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The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria and the Global Emergency and Counterterrorism Institute cordially invites you to a public lecture by Peter Knoope on the ‘The lone wolves’ legion’. 

Synopsis

We often try to understand radicalisation through the lens of the individual background of a violent extremist. Academics dig into the personnel history, the background, the childhood, the trajectory into the radical environment of that one individual that is the object of their study. But maybe that is the wrong approach. Forty to fifty thousand individuals from around the world including Africa have joined ISIS in the Middle East. Many more feel attracted by AQ, Boko Haram, Al Shabab and other extremist organisations. The explanation of this ‘legion of lone wolves’ requires a different, deeper, understanding of the attraction of the ideology that brings these people together. It is not a mere individual choice. It is a movement. Rooted in feelings of historic humiliation and exclusion. Rooted in strong perceptions of injustice. A search for identity and belonging. Peter Knoope will go into a more profound analyses of the issues lying at the basis of a new rebellion that is not easily defeated by military means alone. Understanding the roots of the ‘legion of lone wolves’ is a precondition for an adequate policy response. 

Biography

Peter Knoope initiated and headed the International Centre for Counter Terrorism (ICCT) – The Hague; a Centre that focusses on the nexus between human rights and counter terrorism. Peter is advisor and research fellow at the Global Emergency and Counterterrorism Institute, a not for profit organisation based in Pretoria with focus on counterterrorism and violent extremism, emergencies, transnational crimes and migration on the African continent.

Event Information

Date: Wednesday 23 May 2018
Time: 17:00 – 18:30
Venue: Room 2-2.1, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria (Lecture hall opposite the entrance to the Centre for Human Rights)
Enquiries: Gerard.Kamdemkamga@up.ac.za

 

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