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Leveraging Data to Better Understand the Trends and Drivers of Extremism Worldwide

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What is the impact of terrorism globally, and what can these trends tell us about the nature of extremism at home and abroad? On Wednesday, March 15th, the Alliance for Peacebuilding and the Institute for Economics and Peace explored key findings from the 2023 Global Terrorism Index. A panel of experts examined what is working, how global trends around terrorism and violent extremism are unfolding on the ground, and which areas need further consideration within counterterrorism and prevention of violent extremism globally.

Watch the recording below!

About the Speakers

Jason Ipe

Jason Ipe is Chief of Operations for the Global Center for Cooperative Security. He is responsible for oversight of all programmatic activities across the organization. He has over a decade of experience developing and managing research, international programming, and technical assistance on countering terrorism and violent extremism. Before joining the Global Center, he worked previously analyzing terrorist and illicit financial flows with the Global Financial Integrity program of the Center for International Policy. He holds a BA in international relations from Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut and an MA in international security policy from the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University in Washington DC.

Julie Werbel

Julie Werbel currently serves as the Division Chief for Leadership and Learning in the Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization’s Center for Conflict and Violence Prevention (CVP). She is a leading specialist on security and justice sector reform, conflict and violence prevention and countering violent extremism (CVE). Ms. Werbel possesses recognized expertise developing U.S. government policies and strategies; designing and implementing development and defense programs; and negotiating with donors and other international partners. Her perspective is informed by extensive field experience in fragile and conflict-affected states in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Her career includes service with the U.S. Departments of State and Defense, the Peace Corps and the private sector. Ms. Werbel earned an M.A. in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Kateira Aryaeinejad

Kateira Aryaeinejad is a Senior Program Officer for the Program on Violent Extremism at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP). She serves as the Managing Lead for the RESOLVE Network, a global consortium of individual experts and organizations focused on better research, informed practice, and improved policy on violent extremism.

Kateira specializes in research on violent extremism, concentrating on research processes, global and local dynamics, and connecting rigorous research to policy and practice. Her work has focused on topics including international P/CVE policy and evaluation, peacebuilding and conflict, and the evolution of and local support for violent extremist and terrorist groups.

Briahna Tandoh

Briahna Tandoh is Research Fellow at the Institute for Economics and Peace. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Socio-Legal Studies and History as well as a Master of Criminology from the University of Sydney. Briahna was previously a Senior Intelligence Analyst for the NSW Police Force, providing intelligence support for strategic, operational, and tactical decision making at local, regional and state levels. Her research interests include global and security studies, counter-terrorism and social and political issues from a criminological lens.

Serge Stroobants

Serge Stroobants is the Director of Europe and the MENA region and the Global Director for Security, Defence and Intelligence at the Institute for Economics and Peace. His academic specialization is in political sciences, international relations, security and defence, global risk analysis, foresight, and crisis management. He holds degrees from the Belgian Royal Military Academy, the Free University of Brussels, Université Jean Moulin Lyon III (France), the German General Staff College and Vesalius College Brussels. He is a former staff officer of the Belgian Army and is now directing BANTS Consulting, his own consultancy in strategic security focusing on OSINT and Cybersecurity.

He is a visiting Professor at the Riga graduate School of Law, the Trocadero Forum Institute in Paris, Blanquerna University in Barcelona, and the Brussels School of Governance, teaching courses on peace, security, development and on Global terrorism and radicalization. He is a senior academic specialist on global terrorism and radicalization with numerous interventions in conference and media on these topics. He has served as an expert on the Parliamentary Commissions on the impact of terrorism both in France after the 13 November 2015 Paris attacks and in Belgium after the 22 March 2016 Brussels attacks. He is involved in the support of the victims of terrorist acts.

He is a senior visiting fellow at the Irish College of the KU Leuven and the Global Governance Institute, and a senior associate at the European Institute for Asian Studies and the Global Institute for Cybersecurity Technologies. He is an alumnus of the International Visitors Leadership Program of the US State Department.

Serge’s mother tongues are French and Dutch, he is fluent in English and German.

El Hadj Djitteye

El Hadj Djitteye is the Founder and Executive Director of the Timbuktu Center for Strategic Studies on the Sahel. He is a native of Mali, in West Africa, and holds master’s degrees in English language and literature and international relations and diplomacy. El Hadj has 12 years of experience in international development and peacebuilding. He has worked with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, Timbuktu Renaissance, Caravan to Class, the US Department of State, Creative Associates International, the Center for Civilians in Conflict, Global Integrity, the Global Initiative Against Organized Crime, and the United Nations Mission in Mali. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the Timbuktu Center for Strategic Studies on the Sahel and is an Obama Foundation and Mandela Washington Fellow.

El Hadj has survived the war in his homeland and across Sub-Saharan Africa. This motivates his work to settle regional cultural and land conflicts and prevent extremist radicalization among youth. His writing and research explore good governance, peace and security, DDR, youth civic engagement, violent extremism, irregular migration, and cultural heritage development. For a year he managed the 6.000.000£ Sahel Stabilization and Development Initiative for the UK Embassy in Mali.

Moderator

Liz Hume

Executive Director, Alliance for Peacebuilding