On Violent Extremism

In this episode, Shannon N. Green speaks with Mark J. Penn, President and Managing Director of the Stagwell Group and member of the CSIS Commission on Countering Violent Extremism. Mark discusses the findings of CSIS's Global Perceptions of Violent Extremism Survey, which was conducted in eight key countries. During this conversation, Mark talks about how diverging perceptions of violent extremism's causes and manifestations have shaped the conversation surrounding CVE today.

In this episode, Shannon N. Green interviews James A. Lewis, Senior Vice President and Director of CSIS's Strategic Technologies Program. Jim discusses the role of social media and the internet in violent extremists’ recruitment and radicalization efforts. Jim also shares his views on the nexus of human rights and security in the fight against violent extremism and offers unique models for stopping the spread of extremist ideologies.

For this session, Shannon N. Green interviews Jesse Morton, Research Fellow at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, and a reformed former extremist who was once a prominent radicalizer in the West. Jesse discusses how his own path towards deradicalization informs his research into the allure and spread of violent extremism. He also shares his unique insight into the "push" and "pull" factors of radicalization, including political polarization and hate speech.

In this episode, Shannon N. Green interviews Andrew Shearer, CSIS’s Senior Adviser on Asia-Pacific Security, director of CSIS's new project on alliances and American leadership, and former National Security Adviser to Prime Ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott of Australia. Andrew shares his unique perspective on American and Australian approaches to countering violent extremism, the need for comprehensive strategies to address terrorism, and the emerging challenge of returning foreign fighters.

In this session, Shannon N. Green interviews Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, clinical psychologist and creator of THE 99, a comic book series featuring Islamic superheroes who embody the 99 attributes of Allah. Through the highly-acclaimed series THE 99, Dr. Al-Mutawa endeavored to portray an alternative, more positive view of Islam. During this conversation, he discusses the importance of language, the competition for “mind space,” and his own role in the fight against violent extremism.