EXTREMISTS & CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTUREDomestic Violent Extremists’ Threat to U.S. Nuclear Facilities
Nuclear security in the U.S. has historically understood threat as “other,” – for example, foreign states or terrorists — leaving practitioners, facilities, and physical protection systems vulnerable to threats from within. There is a need for an urgent change to the nuclear security norms and understanding of threat to include not only foreign agents, but also domestic violent extremist groups and homegrown violent ideologies, is needed to strengthen the resiliency and effectiveness of the national nuclear security regime.
A new study examines the growing threat domestic violent extremists pose to U.S. critical infrastructure. In a Stimson Center study, The Threat from Within: An Overview of the Domestic Violent Extremist Threat Facing US Nuclear Security Practitioners, Sneha Nair, Anna Pluff, and Christina McAllister write that domestic violent extremist threats to U.S. nuclear facilities prove that the nuclear security status quo is at risk.
The add:
Nuclear security in the U.S. has historically understood threat as ‘other’ – leaving practitioners, facilities, and physical protection systems vulnerable to threats from within: a glaring vulnerability that was made public in the wake of the 2021 Capitol Breach. Urgent change to the nuclear security norms and understanding of threat to include not only foreign agents, but also domestic violent extremist groups and homegrown violent ideologies, is needed to strengthen the resiliency and effectiveness of the national nuclear security regime.
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