Counter Terrorism

About Centre

As the origins, scope and impact of terrorism and violent extremism extend beyond conventional security and military paradigms — covering religious, political, socio-economic, demographic and at times historical vectors— the onus for developing effective and comprehensive counter-terrorism and counter-radicalization campaigns falls within the purview of eminent research institutes like the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA).

It is for this reason that the MP-IDSA has established the Counter Terrorism Centre, which will look into various aspects of terrorism as well as ways of developing effective counter-terrorism strategies and campaigns. In addition to studying the complexities involved in the process of terrorism, the centre would seek to develop counter radicalisation and counter terror financing strategies and programmes.

The Purpose

The purpose of MP-IDSA’s Counter Terrorism Centre is four-fold:

Collect, collate and build database of terrorism-related activities and incidents, covering radicalization, terror financing and cyber-terrorism domains for empirical analyses and research at the provincial, national and international levels.
Devise, develop and test counter-terrorism measures, programmes and policy initiatives, covering counter-radicalization, terror financing and cyber-terrorism campaigns at the provincial, national and international levels
Build synergies by developing networks with relevant provincial, national and international experts, officials, institutions, forces, initiatives and campaigns involved in activities related to counter-terrorism.
Teach, disseminate and build general awareness of security forces, national and international institutions, academic centers and the general population over issues related to terrorism and counterterrorism measures and operations.

The Mission

To be the premier counter-terrorism center of the country in terms of research and analyses, for developing policy studies and campaigns through enhanced connectivity and network with relevant institutions, forces, experts and officials at the regional, national and international levels.

Terror Tracker New Digest

Terror Tracker is a newsletter that zeroes in on recent terrorism-related activities and issues unfolding around the world. It even tracks and analyzes various counter-terrorism measures and campaigns at the international level. With particular focus on the South Asian region, the newsletter seeks to inform and update policy makers, security forces as well as the general public about the changing contours of the highly elusive, yet ever lurking global threat.

Political Islam: Parallel Currents in West Asia and South Asia

Publisher: Pentagon Press
2023

This book deals with the history of Muslim political thought from the time of the Prophet to early 21" century in `West Asia` (an Indian alternative to the `colonial` term Middle East) and South Asia. Although Islam does not present nor recommend any political philosophy or state-like system per se, Muslim scholars and theologians have over the centuries recommended ways for establishing an ideal Islamic polity based on Quranic inferences, precedents of the Prophet and some early Caliphs. Although Political Islam strictly refers to only a century-old religious-political revivalist movement, this book covers historical concepts and developments that serve as political antecedents for contemporary Political Islam in the two regions.

ISBN: 9788195189458 ,
Price: ₹ 1995/-
E-copy available

Publisher: KW Publishers
2021

This volume is a result of an abiding interest in the phenomenon of radical Islamist terror that haunts Pakistan today. The research questions that it seeks to answer are: Why do the tribal areas remain a problem for rulers and administrators throughout history? How and why did radical Islam embed itself in the terrain?

Was it influenced by the overall emphasis on Islam in Pakistani state politics? What is the role of history and politics in fuelling religious passions in the area? What has led to the survival of TTP despite humongous efforts of the Pakistan Army to decimate it? What are the future portents of such a movement? What impact is it likely to have on Pakistani society and politics?

The volume makes an attempt to understand the context in which Pakistani Taliban or TTP, as it is called now, came into being, the enabling factors that made the growth of TTP possible, the formation and growth of TTP as a militant organisation, its leadership and its activities over the years, its ideological orientation and its worldview, its aims and objectives, its relationship with other militant groups in and outside Pakistan and the efforts of the Pakistani establishment to come to terms with such a phenomenon. There is an attempt to analyse the process and study its implications for Pakistan and the region.

ISBN: 978-93-91490-02-7 ,
Price: ₹. 880/-
E-copy available

Publisher: KW Publishers
2020

Terrorist groups are driven by extremist political ideologies or distorted religious discourses, which they then propagate through traditional and modern means of communication to wean more recruits to their diabolic designs.

