Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Countering Violent Extremist Narratives

Via CT Blog -

The Dutch counterterrorism agency the NCTb, and the University of Leiden have released a volume of essays, focusing on how to more effectively counter al Qaeda's dangerous narrative. While al Qaeda's popularity has slipped over the past year, it remains a serious threat to the US and its allies. The organization has demonstrated that it can still plot potentially devastating attacks, as the Najibullah Zazi case illustrated, and it still is able to spread its destructive propaganda and message.

I wrote a piece for this volume, analyzing how we could use the cases of terrorist dropouts to improve our counternarrative. Figuring out why people have voluntarily walked away from al Qaeda and like minded groups can help us determine what messages and strategies are likely to be effective in persuading others to turn their backs on this cause.

To read my piece, click here

To read my longer study on terrorist dropouts, click here.

The full Dutch report is available here

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