GW launches Program on Extremism

GW launches Program on Extremism

Published 18 June 2015

The George Washington University’s Center for Cyber and Homeland Security on Tuesday announced the establishment of the Program on Extremism, which GW says is a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at providing analysis on and solutions to countering violent and non-violent extremism. The program will focus on various forms of extremism, mainly in the United States, with the goal of conducting groundbreaking research and developing policy solutions that resonate with policymakers, civil society leaders, and the general public.

The George Washington University’s Center for Cyber and Homeland Security on Tuesday announced the establishment of the Program on Extremism, which GW says is a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at providing analysis on and solutions to countering violent and non-violent extremism.
The program will focus on various forms of extremism, mainly in the United States, with the goal of conducting groundbreaking research and developing policy solutions that resonate with policymakers, civil society leaders, and the general public. The new program will bring together a team of experts, including government officials, scholars, former extremists, and counter-extremism practitioners, who will provide firsthand assistance to families grappling with radicalization. Lorenzo Vidino and Seamus Hughes will lead the program.
“The current terrorist climate calls for a dedicated and sustained effort grounded in empirically based research,” said Frank Cilluffo, director for the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security. “I simply cannot think of two stronger scholars and practitioners than Lorenzo Vidino and Seamus Hughes to lead this program and ensure we respond more effectively.”
Vidino, the director of the program, is an expert in terrorist networks in the West and governmental counter-radicalization policies. He is the author of various books, including The New Muslim Brotherhood in the West (Columbia University Press, 2010). Vidino is a graduate of the University of Milan Law School and Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
The program’s deputy director is Seamus Hughes. Hughes previously worked at the National Counterterrorism Center and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee focusing on issues related to terrorism and Countering Violent Extremism.
GW notes that the recently established Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at GW integrates the activities and personnel of the Homeland Security Policy Institute and the GW Cybersecurity Initiative. The center builds on the track record of these two entities and engages in policy-relevant research and analysis on critical issues and challenges related to cybersecurity, counterterrorism, and homeland security. The center is governed by a board of directors and a policy and research advisory committee and its work is supported by a group of non-resident senior fellows.