The indoctrination of these extremist ideologies lead to transformation of law-abiding citizens into violent extremists, a process known as radicalisation. This book proposes ways and techniques for reversing this process of radicalisation by taking the fight to the terrorists in the ideological domain. It proposes ways for developing and launching counter-narrative campaigns against radicalisation in order to drain the ideological swamp from which terrorist organisations continue to rear their ugly heads. This book specifically provides conceptual insights into developing counter-narratives against jihadist organisations, like Al Qaeda, ISIS and Pakistan-based terror groups.

ISBN: 978-938-913-771-2 ,
Price: ₹.1088/-
E-copy available Soon

Countering Islamic State Ideology: Voices of Singapore Scholars edited by Muhammad Haniff Hassan and Rohan Gunaratna, with a Foreword by Karen Armstrong

People often complain that Islamic scholars do little more than condemn the inhuman acts of so-called jihadist groups and fall short of delivering strong, incontrovertible rebuttals against the vicious narratives of terrorist groups, like Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS). It has also been stated that the ever-rearing Hydra-like heads of terrorism will have to be endlessly severed until genuine Islamic scholarship drains the very swamp of irreligious radicalism from which the monstrosity continually raises new and ugly distortions.

Jihadist Radicalisation in India: Internal Challenges, External Threats

The Indian strategic community has for long debated aspects of jihadist radicalisation in the country—particularly over its origins, causes, extent, trajectory and possible counter-measures. This article posits that in the absence of clear perspectives, the incipient threat of jihadist radicalisation has the potential to metastasise and snowball quickly, as has been witnessed in other parts of the world in recent times.

Countering the Threat of Radicalisation: Theories, Programmes and Challenges

In recent years, rising instances of home-grown terrorism, lone-wolf operations and growing polarisation within societies have upstaged the global military struggle against major transnational terrorist organisations. As the dissemination of radical ideas and related violence increases, over 40 governments around the world have decided to develop their own counter-radicalisation and de-radicalisation programmes, in keeping with their socio-political and cultural particularities.

Iran’s Strategic Behaviour Against ISIS: Religio-Cultural Context of Shrines and Martyrdom

The killing of Qassem Soleimani in 2020 again brought the religio-cultural significance of ‘martyrdom’ into limelight in Iran. He got recognized as the ‘Defender-Martyr of Holy Shrine’ given his role against ISIS in protecting the Shi’i holy shrines. This article analyses the relationship between ‘shrines and ‘martyrdom’ in Iran’s strategy against ISIS.

‘Old’ Islamists and ‘New’ Radicals: Understanding the Politics of Religious Radicalisation in Pakistan and its Implications

The new radicals in Pakistan have challenged the old Islamists as represented by the religious political parties on the nature of state and the means to capture state power. These new radicals reject the ‘bottom up’ approach followed by the traditional Islamic political parties and prefer a ‘top down’ approach. Their ideological inspiration and reference point is Afghanistan under Taliban.

Radical Islamic Organisations in Europe: South Asia in their Discourse

In the European security calculus, terrorism has become one of the key strategic threats. Alarmingly, the continent has also become a centre of radical Islamist propaganda and activism, with a number of European countries worried over the potential of their own 'home-grown' religious extremists. Latest studies indicate a disturbing trend of a section of the youth, generally belonging to the Muslim communities of West African and South Asian origin from a poor or middle class socioeconomic background, embracing extremism and terrorism in Europe.

Social Media and Counter-Terror Operations

Social media platform usage during course of counter-terror operations can lead to adverse fallouts.

Shashank Ranjan
December 01, 2023
IDSA Comments

Taliban’s Systematic Apartheid against Afghan Women and Girls

Afghan women and girls have borne the impact of systematic identity erasure and discrimination in the public sphere due to the Taliban’s edicts.

Saman Ayesha Kidwai
September 18, 2023
Issue Brief

The Irreligious, Inauthentic Narrative of ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’

Ghazwatul Hind appears to be a speculative eschatological red herring, meant to beguile and mislead young minds by violent extremist and terrorist groups.

