “risk multiplier” that exacerbates a number of conflict drivers. Against this backdrop, this case study looks at the relationship between climate change and violent extremism in North Africa, and more specifically the Maghreb countries Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, which are all affected by climate change and violent extremism. There are three justifications for this thematic and geographical focus. Firstly, these countries are affected by climate change in multiple ways: water scarcity, temperature variations and desertification are only a few examples of the numerous cross- border impacts of climate change in this region. Secondly, these three countries have been and remain affected by the activity of violent extremist groups such as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Islamic State organisation (IS) and their respective affiliated groups. Algeria endured a civil war from 1991 to 2002 in which Islamist groups opposed the government, while Morocco and Tunisia have been the targets of multiple terrorist attacks by jihadist individuals and organisations. Thirdly, the connection between climate change and violent extremism has received much less attention in the literature than other climate-related security risks. Although empirical research has not evidenced a direct relationship between climate change and violent extremism, there is a need to examine the ways they may feed each other or least intersect in the context of North African countries. Hence, this study concentrates on the ways violent extremism can reinforce vulnerability to the effects of climate change and on the potential effects of climate change on vulnerability to violent extremism. While most of the existing research on the interplay between climate change and violent extremism concentrates on terrorist organisations (Asaka, 2021; Nett and Rüttinger, 2016; Renard, 2008), this case study focuses on the conditions, drivers and patterns that can lead individuals to join such groups in North Africa. In other words, it looks at the way climate change can exacerbate a series of factors that are believed to lead to violent radicalisation – “a personal process in which individuals adopt extreme political, social, and/or religious ideals and aspirations, and where the attainment of particular goals justifies the use of indiscriminate violence” (Wilner and Dubouloz, 2010: 38). This approach is needed not only to anticipate how climate change could possibly affect violent extremism in the medium and long run but also to determine whether and how the policy responses to both phenomena should intersect in the near future. Does climate change affect the patterns of violent extremism in North Africa? If so, how do these phenomena interact in this region? To answer these questions, the case study paper first gives an overview of the threat posed by violent extremism in the countries of study and examines the drivers and factors that are believed to lead to violent extremism in North Africa. Secondly, it discusses how these drivers could be affected by the effects of climate change on resources, livelihoods, mobility and other factors. Finally, an attempt is made to understand the possible interactions between climate change and violent extremism in the future and the implications for policymaking.

The news has been a place for violent extremist groups to gain recognition internationally. The Syrian Civil war which had involved notorious and internationally recognised violent extremist groups is an example of this phenomenon. However, a limited number of studies had uncovered the thematic variation on how Malaysian online news frames violent extremist groups involved in the Syrian Civil War. Therefore, the present study explored whether the Malaysian news coverage of the violent conflicts that involved violent extremist groups active during the Syrian civil war may shed light on how mainstream news covers violent extremist groups. The present study employed a qualitative search and analysis of two popular online newspapers in Malaysia to identify the types of news frames on the news published during the peak of the Syrian civil war and when a notorious violent extremist group, Daesh (alternatively known as Islamic State (IS) or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)), had shaken and threatened the world. A total of 272 news articles published between 2010 to 2020 were collected and analyzed. Analysis of the news frames revealed twelve different news frames. The frame with the highest occurrence was labelled as “Western destructive interventions”. The frame detailed out Western nations’ involvement in the war which caused damage to livelihood and civilizations in Syria and justified the violent extremist groups’ activities. The present study concludes that the Malaysian news media framing on violent extremist groups and other parties involved in the Syrian Civil War could have two varied forms, positive (heroic or humanized) or negative (destructive or demonized). The main contribution of this study is that it provides an insight into how Malaysian news media cover a conflict involving Muslim extremist groups. Additionally, the study adds to previous research on how violent extremist groups is framed in digital news.

The process of (violent) radicalisation and subsequently joining of radical or violent extremist groups was studied using semi-structured interviews with (young) people who considered themselves as radicals or violent extremists in left-wing, right-wing or religious settings. The data was gathered in Belgium from March through November 2013. Though modest in number (12), the interviews tell us a lot about factors that play a role in (violent) radicalisation and the organisation of radical or violent extremist groups through online and offline recruitment and daily activities. The results of the interviews are linked to the existing theoretical frameworks on (violent) radicalisation, including factors underlying engagement and recruitment. They show that new social media are not as relevant as currently asserted, but that offline methods of recruitment are still uppermost. They also make clear that the content of the ideology is not the first impetus for searching, but that a general discontent with society comes first, a search for ways of dealing with this discontent, and an orientation associated with the search. This has implications for the way society should deal with young people and radical convictions and the alternatives that should be provided.

