Theme

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

Turkish Foreign Minister visited NUPI

30 Aug 2019

Turkey's Foreign Minister H.E. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visited NUPI on Friday August 30th.
How do Islamist movements relate to the modern state?
28 Jun 2019
- - Tine Gade
The first research notes from the HYRES project are out, analyzing several very timely questions related to Islamist movements in Mali, Iraq, Libya and Lebanon.

The Middle East and North Africa Sårbare stater Opprørsgrupper Terrorisme og ekstremisme Africa Conflict resolution Styring
Research prize to NUPI's Henriette Ullavik Erstad
28 May 2019
- - Endre Stangeby
Erstad is awarded the Ording Prize 2018 for her article on Iran's mobilization of Iraqi Shi'a militias.

Forsvar og sikkerhet Conflict resolution Terrorisme og ekstremisme The Middle East and North Africa Styring

All news about terrorism and extremism (total 22)

Publications about terrorism and extremism

Publication : ARTIKKEL
Disengaging from violent extremism: The case of al-Shabaab in Somalia
2019
- - Ingvild Magnæs Gjelsvik
Disengagement, rehabilitation and reintegration for members of violent extremist groups during ongoing conflict is a tricky matter. Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programmes are normally implemented after a peace agreement is in place. However, this does not apply to south central...
Conflict resolution Africa Terrorisme og ekstremisme Opprørsgrupper
Publication
Mali's Religious Leaders and the 2018 Presidential Elections
2019
- - Morten Bøås
Mali is by constitution a secular state, but here as elsewhere in the Sahel the role of religious leaders is increasing both in the social and the political sphere. This HYRES research brief explains how, why, and in what ways religious leaders tried to gain influence in the 2018 presidential campaign....
Africa Conflict resolution Opprørsgrupper Sårbare stater Terrorisme og ekstremisme
Publication
Introduction: The Duty of Care in International Relations
2019
- - Halvard Leira
- - Nina Græger
In this introduction, we lay out the premises, logics and content of the book in more detail. In the next section, we introduce a varied set of current international challenges concerning the relationship between states and citizens. In the third section, we present the historical background for why...
Utenrikspolitikk Diplomacy Humanitarian issues Styring Terrorisme og ekstremisme