In an upcoming guest lecture at the Naval Defense Postgraduate School, I will discuss issues concerning countering violent extremism (CVE) in the context of potential homegrown radicalization threats. Threats posed by violent extremism are not constrained by borders, but they are also not limited to any single ideology, religion or ethnicity. In today’s technological age, violent extremists are growing increasingly sophisticated in their use of the Internet and social media.

My lecture will endeavor to establish how CVE is not limited to a single ideology or religion. Rather, violent extremism, including acts committed by “lone wolf” actors arise out of broader systemic areas of causation such as poor mental health, alienation, isolation, loneliness, aggravation and teenage angst and that ideology of any kind can be used to justify violent behavior. During my talk I will also compare violent extremists irrespective of their ideological background and discuss the legally relevant difference between “radical thought” and “violent action.”