Violent extremism has emerged as a pressing problem around the globe. Extremist groups produce homemade bombs of rapidly increasing lethality, and in the future, might develop biological or chemical agents that exponentially expand their deadly reach. The use of cars, trucks, buses and airplanes as effective delivery modes exacerbate the problem. Sleeper cells, lone wolves and returning foreign fighters with ready access to weaponry, communication and infrastructure systems add to the challenge on the home front. Impending violence expected from global trends of climate change and resource shortages portend that the impact of extremist violence will grow with deadly consequences for innocent victims and political consequences for national leaders.

The U.S. faces a bewildering array of daily security issues. As many as 65% of Americans polled recently say terrorism is a top threat facing the country. Critical concerns include: how to increase the effectiveness of voluntary reporting of suspicious behavior, how to effectively develop “de-radicalization” programs for terrorist prisoners and how to create virtual environments that can maximize the success of early responders without causing bodily injury and how to prepare for security challenges associated with forced migration. Other areas for study include how to anticipate and mitigate the threats posed by terrorist pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, how to evaluate programs aimed at countering violent extremism and how to understand and anticipate the rapid and complex changes associated with reliance on cyber-systems, from insider threats to anonymous, state-sponsored or state-sanctioned information warfare. The contemporary threat environment is diverse, complex and increasingly hybrid in nature.

Scholars in political science, computer science, communications and global studies are working together to identify the origins of and solutions to ethnic, religious and other transcultural conflict.