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
: Report
The Far Right Honeytrap: Georgian Media and the Mediagenic Far Right
2020The recent wave of far-right mobilization across the globe, including Georgia, naturally attracts wide media attention. Although the interrelation of the media and the far right, especially in the Georgian context, remains under-researched, evidence from other countries shows the potential impact of... -
Publication
: Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
States of exception: Freedom of Speech, Liberal Identities, and European Politics of Security
This chapter deals with dilemmas of current European Security Politics in relation to freedom of speech and liberal values more broadly, in what I call the ‘double exceptionalism’ of liberal security policy. Empirically, I focus on the Norwegian balance after the terrorist attack on 22 July 2011. The... -
Publication
: Popular scientific lecture
Åpen høring i Stortingets utenriks- og forsvarskomité torsdag 28. mai 2020
Karsten Friis and Vegard Valther Hansen participated to an open hearing in the Parliament about the proposed new law on the intelligence service.
Research projects about terrorism and extremism
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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.
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Foto: NTB Scanpix
Research projectHOW TO PREVENT VIOLENT EXTREMISM? PREVEX will contribute to more effective policies that prevents violent extremism through strengthening societal resilience.
Preventing Violent Extremism in the Balkans and the MENA: Strengthening Resilience in Enabling Environments (PREVEX)
2020 - 2023 (Ongoing)The overarching objective of PREVEX is to put forward more fine-tuned and effective approaches to preventing violent extremism.
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Research project
Common Fear Factors in Foreign Policy (COMFEAR)
2019 - 2020 (Ongoing)COMFEAR aims to identify key issues of common concern and shared threats as perceived by publics and policymakers in Czechia and Norway.