Think Tank 2025
Cohesive Societies, Resilient Futures – International Conference on Cohesive Societies 2025
Jemaah Islamiyah, ISIS and Beyond: Tracking the Evolving Challenge of Violent Extremism in Southeast Asia (2001–2025)
Kumar Ramakrishna
This book explores the evolution of violent extremism in Southeast Asia, charting its development from the 2001 discovery of the Jemaah Islamiyah plot linked to Al Qaeda in Singapore, to the rise of ISIS in the mid-2010s, and the emergence of new forms of extremism such as white supremacist, Hindu, and Buddhist extremism in the 2020s. It provides a comprehensive look at how these threats have shaped both regional and global security landscapes.
The book brings together a series of policy-oriented commentaries that unpack the complexities of extremism, from the rise of terrorist organisations to the dynamics of radicalisation. It also examines key counter-extremism strategies, highlighting the roles of women, youth, and the importance of addressing the ideological narratives that fuel violent extremism. In the final sections, the book brings the conversation up to the present, analysing non-Islamist extremisms, social media's role in radicalisation, and the need for integrated, context-specific strategies to combat the evolving threat.