Adil Rasheed
August 18, 2023
Issue Brief

Iran-Arab Gulf Joint Naval Force and China’s ‘Collective Security Architecture’

China and Iran claim to be building a new security architecture for West Asia on the pretext of keeping out the “unjustified” presence of “foreign forces”.

Adil Rasheed
June 15, 2023
IDSA Comments

Al-Qaeda vs ISIS: Competitive Extremism and Turf Wars

Al-Qaeda and ISIS have attempted to monopolise the transnational jihadist movement and emerge as the sole vanguard of the Ummah (community).

Towards an Epistemic Understanding of Radicalism, Extremism and Terrorism

The persistence of conceptual confusion regarding terms associated with terrorism impedes the legitimacy and effectiveness of counter-terrorism campaigns.

Adil Rasheed
May 02, 2023
Issue Brief

Terrorism Trends: 2023 and Beyond

New and emerging technologies are increasingly being used for fulfilling terrorist motives.

Nikhil Guvvadi
April 13, 2023
Issue Brief

The Metastasising ISKP Menace for India

The Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP) has claimed responsibility for last year’s botched Coimbatore and Mangalore blasts in an attempt to show its expanding influence, which raises serious concerns for Indian security agencies.

US–Saudi Tensions: Implications for the Petrodollar System

The petrodollar system that came into existence in the 1970s has come under stress, with oil being traded increasingly in non-US denominated currencies.

Adil Rasheed
January 18, 2023
Issue Brief

Escalating Tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban

Border clashes and failure to act against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have led to rising tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Delhi Declaration: Assessing Outcomes of UNSC CTC’s Special Meeting

The principles encompassing the Delhi Declaration reiterate that India’s core security concerns broadly resonate with the members of the UNSC.

Threat of Radicalisation in Syria’s ISIS Prisons

Concerns of radicalisation in SDF-run facilities in Syria remain high, given that reports flag corruption, crime, and deplorable security conditions at these camps.

Narco-Terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has witnessed a 2000 per cent surge in heroin-related drug seizures between 2017 and 2022, with significant national security and societal consequences.

Saman Ayesha Kidwai
September 12, 2022
IDSA Comments

US Drone Strike on Al-Zawahiri: Significance and Implications

The strike against Zawahiri is being hailed as a vindication of the US’s ‘over-the-horizon’ strategy in eradicating terrorism without placing boots on the ground.

Far-Right Extremism in the West

Far-right extremism, rooted in the anti-Semitic, White supremacist Nazi and Fascist ideologies of the 20th century, has gained popularity across first world countries.

Jihadists, White Supremacists Vex Russia–Ukraine War

With the war in Ukraine moving towards an uncertain resolution, there is a danger that the influx of heavy weaponry and foreign fighters could bring in a new set of imponderables into an already vicious and escalating conflict.

Adil Rasheed
March 28, 2022
IDSA Comments

Challenge of Recidivism to Counter-Radicalisation Programmes

The false compliance present within the radicalised individuals and convicted terrorist offenders pose a considerable threat to the society, following their release from de-radicalisation-based institutions.

The ETIM Question: Taliban’s Moment of Truth

The coming of Taliban to power in Afghanistan could upset the geopolitical applecart in Central Asia and adjoining regions. The growing association of radical Uyghur groups like the ETIM, with IS-K and the spread of jihadist operations in Central Asia could have significant implications for regional and international powers, particularly for China and its ambitious plans for Silk Road imperialism.

Malhama Tactical: Now Jihadists for Hire

A conglomerate of elite jihadists called Malhama Tactical, a commercial enterprise driven by a for-profit agenda and not constrained by a specific ideology and defined enemies, has emerged as a serious threat as it can potentially connect and facilitate terrorist organisations worldwide.

Is the Threat of Islamic State Khorasan a Red Herring?

The rising threat of Islamic State Khorasan (ISK) since the Taliban’s capture of Afghanistan could be a red herring as it seems to be overplayed by Pakistan to mainstream and help the Taliban regime.