Abstract

Preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) has received significant attention over the last two decades. Similarly, climate change and its implications for peace and conflict are increasingly recognized. Yet research on the intersection of climate security and violent extremism remains limited. Violent extremism is a major security concern, with violent extremist movements exacerbating conflicts across borders. Studies show that climate-induced vulnerabilities, when combined with failed political responses, can escalate violent extremism and conflict. By increasing grievances, economic hardship, and political tensions, climate change fuels human insecurity through indirect and non-linear pathways, raising the potential for violent extremism. This webinar aims to explore the intersection between climate change and violent extremism and outline the importance of developing dual responses.

About the Speakers

Dylan O’Driscoll is an Associate Professor at the Centre for Peace and Security at Coventry University, where he leads the Peace and Conflict research theme. He is also an Associate Senior Fellow at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Florian Krampe is the Director of SIPRI’s Climate Change and Risk Programme. His particular focus is on peace and conflict research, environmental and climate security, and international security. His work bridges academia and policy and focuses on the foundations of peace and security, especially the processes of building peace after armed conflict in regions highly exposed to climate change. Krampe’s work informs policymakers, including several UN organs and agencies, as well as other multilateral institutions and governments, who he regularly advises on their work on climate change and security.

Fathima Azmiya Badurdeen is a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Religion, Culture, and Society, University of Groningen, Netherlands. She is also a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Social Sciences, Technical University of Mombasa, Kenya. Fathima has worked as a researcher and trainer in preventing and countering violent extremism and peacebuilding. As a researcher, she specializes in exploring recruitment dynamics for terrorist networks, human trafficking/smuggler networks, the crime-terror nexus, and countering violent extremism in the East African region and Asia. Most of her published works are available online. Before her work in the East African region, she also worked as a researcher, trainer, and evaluator for conflict transformation and peacebuilding projects in Sri Lanka.

Noor Huda Ismail is a scholar, social entrepreneur, and award-winning documentary filmmaker, established the Institute for International Peace Building in 2008 after earning a Master’s degree in International Security with the British Chevening Scholarship. He completed his PhD in 2019 at Monash University with the Australian Award Scholarship. The Institute, recognized by Ashoka, collaborates with Indonesian and international agencies to rehabilitate terrorists. Fluent in multiple languages, he speaks globally on Prevention/Counter Violent Extremism (P/CVE), focusing on transmedia storytelling through his “ruangobrol.id,” a community website partnered with Facebook for alternative narrative efforts in Indonesia.