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About Us

The International Counter-Terrorism Youth Network (ICTYN) is an innovative hub of outstanding students from the world’s leading universities, young professionals, academics, practitioners and policy-makers in the field of international security and counter-terrorism.

ICTYN provides a unique and vibrant platform for future generations of security and counter-terrorism analysts to connect and develop cutting-edge solutions and in-depth research projects, while expanding professional skills within a dynamic and interconnected community of innovative peers and counter-terrorism experts.

ICTYN's main purpose is to highlight the work of emerging graduate and undergraduate students, while promoting networking and career opportunities, as well as encouraging academic mentorship and cooperation in research.

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Areas of Interest

With regards to research activities, ICTYN is ideally positioned to act as a catalyst for academic advancement and to promote both individual and in-group research projects, with a focus on countering the terrorism threat and the newest security related challenges. Particularly our projects are focused on four main areas:
  • Area 1
  • Area 2
  • Area 3
  • Area 4

Radicalisation and Violent Extremism

Threats from violent extremism are constantly changing, and they come in different forms and manifestations. Many OCSE countries have been challenged by ethnic separatists, while others have struggled with militants from the extreme Left and Right. In recent years, there has been a surge in violent extremists claiming to act in the name of religion. Since 2012, more than 10,000 citizens or permanent residents of OSCE countries have joined groups like al-Qaeda and the so- called Islamic State (often referred to as Daesh, or IS) in Syria and Iraq. Some of their supporters have carried out terrorist attacks in European cities, such as Paris, Brussels, Barcelona, St. Petersburg, Istanbul, London, Berlin, and Stockholm. While most experts believe that IS’s self-declared “Caliphate“ is crumbling, regional instability and terrorist threats are certain to persist.

Peter Neumann (Director of ICSR, King’s College London)

Given the context outlined in the quote above, this research project, the first of its kind, aims to formulate the most comprehensive index of violent radicalisation in Europe, resulting in 12 country studies and one substantive Europe-wide report.

Building on work aimed at providing guidelines as to how authorities should tackle the issues in question, not every study will be limited exclusively to Jihadi terrorism, but it will also include right/left wing motivated terrorism and any other type of terrorism, and will feature anything ranging from mere rhetoric (ideological support), to actual engagement in violence.

Formal and Informal Terrorist Actors

The “Anatomy of Terrorist Organizations” is a project borne of the endless curiosity of ICTYN researchers in investigating and in analysing the foundation of terrorist organisations. As young and passionate researchers, at ICTYN we believe that addressing the right questions lead by purposeful arguments and met with the appropriate research tools, will contribute to a better understanding of the terrorism threat, thus eventually shaping better policy making and counter actions.

The project “Anatomy of Terrorist Organisations” was borne of some of the most crucial unanswered questions behind the nature of terrorist actors. The project will not investigate the causes or impact of terrorism, but will instead examine the perpetrators of terrorism, their natures, internal group dynamics, and different interrelations. The project was originally inspired by research conducted at the International Institute for Counter Terrorism (ICT) in Israel entitled “Jabhat al-Nusra under the spotlight”, a dissertation on the internal dynamics and organizational developments of the second largest terrorist organization fighting in Syria against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

In order to better frame the project and its leading research questions, the “Anatomy of Terrorist Organizations” project will not investigate terrorist organisations through the lens of standardized modes of cooperation and affiliation, but will view both terrorist organisations and actors as ever evolving and adapting, thus requiring continuous and constant investigation. The use of such a research assumption will help to highlight the contemporary patterns of terrorist behaviour, to learn what the factors are that influence terrorist actors, and to ultimately help us to understand the relative impact of counter terrorism policies.

