Contextual
Resources

Once a government or tech company develops a definition of terrorism or violent extremism, it can be difficult to know how to apply these definitions to the variety of ways that terrorism and violent extremism manifests internationally and across online spaces.

This section of the site aims to highlight contextual resources on themes related to applying definitions to the online space.  GIFCT funds the Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET) to bring forward actionable insights from experts and practitioners around the world to better inform and give context to tech companies, governments, practitioners and other stakeholders in this field. Insights are curated here under context-based themes.

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Regional Trends

While experts can point to overarching global trends in terrorism and violent extremism, we also know that there are significant regional and country-based variables in how these groups recruit, mobilize, propagandize, and coordinate attacks. There are also varying international trends in the types of platforms terrorists and violent extremists use in different parts of the world, their overarching aims and the ways their aims manifest online. GNET includes expert insights from academics and practitioners all over the world, feeding in the nuances and adversarial shifts they report on.

Africa

Throughout Africa, insights can aid in contextualizing online violent extremism in both continental and country specific ways. Relevant research presents useful continent-wide explorations of violent extremist activity and ideology, such as comparative analyses of the Sahelian Jihadi propaganda ecosystem. Additionally, there has been a focus in the research on groups such as the latest migrational shifts across violent Salafi groups in Mauritania, the integration of Tunisian violent Islamist groups into ISIS, or the links between the latest Algerian political movement and historic terrorist groups in the country.

  • 14th November 2024
    The North African Regional Nexus: A History of VEOs and Online Recruitment
    John Sunday Ojo
  • 22nd January 2024
    Harnessing Peacetech for Socio-Political Resilience in Benin
    Jaynisha Patel
  • 05th July 2023
    Drone Use by Violent Extremist Organisations in Africa: The Case of Al-Shabaab
    Ana Aguilera
  • 10th March 2023
    Can ‘Cyberterrorism’ Really Exist in Africa?
    Alta Grobbelaar
  • 27th September 2022
    Resurrecting the Reich: Middle Eastern and North African Digital Nazi Communities
    Moustafa Ayad
  • 15th April 2021
    The Conversation between Salafi-Jihadists, the Hirak, and the Algerian State
    Sammie Wicks
  • 15th March 2021
    Leaving the World of ‘Impiety’: French Salafi Settlers in Mauritania
    Brune Descamps
  • 16th December 2020
    Mitigating the Impact of Media Reporting of Terrorism
    Kayode Adebiyi
  • 27th October 2020
    Digital Dunes and Shrublands: A Comparative Introduction to the Sahelian Jihadi Propaganda Ecosystem
    Héni Nsaibia, Rida Lyammouri

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