Violent Islamist Extremism and Terror in Africa

Islamist Extremism in East Africa

1 The risk of Islamist extremism in East Africa frequently focuses on Somalia and the violent actions of al Shabaab. Yet local adherents to extremist versions of Islam can now be found throughout the region. As a result, tensions both within Muslim communities and between certain Islamist groups and the broader society have been growing in the region in recent years. These tensions have not eme...

Women against Violent Extremism

Women have continued to experience the worst consequences of all types of conflicts. It is in no doubt going by results from numerous past research efforts. For Example the case of the Kenya woman is no different and stark reality of the circumstances has brought into sharp focus in the PEV 2007/2008 triggered where 1300 people lost their lives, thousands injured, more than 500,000 displaced an...

First Steps Towards Hearts and Minds? USAID's Countering Violent Extremism Policies in Africa

The United States government has adopted new approaches to counter violent extremist organizations around the world. “Soft security” and development programs include focused educational training for groups vulnerable to terrorist recruitment, norm messaging through local radio programming, and job creation in rural communities. This article evaluates the effectiveness of one set of these multi-...

Risk Assessment Decisions for Violent Political Extremism

The “New Economy of Terror:” The Financing of Islamist Terrorism

This paper exposes the “roadmap” of how modern Islamist terrorism is financed, through both legitimate and illegitimate means: the networks and linkages between financing obtained on the one hand through sympathetic Islamic governments, Islamic charities and banks, seemingly legitimate businesses operating as fronts, and on the other hand through criminal activities running the full gamut from ...