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Program on Extremism

 

Global Jihadism
Global Jihadism

Global Jihadism

 

Program researchers have tracked the evolution and expansion of the jihadist movement across the globe for years. Our team uses a variety of methods to keep up with the shifting global jihadist landscape, drawing on field work, interviews, primary source documents, data collection and analysis, and more. Browse recent news & publications, project pages, and a full archive of related content below to learn more.

 

Our Research Team

 

Recent Publications

Jihadism Trends in 2024: Cases and Patterns in Review

Jihadism Trends in 2024: Cases and Patterns in Review

January 10, 2025

Islamist Reactions to the Fall of the Assad Regime and the Role of HTS in Syria's Post-Revolutionary Landscape

Islamist Reactions to the Fall of the Assad Regime and the Role of HTS in Syria's Post-Revolutionary Landscape

December 19, 2024

Extremism in Texas

Extremism in Texas, History and Current Trends

December 1, 2024

PoE Extremism Monitor - October 2024 Issue

October 31, 2024

The Coming AI and Extremism Threat

The Coming AI and Extremism Threat

June 6, 2024

Extremism - Do We Need a Definition?

Extremism – Do We Need a Definition?

March 8, 2024

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The Logic of Insanity: Why Groups Like ISIS & Hamas Strategically Court with Self-Destruction

November 1, 2023

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The Hamas Networks in America: A Short History

October 13, 2023

The Perilous Intersection on Amnesty and Accountability

The Perilous Intersection of Amnesty and Accountability: Iraq's Legal Quandary and its Global Counterterrorism Ramifications

October 6, 2023

Evolving Terrorism Threat the AfPak Region

The Evolving Terrorism Threat to the U.S. from the Afghanistan-Pakistan Region

September 7, 2023

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The Third Generation of Online Radicalization

June 16, 2023

History Wars Banner

History Wars: How Daesh’s Propaganda Manipulates History & Memory

June 15, 2023

 

Projects

Nexus

Nexus

The Global-Local Jihadist Nexus project draws on a global network of subject matter experts and locally based researchers to monitor Islamic State and al-Qaida affiliates across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, as well as their support and enabling networks across the West. We regularly publish reports and analysis through our platform, Nexus. These pieces analyze the interplay of several pairs of forces that have the potential to drive or constrain the global Islamic State and Al-Qaida nexus, including: global and local contexts, ideological and pragmatic drivers, individual and group appeals, leader-inspired and organizationally-enabled change, foreign influence versus local interest, and more.

Mosul and the Islamic State

When the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or Daesh) captured Iraq’s second largest city of Mosul in 2014, it heralded a period of unimaginable terror and destruction. A young man named Omar, writing under the penname of ‘Mosul Eye’, secretly reported from the besieged city unveiling to the world apocalyptic scenes as militants desperately searched for him. For the first time, Mosul and the Islamic State tells the untold stories from inside the Islamic State’s reign of terror over this ancient city, the pursuit of justice in its aftermath, and the enduring struggle of its people for a better future.

The ISIS Files

In 2018, The New York Times and the George Washington University announced an exclusive partnership to digitize, translate, analyze, and publish over 15,000 pages of internal files obtained from ISIS's former so-called "caliphate". The ISIS Files provide a unique snapshot of some aspects of how the group thought about certain issues and functioned in certain fields. But this information acquires significantly increased value when properly analyzed and contextualized. For this reason, each batch of The ISIS Files documents will be released along with a research study that will focus on the same topic. These studies analyze and contextualize The ISIS Files on the specific topic, combining them with what is already known about the topic from other sources.

ISIS in America

ISIS in America

Our flagship report, ISIS in America: From Retweets to Raqqa, examines all cases of United States persons arrested, indicted or convicted in the U.S. for Islamic State-related activities, as well as other Americans who, while not in the legal system, are known to have engaged in IS-inspired behavior. The individuals studied in our report defy any cookie-cutter profile of the “American IS supporter.” As such, we analyze the individual motivations of IS supporters; the role of the Internet, specifically social media, in the radicalization and recruitment process; whether radicalization took place in isolation or with other like-minded individuals; and the degree of their tangible links to IS. Visit this page to access the report and browse all related legal cases.

GW Extremism Tracker

GW Extremism Tracker

Our GW Extremism Tracker provides quarterly updates on terrorism-related activities and court proceedings in the United States. We track various demographic information related to all individuals charged in the U.S. on offenses related to the Islamic State (IS, ISIS, ISIL) since March 2014 when the first arrests occurred. We also track legal proceedings for individuals charged in the U.S. with connections to other jihadist groups as well. 

