The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence

The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence ( ICSR) is a non-profit, non-governmental think tank

Think tank

A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...

based in London whose mission is to analyse and promote the understanding of political violence and radicalisation.

The Director of ICSR is Dr. Peter R. Neumann

Peter Neumann (academic)

Peter R. Neumann is a German-born radio journalist turned academic who frequently appears on radio and television as an expert on terrorism and political violence...

; the Deputy Director is Dr. John Bew.

The organisation is a partnership of four academic institutions: King's College London

King's College London

King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...

; the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

; the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya

Interdisciplinary Center

The Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya is a private Israeli college located in Herzliya, Israel.The languages of instruction in the Interdisciplinary Center are Hebrew and English.-History:...

(Israel); and the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy.

In June 2009, the ICSR launched its own blog on radicalisation FREErad!cals.

It defines its mission as "challenging the growth of radicalisation and political violence by bringing together the world's most innovative thinkers from academia, politics and business".

Launch

ISCR was launched in January 2008 at 'the First International Conference on Radicalisation and Political Violence' in London. It attracted controversy over a month earlier when it was revealed that Avi Dichter

Avi Dichter

Avi Dichter is an Israeli politician who currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Kadima. He is a former Minister of Internal Security and Shin Bet director.-Biography:...

, the former head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, had planned to attend, but that Israel's foreign and justice ministries had advised him not to in case he was arrested for alleged war crimes.

It was also during this event that UK Home Secretary Jacqui Smith

Jacqui Smith

Jacqueline Jill "Jacqui" Smith is a member of the British Labour Party. She served as the Member of Parliament for Redditch from 1997 until 2010 and was the first ever female Home Secretary, thus making her the third woman to hold one of the Great Offices of State — after Margaret Thatcher and...

launched the government's new anti-terror initiative.

Role

ICSR conducts independent research and describes its mission as follows.

... to educate the public in relation to diplomacy and strategy, public administration and policy, security and counter-terrorism and international conflict resolution.

Research

In 2009, ICSR published a major report on online radicalisation in the UK which was carried out in partnership with the Community Security Trust. "The Challenge of Online Radicalisation" details how political extremists and terrorists are increasingly using the Internet as an instrument for radicalisation and recruitment. The paper received important media coverage.

In August 2009, as a result of ICSR's first Atkin Conference on Middle East Peace held in July 2009, the center published a booklet of 15 ideas on 'how to fix the Middle East'.

In January 2010, ICSR published a paper by Omar Ashour

Omar Ashour

Omar Ashour is a political scientist, human rights activist, and a martial arts champion from Montreal.Born in Cairo, Ashour obtained his Bsc and MA from the American University in Cairo and has a doctorate degree from McGill University in Montreal, where he taught political science and martial...

. Votes and Violence: Islamists and the Processes of Transformation reviews and analyses the three processes of change within Islamist movements: the path of radicalisation, the path of moderation, or the path of de-radicalisation.

In addition to undertaking its research, ICSR hosts high-profile speakers from around the world such as: US Senator Chuck Hagel

Chuck Hagel

Charles Timothy "Chuck" Hagel is a former United States Senator from Nebraska. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected in 1996 and was reelected in 2002...

, Vice-President of Colombia Francisco Santos Calderon

Francisco Santos Calderón

Francisco Santos Calderón also known as Pacho Santos born 14 August 1961 in the city of Bogotá, is a Colombian politician and journalist. Santos was elected as Álvaro Uribe's second runner up and became Vice President in the Colombian elections of 2002...

, former President of Ireland Mary Robinson

Mary Robinson

Mary Therese Winifred Robinson served as the seventh, and first female, President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, from 1997 to 2002. She first rose to prominence as an academic, barrister, campaigner and member of the Irish Senate...

, Secretary-General of the Council of Europe Terry Davis as well as several prominent terrorism experts and commentators featured as panelists including BBC's Frank Gardner

Frank Gardner (journalist)

Frank Rolleston Gardner OBE is an English journalist and correspondent. He is currently the BBC's Security Correspondent. He was appointed an OBE in 2005 for his services to journalism.-Background:...

, Olivier Roy, Peter Bergen

Peter Bergen

Peter Bergen is a print and television journalist, author, and CNN's national security analyst. Bergen produced the first television interview with Osama Bin Laden in 1997. The interview, which aired on CNN, marked the first time that bin Laden declared war against the United States to a Western...

of the New America Foundation

New America Foundation

The New America Foundation is a non-profit public policy institute and think tank with offices in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, CA. It was founded in 1999 by Ted Halstead, Sherle Schwenninger, Michael Lind and Walter Russell Mead....

, Richard Dearlove

Richard Dearlove

Sir Richard Billing Dearlove, KCMG, OBE was head of the British Secret Intelligence Service from 1999 until 6 May 2004.-Career:...

(former head of MI6) and Daniel Benjamin

Daniel Benjamin

Ambassador-at-large Daniel Benjamin is the coordinator for counterterrorism at the United States Department of State appointed by Secretary Clinton.-Life:He was a 1983 Marshall Scholar at New College, Oxford where he studied for BA in PPE....

of the Brookings Institution

Brookings Institution

The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...

.

In June 2009, the ICSR launched its own blog on radicalisation FREErad!cals. Its self-stated mission is to be a forum for debate and ideas on radicalisation and political violence. The contributors are scholars (Dr. Omar Ashour

Omar Ashour

, Dr. Ahron Bregman

Ahron Bregman

Ahron Bregman is a British-Israeli political scientist, as well as a writer and journalist, specialising on the Arab-Israeli conflict.-Biography:...

) and experienced bloggers (Tim Stevens

Tim Stevens

Timothy John "Tim" Stevens is a British Anglican bishop. He is the current Bishop of Leicester.Born in Ilford, Essex, the son of Ralph Stevens and Ursula Plowman, he was educated in Chigwell School and Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in classics in 1968 and a...

, Raff Pantucci).

Governance

The organization's governance structure includes a board of trustees. Current members of the board include:

Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell
Kim Campbell
Avril Phædra Douglas "Kim" Campbell, is a Canadian politician, lawyer, university professor, diplomat, and writer. She served as the 19th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 25, 1993, to November 4, 1993...
John Sacher CBE
Henry Sweetbaum (Chairman).

External links

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