Our Work

Foreign Fighters and the Returnee Threat

ICSR has developed some of the most sophisticated open-source methods used by academics today to better understand the origins, role and involvement of the foreign fighters participating in the Syrian confict.

Islamist and Jihadist Non-State Actor Governance in the Arab World

This expansive project has been designed to trace and describe the challenges to power, politics, and governance posed by these key Islamist groups, particularly since 2011.

Women and the ‘Caliphate’

It is estimated that at least 850 women made that journey – around 17 percent of the 5,000+ Europeans that joined Islamic State between 2013 and 2018. They have diverse profiles: from students and professionals to housewives and grandmothers

Terrorist Financing

Following the rise of militant groups across Iraq and the Levant and the associated wave of Islamist-inspired terrorism in Europe, the issue of terrorist financing has never been more pressing.

The Crime-Terror Nexus

Many of the jihadist terrorist attacks that have hit Europe in recent years, leaving hundreds dead and many more injured, had some sort of overlap with the criminal world with a significant number of attackers having criminal pasts.

Syria’s Kurds and the Syrian Civil War

This project explores the role of the Kurds in the war against Islamic State, as well as their participation in the broader Syrian conflict. The main actors being studied are the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Extremism, Terrorism and Strategic Communication

Jihadist propaganda has never been more salient but its motivations and impact are often misunderstood. This research examines online and offline public diplomacy efforts from the likes of the Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Syria.

The VOX-Pol Network of Excellence

This project is unique in its scope and ambition, offering the only fellowship of its kind within a British university. It is aimed at those who occupy positions from which they can shape politics and public opinion in both Israel and Palestine.

The King’s Programme for Middle East Dialogue

Every year ICSR offers six young leaders from Israel and Palestine the opportunity to develop their understanding of their country and region. This is done through a two-month residential programme at ICSR.

Insider Threats

In collaboration with the Centre for Science and Security Studies (CSSS), ICSR is working to better understand insider threats as they relate to terrorist actors operating in core industries.

The Religious Foundations of Political Violence

Building on a longstanding academic partnership, TRENDS Research & Advisory and the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR), have launched a major new project to examine the religious foundations of political violence.