In maintaining its commitment to bringing nuanced perspectives from experts in the field of violent and non-violent extremism, the Program on Extremism regularly hosts panel discussions, invited speakers, and other events.
A list of all previous Program on Extremism events is available below. To receive information and registration details for future events, please join our email listserv.
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Recent Events
Antisemitism in Western Extremist Movements: Responding to the Threat
Antisemitism remains a pervasive challenge throughout the West, influencing a variety of violent and non-violent extremists across the political spectrum. In the United States, Jews are the targets of the majority of hate crimes committed against any religious group. While the extremists behind many of these attacks come from a wide array of movements, they are all united by a common antisemitic worldview. From Islamists to neo-Nazis and white supremacists, from black supremacists to far-left extremists, each has incorporated antisemitism and antisemitic tropes as key components of their ideologies, and as a means of mobilizing followers to perpetrate acts of violence. On November 15th, 2022, the Program on Extremism at The George Washington University (PoE) and the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE) co-hosted a virtual event to discuss modern manifestations of antisemitism across extremist movements in the West, and how policymakers can respond.
The panel, moderated by Program Research Director Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, included insights from:
Samantha Vinograd - Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism and Threat Prevention, US Department of Homeland Security
Dave Rich - Director of Policy, Community Security Trust (UK)
Mitch Silber - Executive Director, Community Security Initiative
Jihadism in the West: Current Trends
On Monday, September 26, 2022, at 10:00 AM, The Program on Extremism at George Washington University and the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE) hosted an event to explore current trends surrounding jihadism in the West. The current threat environment is multifaceted, constantly evolving, and challenging for Western governments to manage. Despite the deaths of both the Islamic State and al-Qaeda’s top leaders this year, their global networks of affiliates from Afghanistan to Somalia to West Africa and beyond remain resilient. As practitioners, policymakers, and researchers continue to grapple with the fallout from the Islamic State’s so-called caliphate, these networks continue to wreak havoc on local environments, as well as incite and inspire jihadist supporters in the West. Our panel of experts sought to address these challenging dynamics.
The panel, moderated by Program Research Fellow Andrew Mines, included insights from:
Gina Ligon - Director, National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE)
Hugo Micheron - Visiting Research Fellow, Program on Extremism
Adrian Shtuni - CEO and Principal Consultant, Shtuni Consulting LLC
Lorenzo Vidino - Director, Program on Extremism
Post-Organizational Extremism in the Aftermath of the Buffalo Shooting
On Monday, June 27, 2022, at 10:00 AM, The Program on Extremism at The George Washington University, in conjunction with The Elliott School of International Affairs, hosted a panel discussion on the domestic violent extremism landscape in the aftermath of the Buffalo attack. The recent deadly shooting at the Tops Supermarket in Buffalo highlighted the continuing threat of lone-actor mass violence motivated by domestic violent extremist ideologies. In the weeks following the attack, policymakers and the media have focused on the disparate online ecosystems that support and inspire far-right actors to commit acts of violence. This trend was highlighted in a recent U.S. Department of Homeland Security threat bulletin, which detailed the prevalence of domestic violent extremist and conspiracy-related content in online forums.
The panel, moderated by Program Senior Resarch Fellow Bennett Clifford, included insights from:
Threats at Home and Abroad
