Reducing threats is a major challenge for both governments and citizens.
What Is Terrorism?
Terrorists have sought to achieve their political agendas all over the world.
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4:25
What the World’s Terrorist Groups Have in Common
Strong ideology motivates those who commit terrorism, no matter their goals.
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Who Counts As a Terrorist?
From foreign groups to domestic threats, how does the U.S. government define terrorism?
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Terrorism by the Numbers
What the numbers behind terrorism—and the process of getting to them—reveal.
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Terrorism and the Media
Terrorism is often described as requiring the “oxygen of publicity.”
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3:30
U.S. Counterterrorism Since 1945
The history of counterterrorism in the United States is more than a list of policies. It shows how the definition of terrorism and the agencies and tools used to pursue those who commit it have evolved over time.
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Tools of Counterterrorism
National security experts have a range of options available as they work to prevent terrorism.
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2:45
Identity and Radicalization
What are the ways in which people—overwhelmingly young people—become radicalized?
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How a Single Phrase Defined the War on Terror
The open-ended scope of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force has justified counterterrorism policy for two decades—and counting.
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The Terrorist Money Trail
What the challenges of targeting terrorists’ finances tell us about the evolving terrorist threat.
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How Terrorism Affects You
The following articles explore the effects of terrorism on individuals, communities, and societies.
Source: Khaled Abdullah/Reuters
This is Your Brain on Terrorism
Although terrorism kills very few Americans, constant coverage makes us perceive a widespread threat.
Source: Sara K. Schwittek/Reuters
How a Decade of Terror Changed America
Reflect on the profound changes to American policy, society, and collective understanding of war in the years following 9/11.
More From CFR
From Tragedy to Prevention: Lessons Learned From Terrorist Attacks
Experts discuss recent terrorist attacks across Europe and how they might shape future counterterrorism efforts.
Photo: Darren Staples/Reuters
Women Are Critical to Counterterrorism
Experts argue that efforts to detect radicalization, challenge extremist narratives, and stop terrorist threats are more successful with women involved.
Photo: Christopher Herwig/Reuters
The Taliban
A multimedia overview spanning the group’s rise in the 1990s to its enduring insurgency against U.S. and allied forces.
Photo: Reuters
