Soldier patrolling in Brussels on high terror alert. 

Photo: Emanuele Cardinall. 23.02.2016. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

Consortium for Research on Terrorism and International Crime

Researh Program

The Consortium for Research on Terrorism and International Crime has existed since in 2002, and today consists of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI), the Police University College (PHS) and the Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX). The Consortium constitutes one of the most renowned research environments in Europe on these topics. It serves as an arena for research dissemination, exchange of information, and the building of expertise across institutions.

The Consortium is financed through ministries, state agencies and private organizations that wish to support Norwegian research on terrorism and international crime, and that wish to make use of the Consortium’s expertise. Consortium researchers have also supported important policy-making processes, such as the Norwegian Action plan against Violent Extremism and Radicalization, and the process leading to a white paper on security challenges in Norwegian foreign policy.

The expertise and current research focus of the Consortium researchers include the topics of violent extremism and terrorism, Islamic terrorism in Europe and the rest of the world, right-wing extremism and anti-Jihadi movements, solo-terrorism, terrorist target selection, the fight against terrorism, organized and international crime in Europe and its neighborhoods, policy-making on organized crime, organized crime and state-building, illegal economies and insurgencies in West and North Africa, piracy, societal security, threats against the transport sector, gang conflicts, crisis management and international police cooperation. 

Click here for the latest publications by the consortium researchers

 

NUPI researchers associated with the consortium: 

External researchers associated with the consortium:

  • Tore Bjørgo, (C-REX), Consortium Academic Director 

News

The Consortium for Research on Terrorism and International Crime in 2021

January 13, 2022

Foreign fighters in Ukraine, 20 years after 9/11 and the role of technology in violent extremism were some of the topics on the Consortium’s agenda in 2021.

News

The Consortium for research on terrorism and international crime in 2019

February 6, 2020

Prison radicalization, returning foreign fighters and accelerationist terrorism were just some of the topics on the Consortium’s agenda during the last twelve months.

News
Bildet viser en illustrasjon av en mannsfigur som måles med en linjal

Measuring the risk of radicalization – is that really possible?

October 3, 2018

Are tools for gauging the risk of radicalization used correctly?

News

The frustrating nature of international counter-terrorism partnerships

August 10, 2018

Fighting terrorism requires wide-ranging cooperation between states. What does such cooperation look like in practice, and does it work?

News

Exploring the Continuum of Lethality: Militant Islamists' Targeting Preferences in Europe

November 8, 2017

Doctoral Research Fellow at Politihøgskolen (The Police Academy) and Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, Cato Hemmingby, has published an article that provides an in-depth analysis of the targeting preferences of militant Islamists operating i1

News

Radicalization and foreign fighters in the Kosovo context: An analysis of international media coverage of the phenomena

May 15, 2017

Senior Research Fellow and consortium coordinator, Rita Augestad Knudsen, has published a new critical study of the international media coverage of the phenomena of radicalisation and foreign fighters in Kosovo:

News

Op-Ed: Three Myths Holding Back Afghan Peace Talks

April 3, 2017

Consortium researcher Anne Stenersen writes in IPI Global Observatory about the peace talks with the Taliban:

News
Bildet viser libanesiske potestanter

Lebanon on knife-edge

September 9, 2016

With Syria to the north-east, Israel in the south and faced with its own political crises, Lebanon finds itself challenged on many fronts.

News
Bildet viser et utbombet Groznyj i 1995

When Russia goes to war

November 1, 2016

What makes war acceptable? Julie Wilhelmsen launches her most recent book, followed by a conversation with Aftenposten commentator Helene Skjeggestad.

News
Bildet viser en fransk soldat som patruljerer området rundt Eiffel-tårnet i kjølvannet av terrorangrepene i Paris i januar 2015.

Counter-terrorism in Europe

June 1, 2015

Which questions should we ask ourselves after the terrorist acts in Europe the last few months?

News

A Clear Division of Roles Promotes Security

August 4, 2015

A new report sheds light on how the roles should be divided between police and other security personnel in securing vulnerable objects.

