• Assessing the Risks of Existential Terrorism and AI

    Professor Gary Ackerman, associate dean at the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity (CEHC) at SUNY-Albany, recently published an article, “Existential Terrorism: Can Terrorists Destroy Humanity?” which he co-authored with Zachary Kallenborn of CSIS. The article explores the plausibility of terrorist organizations using emerging technologies such as AI to enact existential harm, including human extinction.

  • Extremists Have Turned Texas into a Hotbed for Hate: Report

    Texas continues to be a hotbed for extremism and antisemitism, driven by the heavy presence of racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (RMVEs) and anti-LGBTQ+ groups that are headquartered or active in the state.

  • How Local Police Could Help Prevent Another January 6th-Style Insurrection

    As scholars who study street gangs and far-right groups, we see that the larger law enforcement community continues to focus – we believe mistakenly – on the belief that, like terrorist groups, white supremacists are coordinated in ideology and intent. Evidence shows that perception actually diverts local police agencies’ attention from identifying and managing these groups. We believe that if police had treated Proud Boys as members of a street gang from the group’s inception in 2016, the events of Jan. 6, 2021, might have been avoided, or at least reduced in severity.

  • “High Risk” from Foreign, Domestic Terrorists: U.S.

    DHS warned Thursday of a “high risk” from domestic and foreign terrorists for the coming year. The department’s threat assessment points to the prevalence of conspiracy theories, personal grievances and what it describes as “enduring racial, ethnic, religious, and anti-government ideologies,” often shared in online forums, all serving to motivate small groups and individuals within the U.S.

  • Afghanistan, the Taliban and the Legacy of 9/11

    Al-Qaeda’s terrorist attacks on the US were unprecedented. So too was America’s intervention in Afghanistan. The US action, backed by NATO and non-NATO allies, as the first salvo in what was declared a ‘war on terror’, was aimed at transforming a highly traditional and conflict-ravaged Afghanistan into a stable and secure state with a functioning democratic system of governance. The U.S. action which eventually failed, enabling the extremist Taliban to regain power after two decades of fighting.

  • How We Uncovered the Shared Personality Profile of Violent Extremists

    Why do some people resort to violence for their cause? If we take a closer look at the rhetoric of known terrorists, they appear to have one thing in common. They all feel that their group, or a group they support, is unjustly disadvantaged. But not everyone who thinks that their group is unjustly disadvantaged resorts to violence. This begs the question of whether basic personality traits are at play.

  • Prosecuting Extremists in the U.K.: Charging, Prosecution, and Sentencing Outcomes

    There is a lack of data regarding prosecution and sentencing for terrorism and terrorism-related offences across the three legal jurisdictions of the UK (England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland). Does the prosecution landscape (charging, prosecution, and sentencing) vary in the UK for extremist actors depending upon the legal jurisdiction?

  • Lived Experiences of Contact with Counter-Terrorism Policies and Practices

    Actions taken by the U.K. authorities to prevent terrorism range from preventive action to counter radicalization to arrest and imprisonment for counter-terrorism offences. These activities are supported by counter-terrorism legislation, including the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015. A new report explores empirical evidence relating to lived experiences of contact with counter-terrorism measures in the U.K.

  • How Reliable and Robust Is Human Ability to Recognize Suspicious Activity?

    Security procedures at large public venues and transportation hubs rely upon vigilant and engaged security officers who are tasked, in part, with timely and appropriate responses to suspicious behavior of potential hostile actors. But how capable are individuals at detecting suspicious behavior?

  • Incels: The Ideology, the Threat, and a Way Forward

    Misogynist ideology, beyond individual criminal behavior, has fueled violence against women worldwide. A new report explores the phenomenon of ‘incels’ (a portmanteau of ‘involuntary’ and ‘celibate’) and the misogynistic ideology that underpins this global community of men that has become a thriving internet subculture.

  • Anti-Zionism Mutates into Anti-Semitism on the Political Left

    Expressions of anti-Israel bias from left-leaning political organizations in several European democracies have devolved into anti-Semitism and even violent attacks against local Jewish communities.

  • Conspiracy Theories: How Social Media Can Help Them Spread and Even Spark Violence

    Conspiracy theory beliefs and (more generally) misinformation may be groundless, but they can have a range of harmful real-world consequences, including spreading lies, undermining trust in media and government institutions and inciting violent or even extremist behaviors.

  • Senate Fails to Reauthorize Chemical Facility Security Program

    Chemical industry groups are warning that thousands of chemical facilities across the United States could face increased risk of terrorist attacks after the Senate last week adjourned for its summer recess without approving pending House legislation reauthorizing the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism (CFATS) program.

  • New Method Helps Predict the Spread of Armed Conflicts

    Around the world, political violence increased by 27 percent last year, affecting 1.7 billion people. Some armed conflicts occur between states, but there are many more that take place within the borders of a single state. To better understand how violent events spread, a new statistical model identifies links between battles in Africa, but the model can be applied to other armed conflicts.

  • The Niger Coup Could Threaten the Entire Sahel

    The coup in Niger, once seen as the cornerstone of U.S. counterterrorism efforts in West Africa, now threatens wider regional instability and could potentially open the door to further Russian influence.