Terrorism and extremism
There is broad agreement on the core meaning of the term ‘terrorism’, but considerable disagreement about its delimitation.
Terrorism can be seen as strategic actions in which violence or threat of violence is used to create fear, gain attention for a cause, or coerce another party to give in to certain demands. The aim is to achieve effects on others beside the direct victims or targets of the violence. Some analysts reserve the term for non-state actors, while others include state terrorism. Some define acts as terrorism only if the actions are directed at civilian targets, while others include all non-combatants (including military targets not involved in the combat). At NUPI, research on terrorism has concentrated especially on the European rim from North Africa to the Caucasus region, and our main instrument for this research is the research programme the Terror Consortium.
Some questions we seek to answer:
- What are the linkages between terrorism, organized crime, weak states and new forms of organized violence?
- How to distinguish between terrorists and freedom fighters?
- What are the political implications of how the various insurgence groups are defined?
News about terrorism and extremism
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Common fears, common opportunities?
5 Mar 2020How do Czechia and Norway assess and respond to a changing international political context?
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The PREVEX project officially launched in Brussels
7 Feb 2020Why are some communities more likely to experience violent extremism than others?
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Drivers of violent extremism: NUPI to coordinate EU-funded project
19 Dec 2019PREVEX will shed light on how the various drivers of violent extremism operate.
Publications about terrorism and extremism
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Publication
: Popular scientific article
“Irregular” Migration and Divergent Understandings of Security in the Sahel
On 23 September 2020, the EU launched its new Pact on Migration and Asylum. In a refreshingly blunt press-release accompanying the Pact one could read: “The current system no longer works. And for the past five years, the EU has not been able to fix it”. The stated aim of the Pact is a fairer sharing... -
Publication
: Report
The “Faceless Evildoers” of Cabo Delgado: an Islamist Insurgency in Mozambique?
2020A brief assessment about the emergence of a jihadi group in Mozambique -
Publication
: Chapter
Jihad globale o insurgency locale? L'ISIS in Africa, da Boko Haram allo Stato Islamico nel Grande Sahara
This chapter sums up the evolution of jihadi activity in Mali and around Lake Chad, connecing local events to the concurrent emergence and evolution of the Islamic State.
Research projects about terrorism and extremism
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Research project
Shaping a New Africa-Europe Relationship for a post-COVID-19 global order
2020 - 2021 (Ongoing)This collaborative project between NUPI, ACCORD and ECFR aims to stimulate and enrich the dialogue in Africa and Europe on the underlying geopolitical, COVID-19, peace and security and other key developments...
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Research project
Mitigating Perceived Threats in Russian and Norwegian Public Discourse (THREAT-DEFUSER)
2020 - 2023 (Ongoing)THREAT-DEFUSER integrates state-of-the-art political science, linguistics, and media studies methods to forge a new multidisciplinary approach to hybrid warfare. The primary objective is long term strategic...
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Grafikk: NTB Scanpix
Research project
Report on development and use of risk-assessment tools for violent extremism
2019 - 2020 (Ongoing)This project shall examine the development and use of risk-assessment tools related to violent extremism, and elucidate the evidential basis on which the tools are built.