Terrorism, Communication and New Media

Terrorism is a form of violent communication and thrives on publicity. As Brian Jenkins has put it, terrorism is like a stage and, following this logic, the media cover a crucial role in the terrorism script. If terrorism is meant to instil terror as a form of psychological warfare, it is clear that terrorists think of the media in a strategic way. While the sensationalism, graphic imagery and extensive live, close up coverage of gruesome acts of violence might bring higher ratings for media outlets, it might also amplify and “blow out of proportion” the attack, the perpetrators’ cause, and public fear over future attacks. Thus, how the media respond to acts of terrorism instantly after “the bomb goes off” becomes paramount for both the government and the terrorist organization. And finding a balance between reporting the news in a satisfactory way and avoiding becoming the tool of terrorism is an equally important mission for the country’s media outlets.

Given this background, the “How the Media Should Cover Terrorist Attacks” project will investigate specific media outlets in countries that have experienced recent terrorist attacks. It will focus on the media’s rhetoric (factual, inflammatory, conciliatory, apologetic...), the type of coverage they opted for (live updates, the number of interviews, the number and types of footage, the number of days they covered the violent act, and the follow up media attention dedicated to the topic of terrorism (the number of TV shows, talk shows, the number of times or instances of re-tweets, the number of instances in social media like Facebook). 

Climate Change and Security

The “Environmental Milieu: Anthropogenic Climate Change and Human Security” (ACCHS) is an internationally awarded research project sponsored by the International Counter Terrorism Youth Network (ICTYN) which aims to assess the impact of climatic and environmental changes on endemic violence, radicalization, immigration and conflict.

Presented at the UNDP Istanbul Regional HUB on October 25, 2017 the project is built on two pillars: first, a modular threat assessment equation developed by placing the human variable at the centre and correlating its active impact on the climate and the environment with their respective feedback loops; second, a series of policy guidelines for decision makers aimed to develop an inclusive idea of resilience able to account both for sustainable peace and development.

In order to make a contribution towards filling the academic vacuum on climate induced conflicts, the “Environmental Milieu” project and affiliated working paper and essays will provide readers and potential clients with in depth academic research, case studies analysis, models and a database using security hotspots and thresholds in order to build a pragmatic and operational understanding over the issues of Anthropogenic Climate Change and Human Security.

As such, the project will combine existing theories with unique framed models to provide cutting edge theories, plans of action and guidelines, while combining the field experience of the research team to ensure a realistic and pragmatic modus operandi.

For each of these areas ICTYN intends to create ad-hoc student research groups under the supervision of PhD candidates and experts. The aim is to facilitate the collaborative advancement of knowledge and through this to: inform policy analysis, stimulate strategic thinking, develop cutting-edge solutions and to engag private security practitioners.

Three Main Tiers

  

  

 

More Than Just a Network!

 

 

 

What We Offer

Candidate Pools

Access to the profiles of potential job candidates interested in working in academia, government, private or public sector.

Researcher Pools

Access to a pool of young researchers interested in collaborating on a voluntarily basis on specific research projects.

Hub for Networking

Free access to an international and dynamic community of outstanding students from world’s leading universities.

Mentorship Opportunities

Access to professionals and academic experts for research advice and career consultancy.

Internship Hub

We facilitate internships between ICTYN student members and our partners worldwide.

Co-Authoring

Chance of co-authoring a piece with Phd students and highly qualified young professionals.

Open-access Contents

Free access to a wide range of articles, policy briefs, research papers, reports, interviews and other content.

Research Opportunities

Possibility to collaborate with us on several research projects concerning radicalisation, terrorism, communication and climate change.

Publishing Opportunities

Possibility to publish research papers and academic essays written as part of the programme of study in our Student Paper Series.

Address:
  • Santa Croce 468/b
  • Venezia, Italy
  • 30135
Phone:
  • +39 3423540771
E-Mail:
  • [email protected]
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06/03/2018
The Origins of the Red Brigades
05/17/2018
What lessons can be learned from Mohamed Merah’s radicalisation?
04/09/2018
Assessing Assumed Italian Exceptionalism Vis-à-Vis Jihadi Terrorism
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