Category: countering violent extremism

London attack highlights challenge of jihadist radicalization

     

Today’s terrorist attack in London occurred on the anniversary of similar attacks in Brussels, which provides an opportunity to reflect on the challenge posed by jihadist radicalisation, write Alexander Ritzmann… Read more »

How to preserve Tunisia’s fragile democracy

     

Tunisia’s top diplomat wants the U.S. to “reach out more” to the tiny North African nation for collaboration against the evolving threat posed by the Islamic State — and to… Read more »

‘Secularizing Islamists’ – lessons for countering violent extremism

     

The experience of the Islamic political parties in North Africa shows that they are, just like non-Islamic parties, capable of change and adaptation to changing circumstances, says Mohammed Masbah, an… Read more »

Building democratic alternatives to extremism in Algeria

     

Algerian law requires the next parliament to be made up of 30 percent women — but political parties across the spectrum have struggled to come up with enough female candidates… Read more »

Saudis ‘redefining’ Indonesia’s civic Islam

     

When Saudi Arabia’s King Salman landed in Indonesia on Wednesday, he became the first Saudi monarch to visit the world’s largest Muslim-majority country since 1970. Officials in Jakarta hoped the… Read more »

Politics, not theology, at the root of Islamist ideology

     

New national security adviser H.R. McMaster is setting a strikingly different tone to discussions on countering violent extremism by saying the term “radical Islamic terrorism” isn’t helpful for US goals, CNN… Read more »

Democracy challenged, but still in demand

     

Democracy promotion, long a pillar of America’s foreign policy framework, is viewed either as too soft or idealistic as a response to serious security threats facing the nation; or it… Read more »

Strategic priorities for advancing democracy

     

Democracy today is being challenged as never before since the end of the Cold War, says Carl Gershman, President of the National Endowment for Democracy. The crisis has many dimensions,… Read more »

‘Radical Islamic terrorism’? Problematic assumptions

     

It is a misconception that the Islamic State is focused on fighting the United States or the broader West, says Richard Stengel, a fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School. “I led… Read more »