Attacks

Attacks

We continue to track jihadist motivated terrorist attacks in Europe and North America. Our tracker offers a snapshot of all attacks from 2014 to 2020 and is based on a database maintained by Program on Extremism Director Lorenzo Vidino and fellow Francesco Marone. We also published a joint report in 2017, Fear Thy Neighbor: Radicalization and Jihadist Attacks in the West, with the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism - The Hague and the Italian Institute for International Polical Studies. 

Browse All Related Content

Analyses

"Generation Killed: The Challenges of Routinizing Global Jihad" Authored by Haroro Ingram and Craig Whiteside | War on the Rocks | August 18, 2022.

ISIS's Leadership Crisis: A Vacancy at the Top Threatens the Group's Global Operations
Authored by Haroro Ingram and Craig Whiteside | Foreign Affairs | February 3, 2022

Islamic State leader killed in US raid – where does this leave the terrorist group?
Authored by Haroro Ingram, Amira Jadoon, and Andrew Mines | The Conversation | February 3, 2022.

Thousands of men, women and children remain in detention because of their former ties to ISIS
Authored by Devorah Margolin and Austin Doctor | Washington Post | February 2, 2022

The Islamic State Threat in Taliban Afghanistan: Tracing the Resurgence of the Islamic State Khorasan
Authored by Amira Jadoon, Abdul Sayed, and Andrew Mines | CTC Sentinel | January 27, 2022

The Taliban Haven’t Changed, But U.S. Policy Must
Authored by Haroro J. Ingram, Andrew Mines, and Omar Mohammed | Lawfare | October 31, 2021

The Taliban Can't Take on the Islamic State Alone
Authored by Amira Jadoon and Andrew Mines | War on the Rocks | October 14, 2021

The evolving Taliban-ISK rivalry
Authored by Amira Jadoon, Andrew Mines, and Abdul Sayed | The Lowy Institute | September 7, 2021

History’s rhymes in the fall of Kabul and Mosul: Flawed ideas, broken promises, and poisonous spin
Authored by Haroro J. Ingram and Omar Mohammed | ICCT | September 2, 2021

What is ISIS-K? Two terrorism experts on the group behind the deadly Kabul airport attack and its rivalry with the Taliban
Authored by Amira Jadoon and Andrew Mines | The Conversation | August 26, 2021

American counterterrorism cannot be an either/or proposition
Authored by Lorenzo Vidino and Seamus Hughes | The Hill | May 25, 2021

The Islamic State Is in Congo. What Now?
Authored by Haroro J. Ingram and Lorenzo Vidino | Lawfare | May 16, 2021

The Routinization of the Islamic State’s Global Enterprise

Authored by Haroro Ingram, Craig Whiteside, and Charlie Winter | Hudson Institute | April 1, 2021

Stigma, Shame and Fear: Navigating Obstacles to Peace in Mindanao
Authored by Haroro Ingram | Resolve Network | March 4, 2021

Smaller and Smarter: Defining a Narrower U.S. Counterterrorism Mission in the Afghanistan-Pakistan Region

Authored by Amira Jadoon, Andrew Mines, and Abdul Sayed | Newlines Institute | February 11, 2021

The Head of ISIS is a Hypocrite and a Traitor

Authored by Haroro Ingram and Omar Mohammed | Foreign Policy | November 19, 2020

Preempting the Storm: DOJ Moves to Tackle Terrorist and Criminal Use of Cryptocurrencies with Bolder International Approach

Authored by Andrew Mines | GNET | November 11, 2020

Exposing Terror, Building Resilience: Harnessing Citizen Journalists and Social Media to Confront Terrorism

Authored by Omar Mohammed | GNET | September 29, 2020

Balancing Online Content Moderation and the Rule of Law

Authored by Devorah Margolin, Jon Lewis, and Andrew Mines | GNET | September 4, 2020

Cryptocurrency and the Dismantling of Terrorism Financing Campaigns
Authored by Andrew Mines and Devorah Margolin | Lawfare | August 26, 2020

Revamping American "Soft Power": The Case for Centralizing America's Messages to the World
Authored by Haroro J. Ingram and Alexander Guittard | Foreign Policy Research Institute | July 20, 2020

#Hamas: Using Twitter to Gain Legitimacy or Incite Violence? 
Authored by Devorah Margolin | GNET | July 6, 2020

#Hamas: A Thematic Exploration of Hamas’s English-Language Twitter 
Authored by Devorah Margolin | Terrorism and Political Violence | June 23, 2020

Pandemic Propaganda and the Global Democracy Crisis
Authored by Haroro J. Ingram | War on the Rocks | May 18, 2020

