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Stopping the scourge of radicalization online

01.18.22

Sam* exhibited all the trademark beliefs of an alt-right extremist.  He held misogynistic views on women, believing that rape cases were fabricated to ruin men’s lives. He believed Islam was an inherently violent religion, that Jews ran global financial networks, and that that traditional family values were being destroyed by the LGBTQ and feminist movements. […]

If Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps is a terrorist organization, so are other state-run groups

05.28.19

In early April, the Trump administration designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a branch of Iran’s military, as a terrorist organization. The decision was unprecedented. As Trump himself noted, the IRGC designation marked “the first time that the United States has ever named a part of another government as a[n] FTO” (Foreign Terrorist Organization). In […]

International Relations and Security

“They are us.” Three words from New Zealand that said it all

04.5.19

As an Australian currently living in the US, it was Friday morning by the time I woke up to news of the attacks that had occurred in Christchurch, New Zealand two weeks ago. News from our region feels rare here, and the deep tragedy of the event so close to my home struck me. Since […]

Advocacy and Social Movements

Risk and Responsibility: A Spanish Prosecutor’s Creative Approach to Fighting Terrorism

02.1.19

BY JILLIAN RAFFERTY “Are you aware of the charges brought against you?” “Yes.” “Do you wish to plead guilty or not guilty?” “Guilty.” “Do you wish to make a statement at this time?” “Yes. I want to speak to my people and to my family. I am Muslim. I admit to these crimes. Al Qaeda […]

Why Boston is Still Strong Five Years Later

04.16.18

BY NICHOLAS TALLANT Today is “Marathon Monday” and Boston’s annual Patriot’s Day celebration. But it also marks the five-year anniversary of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing—the largest terrorist attack in the United States since 9/11. After the attack, a research team from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government initiated an in-depth review of the […]

Redefining Mass Shootings, Searching for the Right Words

12.17.17

BY JULIUS LIM For most of us, last Thursday passed by just like any other day. But December 14, 2017, marked the fifth anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting. Though most of us carried on with our lives unaware of the day’s significance, memorials were held to mourn the tragic loss of twenty children and […]

From ‘parallel state’ to ‘terrorist organization’: Dissecting Erdoğan’s labeling of Gülen

11.15.16

Embed from Getty Images   For Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, enemies are everywhere. His speeches and official comments are littered with references to the hostile elements lurking in Turkey, the so-called “parallel state.” Erdoğan has long used the “parallel state” term to refer to the movement founded in the early 1970s by Turkish Muslim […]

Media

The Safest Place to Be

03.23.16

BY JEN SMITH “Mom: home safe. sleepy. love you.” I sent this message letting her know I made it home to Cambridge safely after spending ten days in Israel, learning about nations torn by generational conflict.  During my time there, we visited the Syrian border, went to the edge of the Gaza Strip, and talked […]

International Relations and Security

We Are Donald Trump

12.15.15

BY RYAN COHEN Playing on the fears that President Obama decried in his public address earlier this month, Donald Trump proposed that the United States bar Muslims from entry, including re-entry of Muslim U.S. citizens traveling abroad. It’s easy to deride this proposal as intolerant, unconstitutional, and abhorrent, as many have done. What’s more difficult—and […]

Politics

Refugee Resettlement and Responsible Rhetoric

11.18.15

BY ANDREA BLINKHORN AND DANIEL TOSTADO Washington, D.C. – As the asylum interview dragged into its second hour, Sandrine became very sleepy. In my office in D.C. sat two sisters, Sandrine and Camille, ages 15 and 17. During political unrest, government militias killed their parents, and so over the course of 18 months, they fled […]

Are European Policymakers Making the Job of Terrorist Recruiters Easier?

03.30.15

On March 10th, the British parliament rushed through new anti-terror laws aimed at stopping potential jihadists from traveling abroad. In less than 15 minutes, it banned people subject to a “Terror Prevention and Investigation Measure” from boarding planes and obliged airlines to provide the government with detailed passenger lists. The Parliament further instituted “temporary exclusion […]

International Relations and Security

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