The global rise of white supremacist terrorism
Past Event
The white supremacist movement has become a top counterterrorism concern in the United States and in many other countries. White supremacists have conducted numerous high-profile attacks and, compared to jihadist terrorism, white supremacist violence is often more connected to broader political disputes. The overlap with anti-government extremism, the white supremacist role in events like the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol insurrection, the increasingly globalized nature of the movement, and the often-racist rhetoric of leading political figures reinforce a perception that white supremacists are on the rise. In addition, much of the movement coordinates on social media, exploiting this relatively new technology to recruit and spread propaganda.
On June 10, the Brookings Institution’s Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors held a panel discussion exploring the following questions: How large and acute is the threat? What are the capacities and weaknesses of the movement? What has been the effectiveness of policies adopted to counter it and what else needs to be done?
After their remarks, panelists took questions from the audience. Viewers submitted questions via email to events@brookings.edu or Twitter using #NonstateArmedActors.
Agenda
Heidi Beirich
Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder - Global Project Against Hate and Extremism
Vanda Felbab-Brown
Director - Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors
Co-Director - Africa Security Initiative
Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology
More Information
To subscribe or manage your subscriptions to our top event topic lists, please visit our event topics page.