Can the Islamic State's Afghan Province Survive Its Leadership Losses?
Authored by Andrew Mines and Amira Jadoon | Lawfare | May 17, 2020

5G and the Far Right: How Extremists Capitalise on Coronavirus Conspiracies
Authored by Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens and Blyth Crawford | GNET | April 21, 2020

Telegram’s Cryptocurrency Could Have a Terrorism Problem
Authored by Andrew Mines | Just Security | March 5, 2020

“Breaking the Walls” Goes Global: The Evolving Threat of Jihadi Prison Assaults and Riots

Authored by Bennett Clifford and Caleb Weiss | CTC Sentinel | February 27, 2020

Lessons from the Islamic State’s ‘Milestone’ Texts and Speeches
Authored by Haroro J. Ingram, Craig Whiteside, and Charlie Winter | CTC Sentinel | January 2020

Caliph Abu Unknown: Succession and the Legitimacy in the Islamic State
Authored by Haroro Ingram and Craig Whiteside | War on the Rocks | November 25, 2019

The Fractured Terrorism Threat to America
Authored by Seamus Hughes and Devorah Margolin | Lawfare | November 10, 2019

In Syria, the Women and Children of ISIS Have Been Forgotten
Authored by Devorah Margolin, Joana Cook, and Charlie Winter | Foreign Policy | October 26, 2019

Islamic State Affiliate Seeks to Expand in Afghanistan
Authored by Andrew Mines and Amira Jadoon | Lawfare | October 23, 2019

When Pain is Thicker Than Blood: Surviving Scourge and Purifying the Ranks
Authored by Asaad Almohammad and Jon Lewis | Foreign Policy Research Institute | September 26, 2019

Taking Aim: Islamic State Khorasan's Leadership Losses
Authored by Amira Jadoon and Andrew Mines | CTC Sentinel | September 2019

De-Platforming and the Online Extremist’s Dilemma
Authored by Bennett Clifford and Helen Christy Powell | Lawfare | June 6, 2019

The Guerrilla ‘Caliph’: Speeches that Bookend the Islamic State’s ‘Caliphate’ Era
Authored by Haroro J. Ingram, Craig Whiteside, and Charlie Winter | CTC Sentinel | May 29, 2019

Doxing and Defacements: Examining the Islamic State’s Hacking Capabilities
Authored by Audrey Alexander and Bennett Clifford | CTC Sentinel | April 26, 2019

Destination Jihad: Italy’s Foreign Fighters
Authored by Francesco Marone and Lorenzo Vidino | ICCT | March 19, 2019

A Practical Guide to the First Rule of CTCVE
Authored by Alastair G. Reed and Haroro J. Ingram | ICCT | March 18, 2019

Jihadist ‘Responsibility to Protect’ Appeals: Propaganda Wars for the Moral High Ground
Authored by Haroro J. Ingram | ICCT | March 14, 2019

Do Great Nations Fight Endless Wars? Against the Islamic State, They Might
Authored by Haroro J. Ingram and Craig Whiteside | War on the Rocks | February 25, 2019

Strasbourg shooting: Why known extremists can carry out terror attacks
Authored by Lorenzo Vidino | BBC News | December 15, 2018

United States v. Aws Mohammed Younis al-Jayab: A Case Study on Transnational Prosecutions of Jihadi Foreign Fighter Networks
Authored by Seamus Hughes and Bennett Clifford | CTC Sentinel | December 14, 2018

The Caliph's Role in the (un)Surprising Resilience of the Islamic State
Authored by Haroro J. Ingram and Craig Whiteside | Foreign Policy Research Institute | October 25, 2018

Treatment of Terrorists: How Does Gender Affect Justice?
Authored by Audrey Alexander | CTC Sentinel | September 10, 2018

Prosecuting the Islamic State Fighters Left Behind
Authored by Jenna Consigli | Lawfare | August 1, 2018

A Brief Update on Ethnic Georgian Foreign Fighters in the Islamic State
Authored by Bennett Clifford | Jihadology | July 31, 2018

The Cup and the Caliphate: Russia’s Counterterrorism Operations Before Major Sporting Events and the Global Jihadist Movement
Authored by Bennett Clifford | Lawfare | June 22, 2018

“That is what the terrorists want”: Media as amplifier or disrupter of violent extremist propaganda
Authored by Haroro J. Ingram | ICCT | May 22, 2018

Gray Media Under the Black and White Banner
Authored by Audrey Alexander and Helen Christy Powell | Lawfare | May 6, 2018

“Trucks, Knives, Bombs, Whatever:” Exploring Pro-Islamic State Instructional Material on Telegram
Authored by Bennett Clifford | CTC Sentinel | May 2018