In this exploratory study, individuals’ processes of engagement in violent extremist groups are analysed by drawing from criminological life-course theory and narrative-based understandings of crime. Based on interviews with individuals who have participated in violent extremism, it is suggested that the process of engagement consists of three steps: (1) a weakening of informal social controls, followed by (2) an interaction with individuals in proximity to the group and (3) a stage of meaning-making in relation to the group and one’s identity, resulting in an individual’s willingness and capacity to engaging in the group’s activities, including violence. In future theorizing about processes of engagement in violent extremism, the meanings of age, and the life-course stages of late adolescence and emerging adulthood in particular, should be given analytic attention.

ABSTRACTThis article presents a case study of one individual's trajectory through violent right-wing extremism in the USA. Drawing on an in-depth in-person interview conducted with ‘Sarah', we trace the influences affecting the nature and extent of her involvement, engagement and disengagement. We focus on delineating the complexity of Sarah's disengagement from violent extremism. Her account supports several claims in the literature. First, there is rarely any single cause associated with individual disengagement. Rather, the phenomenon is a dynamic process shaped by a multitude of interacting push/pull factors, sunk costs and the perceived availability of alternatives outside the group. Second, as this case illustrates, prison affords physical separation from the violent extremist group and with it, time to reflect which may be critical to sustaining disengagement. Third, this account illustrates how de-radicalization may be a long-term process, and may in some cases supersede rather than precede one's exit, even where disillusionment precedes disengagement. Finally, Sarah's case suggests the successful adoption of a new social role and sense of identity as a potentially important protective factor in reducing the risk of re-engagement.

Purpose – Attitudinal inoculation has a long history of success in communication studies. A wealth of literature has shown it to be an effective strategy for preventing the assimilation of beliefs and attitudes in several domains, including healthcare, politics, and advertising. Despite its demonstrated efficacy, its utility as a means of preventing the adoption of beliefs and attitudes consistent with strategic messaging distributed by malicious actors has yet to be sufficiently evaluated. This chapter introduces attitudinal inoculation as a viable strategy for challenging online disinformation produced by violent extremist groups. Methods – Through a systematic review of the literature on attitudinal inoculation and disinformation, this chapter represents an attempt to link broad themes of narrative persuasion with the field of counter-terrorism. Findings – This chapter will offer specific guidance on the development of inoculation messages intended to mitigate the persuasive efficacy of online disinformation produced and distributed by violent extremist organizations. Originality/Value – As one of the first attempts to demonstrate the utility of attitudinal inoculation in the field of terrorism and radicalization studies, this chapter presents a novel approach to understanding contemporary issues of political extremism.

This chapter documents some of the analyses of the perspectives of LGBTQ+ people around the world by national governments, bureaucracies, international organisations and NGOs we highlight among others the analysis of the European Union's Fundamental Rights Agency, which has spoken out against discrimination against the LGBTQ plus community, and which states in its 2020 report analysed in detail in our chapter, that more lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people are now open about who they are, but that they are afraid and face violence and discrimination. We also highlight Europol 2023 report that terrorist and violent extremist groups and individuals continue to use platforms for recruitment purposes and to disseminate propaganda against the community. Our chapter also analyses the data contained in the OSCE's 2023 report on discrimination and hate crimes in the OSCE region. Our new statistical analysis of the data provided by the OSCE shows that 300 of the 600 hate crimes against the community were committed in Orthodox Christian majority OSCE member states, i.e. in descending order of the absolute number of crimes—in the Russian Federation, Armenia, Ukraine, Georgia, Serbia, Greece, Belarus, Cyprus, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bulgaria and Romania. We draw our readers' attention to the data provided by EQUALDEX, an important think tank working in this field, and also provide an overview of the recent Austrian study published by the Austrian Security Research Programme KIRAS. In the second part of our chapter, we briefly analyse the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Churches and we highlight homophobia in the Muslim world.

Since the 2014 breakout campaign of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, IS affiliates have proliferated across the African continent. Given the consistent failure of military campaigns against violent extremist groups (VEGs), policymakers have begun to explore the use of alternative tools like environmental peacebuilding to address the root causes of these conflicts. This paper discusses trends in violent extremism in Africa; highlights the relationship between the environment, conflict, and peacebuilding; and assesses the utility of employing environmental peacebuilding frameworks to combat the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an IS affiliate in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The author finds that while environmental peacebuilding may slow recruitment by VEGs in Africa and could reduce conflict within the DRC, it is unlikely that such strategies would effectively stop the Allied Democratic Forces because the group is not primarily reliant upon locally generated funding, does not draw voluntary recruits locally, and relies rather little on the local population for support.

