Violent extremism refers to the adoption of extreme ideologies and beliefs that promote or justify the use of violence to achieve political, religious, or ideological goals. It is important to note that the vast majority of people who hold extreme beliefs do not resort to violence. However, those who do, sometimes can pose serious threats to individuals, communities, and societies as a whole. Violent extremism can be rooted in various factors, including political grievances, religious interpretations, social exclusion, economic disparities, and more. It often involves manipulation of vulnerable individuals by charismatic leaders or online platforms that disseminate radicalizing content.
Within such context, Intelligence agencies and organizations play a critical role in countering/preventing violent extremism (PCVE/CVE) by gathering and analyzing information to prevent, detect, and respond to potential threats posed by extremist individuals and groups.
Intelligence agencies collect and analyze information from various sources, including human intelligence (HUMINT), signals intelligence (SIGINT), open-source intelligence (OSINT), and more. This information helps identify individuals and groups involved in extremist activities, their networks, and their intentions. By monitoring communications and activities, intelligence agencies can provide early warnings about potential extremist threats. This allows law enforcement and other relevant authorities to take preemptive action to prevent violent acts. Intelligence assessments help to identify the severity of a threat and its potential impact. This information assists decision-makers in prioritizing resources and strategies to counter specific extremist threats. This depicts the complexity of actions implemented by intelligence agencies to prevent/counter violent extremism. Yet, there are very limited academic or investigative books published on this discipline due to the sensitivity and the difficulty in obtain real-time data. With a selected group of academics in the discipline, book is intended to be published to understand the role of intelligence in countering/preventing violent extremism in the world.