Blog

By Anne Craanen and Charley Gleeson Terrorist use of the internet is a complex and multi-faceted threat which requires an equally nuanced response. Terrorists use a wide ecosystem of tech platforms for a variety of purposes, composed of external (public propaganda dissemination) and internal (operational maintenance) communications. Our analysis shows that within the ecosystem of ...

By the Institute of Strategic Dialogue Research Team On the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) researchers have been tracking and monitoring Salafi-jihadists across social media platforms, who look to radicalise and influence lone actor attacks, for over a year. In doing so, ISD has identified a networked community of ...

VOX-Pol has just published Violent Extremism and Terrorism Online in 2021: The Year in Review, authored by Maura Conway (Dublin City University), Amy Louise Watkin (University of the West of Scotland), and Seán Looney (University of Exeter). This year’s report was produced via RAN Policy Support, and funded by the European Commission. About the report The 2021 Year in Review treats developments in ...

By Joan Barata I. Freedom of expression and threats to national security Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) protects the right to freedom of expression as a universal right and strictly limits the powers of states to impose restrictions and conditions to its exercise. However, paragraph 3 of the ...

By Joey Düker A recent paper I co-wrote with Cathrine Thorleifsson (C-REX, Norway) for the Radicalisation Awareness Network addresses the importance of digital environments for so-called Lone Actor terrorists. As a brief guide for practitioners, I will expand on the various roles that different platforms serve in this context, with a focus on the far ...

Welcome to Volume 9, Issue 1 of the VOX-Pol Newsletter. INTRODUCING ARC The Accelerationism Research Consortium (ARC) is a cross-sector collaboration of researchers, practitioners, analysts, and journalists who are dedicated to understanding and mitigating the threat posed by accelerationist terrorism. VOX-Pol Researchers feature among the Board of Advisors and ARC Fellows. Find ARC on Twitter @TheARConsortium or check out their website. TASM CONFERENCE 2022 ...

By Elisa Orofino A “proto-state”, a “socio-political movement, the ”beast“ – all names given to a single group that, at its height, seemed to embody the west’s worst nightmare. Islamic State appeared to be a motivated, well-led insurgency group dedicated to building its own “caliphate” in conquered areas across the Middle East. Now, the recent violent ...

by Elizaveta Gaufman Russian far-right watchers might have not paid much attention to Vladislav Pozdnyakov – next to neofascist Alexander Dugin or late neo-Nazi leader Maxim Martsinkevitch, he seemed to be a marginal character, attracting 155k supporters on Russian social network Vkontakte at the height of his fame. However, Pozdnyakov and his now banned organization “the Male State” need ...

By Ben Marshall The term ‘behavioural analytics’ means different things to different people and is often banded about loosely. In many cases, it is used as a catch-all term for the analysis of ‘big data’ that is considered to represent ‘behaviour’ in some form or another, such as social media posts or website clicks, often ...

By Lisa Kaati One of the most challenging threats towards societal security is attacks from so called violent ‘lone offenders’. These individuals are said to act alone or with minimal help from others, without any economic incitements or direct orders from violent extremist organisations. Between late 2018 and early 2020, several violent attacks in New ...