Contact Person

Themes
Terrorism and extremism
Events
Thu 8 Jun 2023
Event
Time: 09:30 Europe/Oslo
Location: NUPI

Theory Seminar: Interdisciplinarity & Terrorism Studies

Paul Gill is visiting NUPI to talk about a project which has a goal to make significant advances in increasing our understanding of extremist violence, and thereby reduce the risk for this.

Thu 8 Jun 2023
Event
Time: 14:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: Auditorium 2, Eilert Sundts hus, Moltke Moes vei 31, 0851 Oslo

Developing the evidence base for putative risk factors for violent extremist outcomes

We will take a closer look at the past decade’s scientific breakthroughs on professionalising the risk assessment and management of those vulnerable to radicalisation.

Thu 16 Feb 2023
Event
Time: 09:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: NUPI

Bad ideas have wings too: Understanding the resilience of jihadi ideas

How has Sayyid Qutb’s book 'Milestones' inspired radical youth and armed JIhadi groups around the world?

Wed 25 Jan 2023
Event
Time: 09:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: Seminar room 101 in Harriet Holters house. University of Oslo

Foreign Fighters in Ukraine – "concerned citizens of the world" or a security threat?

What is the motivation for the foreign fighters in Ukraine and which challenges do they meet in the war?

Tue 1 Nov 2022
Event
Time: 14:30 Europe/Oslo
Location: Undervisningsrom 1 i Georg Sverdrups hus, Universitetet i Oslo

Minors in terrorist organizations: Radicalization and intervention

Young jihadis has been convicted of membership in a terrorist organization. How has the radicalization process been for these teens? And what has been done to de-radicalize them?

Tue 23 Aug 2022
Event
Time: 14:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: NUPI

Ungdom og ekstremisme i 2021 – En studie av ungdommers vurdering av ekstremisme og forebygging av ekstremisme i Norge.

23. august 2022 kl 14:00 presenterer Håvard Haugstvedt funn fra en kvantitativ studie om ekstremisme i Norge, fra perspektivene til norske ungdommer.

Wed 27 Apr 2022
Event
Time: 17:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: Microsoft Teams

WEBINAR: The secrets of al-Qaeda: “The Bin Laden Papers”

Nelly Lahoud has taken a deep dive into Osama Bin Ladens files and looked at his plans for future attacks in her new book on “The Bin Laden Papers”.

Wed 2 Feb 2022
Event
Time: 14:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: Microsoft Teams

Mental health and radicalization

The possible relationship between mental health and radicalization, extremism and terrorist involvement has received a lot of attention recently. But what do we really know about this relationship?

Tue 16 Nov 2021
Event
Time: 16:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: Microsoft Teams

The threat of covid 19-related extremism

One of the more salient aspects of the current pandemic is the deep distrust in governments and elites it has exposed. In this seminar Teun van Dongen investigates this ‘resistance movement’ that opposes the Covid-19 restrictions.

Wed 29 Sep 2021
Event
Time: 15:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: Microsoft Teams

What role does technology play in violent extremism and terrorism?

Extremist actors have been some of the earliest adopters of the Internet and recognised its potential as a communications and mobilisation tool. While a growing body of evidence suggests that the Internet is a key facilitator of violent extremism, research in this area has rarely incorporated forme1

Tue 21 Sep 2021
Event
Time: 15:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: Microsoft Teams

Living with the Taliban?

How do local communities experience the Taliban vis a vis questions of security? What did the police reform look like before the Taliban takeover, and will there be a role for the police under Taliban?

Thu 5 Aug 2021
Event
Time: 17:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: Microsoft Teams

Gendered Radicalisation – how gender and place matter to countering violent extremism

In this seminar, we will investigate how multiple factors on the path to violent extremism, such as social, local, individual and global, can differ for men and women. The seminar will demonstrate the significance of gender and place in the journeys to violent extremism.

Tue 22 Jun 2021
Event
Time: 11:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: Microsoft Teams

Jihadist Governance in the Sahel

Often depicted as “Islamic terrorists”, jihadist insurgent governance has rarely been systematically researched in the academic literature. In this seminar, we will discuss what the research tells us about how jihadists govern and why their governance differs not only between different groups but a1

Wed 25 Nov 2020
Event
Time: 09:30 Europe/Oslo
Location: Microsoft Teams

Political violence and polarization in France: the threat, the discourse and the response

Since 2015, more than 250 civilians have been killed in jihadist attacks in France. Is France particularly prone to jihadist violence, and how does terrorism affect French society and French politics?

