On 26 January 2016, Leiden University’s Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) and the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism - The Hague (ICCT-The Hague) welcomed J.M. Berger, research fellow at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism and co-author of the book 'ISIS: The State of Terror', for a discussion on new insights in the field of radicalisation and social media.

J.M Berger introduced his most recent research on the radicalisation to violent Islamist extremism, and the actions that organisations like the so-called Islamic State are taking to actively facilitate the radicalisation process through online recruitment strategies on social media.

The discussion with researchers from ISGA, ICCT and representatives of the U.S. Embassy in the Netherlands centered on questions of pinpointing effective Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) strategies; finding ways to adapt existing legal frameworks to better respond to challenges raised by social media activism, as well as learning from international jurisprudence on how to conceptualise online recruitment activities in the larger framework of terrorist activities.