The rampant rise of violent extremist incidents across the globe poses an urgent threat to humanity requiring an immediate action. Vulnerabilities within diverse communities can serve as a critical fault line that can potentially foster extremist tendencies. This paper focuses on examining this pressing issue with specific reference to Pakistan. The study argues that although external factors contribute significantly, internal factors too, hold paramount importance in confronting the challenge of violent extremism. The paper addresses the issue of violent extremism in Pakistan, emphasizing the importance of building community resilience. The study aims to inform and shape state’s policies and strategies in the context of P/CVE. It sheds light on various forms of violent extremism, i.e., acts of terrorism, religious violence, gender-based violence, violent protests, riots, and hate crimes, demanding a comprehensive understanding. The literature review underscores various factors influencing community resilience, highlighting the significance of a multi-stakeholder approach. The paper highlights the need for an active role of academic institutions, think tanks, and NGOs in P/CVE. Structured across chapters, this paper analyses the issue of violent extremism in Pakistan and suggest soft approaches to tackle this issue. By charting a comprehensive path forward, it aims to contribute to a more secure and resilient Pakistan. References Ahmad, I. (2023, July 12). Punjab police registered 10,365 cases of violence against women in 4 months: SSDO. The Nation. https://www.nation.com.pk/12-Jul-2023/punjab-police-registered-10-365-cases-of-violence-against-women-in-4-months-ssdo Babakhel, M. A. (2023, March 18). Two Approaches. DAWN.COM. https://www.dawn.com/news/1742789 Dal Farra, S., & De Riz, L. (2017, December 19). Building Resilience Against Violent Extremism. Retrieved from https://www.salto-youth.net/downloads/toolbox_tool_download-file-1773/Booklet%20BRAVE.pdf DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR COUNTERING TERRORISM AND TARGETED VIOLENCE. (2019, September). US Department of Homeland Security. https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/19_0920_plcy_strategic-framework-countering-terrorism-targeted-violence.pdf Ghosh, R., Chan, W. Y. A., Manuel, A., & Dilimulati, M. (2017, May 4). Can Education Counter Violent Religious Extremism? Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, 23(2), 117–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/11926422.2016.1165713 Gul, A. (2023, September 30). Report: Surge in terrorism kills more than 700 Pakistanis. Voice of America. https://www.voanews.com/a/report-surge-in-terrorism-kills-more-than-700-pakistanis/7291609.html Hummel, K. (2023, May 23). The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan After the Taliban’s Afghanistan Takeover. Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. https://ctc.westpoint.edu/the-tehrik-i-taliban-pakistan-after-the-talibans-afghanistan-takeover/ Iqbal, K. (2021). Pakistan’s Non-Kinetic Responses to Violent Extremism. Strategic Thought, 3, 147–161. https://doi.org/https://www.strategicthought.ndu.edu.pk/site/article/view/31 Khan, S. (2022, October 10). Pakistan: Activists Sound Alarm over Hate Crimes – DW. Dw.Com. https://www.dw.com/en/pakistan-activists-sound-alarm-over-hate-crimes-blasphemy-claims/a-63396489 Kumar, A. (2011). The Terror Challenge in South Asia and Prospect of Regional Cooperation. Institute for Defence Studies Studies & Analysis, New Delhi, 1–144. https://doi.org/https://www.idsa.in/system/files/book/Book_TerrorChallengesSouthAsia.pdf Nafees, M. (2022, January). Blasphemy Cases in Pakistan: 1947 – 2021. Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS). https://crss.pk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Blasphemy-Report-.pdf Pakistan. (n.d.). United States Department of State. Retrieved December 14, 2023, from https://www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2019/pakistan/ ‘Administration Report’, 2022. https://nacta.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Administration-Report-2022.pdf. ‘Aarhus Model: Prevention of Radicalisation and Discrimination in Aarhus’. Accessed 27 October 2023. https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/networks/radicalisation-awareness-network-ran/collection-inspiring-practices/ran-practices/aarhus-model-prevention-radicalisation-and-discrimination-aarhus_en. ‘Four Pakistani Police Killed in Violence at Far-Right TLP Protest’, 27 October 2021. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/27/pakistani-police-killed-at-tlp-protest. ‘Good Practices on Community Engagement and Community-Oriented Policing as Tools to Counter Violent Extremism’. Global Counter Terrorism Forum, n.d. https://www.thegctf.org/documents/10162/159885/13Aug09_EN_Good+Practices+on+Community+Engagement+and+Community-Oriented+Policing.pdf. ‘Outreach Branch – NACTA – National Counter Terrorism Authority NACTA Pakistan’, n.d. https://nacta.gov.pk/outreach-branch/. Rae, J. A. (2012, September 22). Will It Ever Be Possible to Profile the Terrorist? doi:10.15664/jtr.380. ‘Report: Surge in Terrorism Kills More Than 700 Pakistanis’, 30 September 2023. https://www.voanews.com/a/report-surge-in-terrorism-kills-more-than-700-pakistanis/7291609.html. Taylor, E. (Lily), Taylor, P. C., Karnovsky, S., Aly, A., & Taylor, N. (2017, April 3). “Beyond Bali”: A Transformative Education Approach for Developing Community Resilience to Violent Extremism. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 37(2), 193–204. doi:10.1080/02188791.2016.1240661 United States Institute of Peace. ‘The Current Situation in Pakistan’, 23 January 2023. https://www.usip.org/publications/2023/01/current-situation-pakistan. UNESCO. We Need to Talk: Measuring Intercultural Dialogue for Peace and Inclusion. Vol. 4. Institute for Economics and Peace, 2022. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000382874. ‘UNICRI :: United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute’. Accessed 8 October 2023. https://unicri.it/news/role-social-media-mali-and-its-relation-violent-extremism-youth-perspective. ‘UNITED KINGDOM NATIONAL SUBMISSION: BEST PRACTICE AND LESSONS LEARNED ON HOW PROTECTING AND PROMOTING HUMAN RIGHTS CONTRIBUTES TO PREVENTING AND COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM’, May 2016. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/RuleOfLaw/PCVE/UK.pdf. ‘President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi, Graced National VCs Peace Conference as the Chief Guest. – NACTA – National Counter Terrorism Authority NACTA Pakistan’, n.d. https://nacta.gov.pk/national-vcs-peace-conference/. ‘Youth Empowerment for Peace and Resilience Building and Prevention of Violent Extremism in Sahel and Surrounding Countries: A Guide for Teachers’. UNESCO, 2019. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000371537.