Tue 28 Apr 2020
Event
Time: 10:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: Webinar

WEBINAR: Understanding the global far right: lessons from India

How global is the far right?

Tue 21 Apr 2020
Event
Time: 10:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: Webinar

WEBINAR: Jihad in the Sahel: Actors, developments and context

Who are the jihadi insurgents, why are they gaining ground, and what are the likely future developments in the Sahel?

Wed 6 Nov 2019
Event
Time: 09:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: NUPI

Radicalization behind bars: Lessons and challenges from Norway and the Netherlands

How can correctional institutions and the wider society prevent radicalization behind bars?

Thu 24 Oct 2019
Event
Time: 09:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: NUPI

Is there an extremist personality? – The link between personality characteristics and violent extremism

Milan Obaidi presents research that highlights individual personality characteristics as important when trying to understand the process of radicalization.

Tue 11 Dec 2018
Event
Time: 12:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: NUPI

Preventing terrorism through risk assessments – a UK perspective

How does the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy play out in in real-life, and what's the (potential) role of risk assessments in the prevention of terrorism? Marek Hubert, former academic and a current Police Officer, visits NUPI to talk about these issues.

Tue 27 Nov 2018
Event
Time: 10:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: NUPI

Critical approaches in terrorism research: Power, pre-emption and preventing violent extremism

What is a critical methodology? How and when are critical methodologies useful in terrorism research?

Wed 21 Nov 2018
Event
Time: 14:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: NUPI

The temptations of terrorist watchlists: How the U.S. No Fly List is changing the meaning of citizenship

On what basis should watchlisting decisions be made and by whom? And have watchlists begun to proliferate beyond their original purposes and beyond the liberal democracies that invented them?

Tue 4 Sep 2018
Event
Time: 12:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: NUPI

Fighting violent extremism: What can be learned from the North Caucasus?

What factors affect the flow of recruits from the North Caucasus areas to jihadist groups in and outside of Russia?

Sun 17 Jun 2018
Event
Time: 09:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: NUPI

How America’s partners help and hinder the war on terror

Fighting terrorism requires wide-ranging cooperation between states. What does such cooperation look like in practice, and does it work?

Thu 19 Apr 2018
Event
Time: 09:30 Europe/Oslo
Location: NUPI

Violent extremism and the role of mental disorder

To what degree can mental illness explain terrorism, and is there a marked difference between the lone actor and the group-based extremist?

Mon 16 Apr 2018
Event
Time: 10:30 Europe/Oslo
Location: NUPI

Islamist radicalisation in Europe – characteristics and drivers

Professor Olivier Roy visits NUPI to give a lecture on the characteristics and drivers of Islamist radicalisation in European societies.

Sun 18 Feb 2018
Event
Time: 11:45 Europe/Oslo
Location: NUPI

Understanding the foreign fighter phenomenon in the Balkans: insights from Kosovo and Bosnia

Three researchers are visiting NUPI to talk about why the assumption we have about foreign fighters often is incorrect.

Thu 14 Dec 2017
Event
Time: 11:30 Europe/Oslo
Location: NUPI

Lunch Seminar: The Islamic State - Terrorism and Influence

What does the current state of play regarding the IS strategic communication operations look like?

Mon 12 Jun 2017
Event
Time: 11:30 Europe/Oslo
Location: NUPI

Lunch seminar: Al-Qaida in Afghanistan - an alternative perspective

The Consortium for research on terrorism and crime has the pleasure of welcoming Anne Stenersen to talk about her book that gives a new perspective on al-Qaida.

Thu 11 May 2017
Event
Time: 10:00 Europe/Oslo
Location: NUPI

Fighting international terrorism the French way

In this seminar Pernille Rieker will present a chapter in her forthcoming book “French Foreign Policy in a Changing world. Practicing the Grandeur”.