Whose Responsibility is it to Confront Terrorism Online?
Authored by Seamus Hughes | Lawfare | April 27, 2018

Reverse-Engineering The ISIS Playbook, Part II: CT-CVE Messaging Lessons From ISIS's English-Language Magazines
Authored by Haroro J. Ingram and Alastair Reed | Vox Pol | April 18, 2018

Reverse-Engineering The ISIS Playbook, Part I: CT-CVE Messaging Lessons From ISIS's English-Language Magazines
Authored by Haroro J. Ingram and Alastair Reed | Vox Pol | April 13, 2018

Hyperlinked Sympathizers: URLs and the Islamic State
Authored by Samantha Weirman and Audrey Alexander | Studies in Conflict & Terrorism | March 26, 2018

Terror Online And Off: Recent Trends in Islamic State Propaganda Operations
Authored by Charlie Winter and Haroro J. Ingram | War on the Rocks | March 2, 2018

Marginalizing Violent Extremism Online
Authored by Audrey Alexander and William Braniff | The Atlantic | January 21, 2018

How to fight ISIS online
Authored by Audrey Alexander | Foreign Affairs | April 7, 2017

The Threat to the United States from the Islamic State’s Virtual Entrepreneurs
Authored by Seamus Hughes and Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens | CTC Sentinel | March 9, 2017

The Islamic State's Pyramid Scheme: Egyptian Expansion and the Giza Governorate Cell
Authored by Mokhtar Awad | CTC Sentinel | April 2016

Egypt's New Radicalism: The Muslim Brotherhood and Jihad
Authored by Mokhtar Awad | Foreign Affairs | February 4, 2016

Books and Book Chapters
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In the News

What was the Man Behind New Orleans Terror Attack Doing in Canada in 2023?

Featuring Lara Burns

Retired FBI agent shares insight into radicalization risks following NOLA attack

Featuring Lara Burns

Next WH must prevent new reign of terror

Authored by Lorenzo Vidino

Why ISIS’s Message Still Echoes in America

Authored by Omar Mohammed

Shamsud-Din Jabbar: Is the Islamic State Terror Threat Growing Again?

Featuring Lorenzo Vidino

«C’est un moment crucial où tout est possible» : dans le nord-est syrien, la menace de Daech croît

Featuring Omar Mohammed

« La guerre en Syrie n’est pas terminée » : dans le Nord-Est, les Kurdes se préparent à une flambée des violences

Featuring Omar Mohammed

خبير دولي يستبعد أن تشهد تونس موجة من عودة المقاتلين من سوريا

Featuring Sergio Altuna

Tunisia: Altuna (George Washington University), “escludo ritorno di foreign fighter dalla Siria”

Featuring Sergio Altuna

El Sahel, foco de atracción de combatientes desde España y Marruecos para engrosar las filas yihadistas

Featuring Sergio Altuna

Projects

ISIS in America Cases

Online Supporters

Terrorism Financing

Travelers

Testimonies

Allies Under Attack: The Terrorist Threat to Europe
Written Testimony of Seamus Hughes
Deputy Director, Program on Extremism

Before the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee
June 27, 2017

Beyond Iraq and Syria: ISIS' Global Reach
Written Testimony of Lorenzo Vidino
Director, Program on Extremism

Before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
June 8, 2017

Combatting Homegrown Terrorism
Written Testimony of Seamus Hughes
Deputy Director, Program on Extremism

Before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
July 27, 2017

Countering the Virtual Caliphate
Written Testimony of Seamus Hughes
Deputy Director, Program on Extremism

Before the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee
June 23, 2016

Egypt: Challenges and Opportunities for U.S. Policy
Written Testimony of Mokhtar Awad
Research Fellow, Program on Extremism

Before the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa
June 15, 2016

Inside the Mind of ISIS: Understanding Its Goals and Ideology to Better Protect the Homeland
Written Testimony of Lorenzo Vidino
Director, Program on Extremism

Before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
January 20, 2016

Low Cost, High Impact: Combatting the Financing of Lone-Wolf and Small-Scale Terrorist Attacks
Written Testimony of Seamus Hughes
Deputy Director, Program on Extremism

Before the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee
September 6, 2017

The State of Homegrown Terrorism
Written Testimony of Seamus Hughes
Deputy Director, Program on Extremism

Before the California State Assembly Select Committee on the State of Hate
November 16, 2021

The Rise of Radicalization: Is the U.S. Government Failing to Counter International and Domestic Terrorism?
Written Testimony of Seamus Hughes
Deputy Director, Program on Extremism

Before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security
July 15, 2015