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Isn’t Every Crime a Hate Crime? The Case for Hate Crime Laws

Research on the psychology of terrorism has argued against the idea that most terrorist behavior is caused by mental illness or by a terrorist personality. This article suggests an alternative line of inquiry - an individual psychology of terrorism that explores how otherwise normal mental states and processes, built on characteristic attitudes, dispositions, inclinations, and intentions, might affect a person's propensity for involvement with violent extremist groups and actions. It uses the concepts of "mindset" - a relatively enduring set of attitudes, dispositions, and inclinations - and worldview as the basis of a psychological "climate," within which various vulnerabilities and propensities shape ideas and behaviors in ways that can increase the person's risk or likelihood of involvement in violent extremism.

Hate crime and hate speech are extreme examples of negative intergroup relations. It is thought that it would be very useful to analyze the variables that lead up to for dealing with hate speech and crimes that have many physical and psychological destructive consequences for the exposed group members. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to address some of the social psychological variables associated with hate speech and hate crimes and to suggest solutions to reduce hate speech and hate crimes in this context. For this purpose, first of all, hate speech and hate crimes were defined and various examples were presented in this direction. Later, hate crimes and hate speech were examined in terms of social identity identification, social dominance orientation, system justification, realistic and symbolic threat perception, frustration and scapegoat concepts. The relationship between hate speech and crimes of this concept has been embodied with research findings and examples from various regions in Turkey and the world. Finally, some solution suggestions have been presented by making use of this theoretical knowledge in terms of combating hate crimes and hate speeches. Keywords: Hate crime, hate speech, intergroup relations, social psychology

/CONSIDERING the extensive array of measurable characters usually VJ associated with human craniometry it is surprising that studies of thickness of the cranial vault bones are relatively few in number. However, useful data relating to contemporary populations are accumulating to provide an insight into variability of cranial thickness in relation to sex differences and age changes. Following the comprehensive study of sectioned museum material by Todd (1924), recent investigations have been based on radiographie cephalometry, the usual method for measuring dimensions of the skull in the living. Growth changes in the thickness of frontal and parietal bones at various sites have been studied longitudinally on North American whites by Roche (1953), Young (1957), Hansman (1966) and Knott (1969, 1971). Cross-sectional findings are available for Danish males (Stramrud, 1959) and North American blacks and whites (Adeloye, Kattan and Silverman, 1975). In addition, Israel (1968) has commented on the continuing growth in skull thickness of North American white adults.