The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) is a think tank founded in 2006 by Sasha Havlicek and

George Weidenfeld George Weidenfeld, Baron Weidenfeld, (13 September 1919 – 20 January 2016) was a British publisher, philanthropist, and newspaper columnist. He was also a lifelong Zionist and renowned as a master networker. He was on good terms with popes, ...

that specialises in research and policy advice on

hate Hatred is an intense negative emotional response towards certain people, things or ideas, usually related to opposition or revulsion toward something. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger, contempt, and disgust. Hatred is ...

extremism Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...

, and

disinformation Disinformation is false information deliberately spread to deceive people. It is sometimes confused with misinformation, which is false information but is not deliberate. The English word ''disinformation'' comes from the application of the L ...

. It is headquartered in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

History

ISD was founded in 2006 as an extension of the Club of Three, a strategic networking organisation founded in 1996 by

that focused on high-level engagement between Europe and the world. ISD originally focused on

social cohesion Group cohesiveness (also called group cohesion and social cohesion) arises when bonds link members of a social group to one another and to the group as a whole. Although cohesion is a multi-faceted process, it can be broken down into four main co ...

and

radicalisation Radicalization (or radicalisation) is the process by which an individual or a group comes to adopt increasingly views in opposition to a political, social, or religious status quo. The ideas of society at large shape the outcomes of radicalizat ...

following a rise of far-right and Islamist extremism in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. ISD later hosted the

Against Violent Extremism Against Violent Extremism (AVE) is a global network of former extremists, survivors of violence and interested individuals from the public and private sectors - working together to counter all forms of violent extremism. A partnership between Lond ...

network shortly after it was founded in 2011 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, promoting engagement with former violent extremists as a way of understanding how extremist movements work. By 2012, ISD was working with social media platforms such as

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

to explore radicalisation online, including research on the use of counternarratives to minimise the impact of extremist recruitment by groups such as

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

, Al Qaeda, and

white supremacists White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...

in Europe and North America. This work later expanded to include recruitment and disruption efforts by

state actors In United States constitutional law, a state actor is a person who is acting on behalf of a governmental body, and is therefore subject to limitations imposed on government by the United States Constitution, including the First, Fifth, and Four ...

and

conspiracy theorists A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

during the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Much of this activity was found to be amplified during regional and national

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

s, leading to new research on election disruption in countries such as Germany, Sweden, France, Italy, Kenya, and the United States. By 2020, the Institute became the largest organisation in the world with an exclusive focus on the study of and responses to extremism, independently convening 13 countries and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

on extremism and digital policy on a regular basis. ISD's analysis of the January 6th United States Capitol attack was chosen for inclusion in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

. From 2017, ISD began establishing regional offices in Amman (2017), Nairobi (2018), Berlin (2019), Paris (2020), and Washington, D.C. (2021).

Programmes and activities

ISD’s core activities range from traditional research output and policy advice to the facilitation of youth and practitioner networks and the development of counternarrative and technological tools to combat extremism. More recently, ISD has researched

misinformation Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. It differs from disinformation, which is ''deliberately'' deceptive. Rumors are information not attributed to any particular source, and so are unreliable and often unverified, but can turn ...

and

involving

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

, election integrity, and conspiracy networks such as

QAnon QAnon ( , ) is an American political conspiracy theory and political movement. It originated in the American far-right political sphere in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". ...

. Key ISD programmes include:

Current

Business Council for Democracy
(BC4D): A joint initiative from Hertie Stiftung,

Robert Bosch Stiftung The Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH () is a German foundation that owns a majority shareholding in Robert Bosch GmbH, from which it derives its funding. The foundation was established in accordance with the wishes of Robert Bosch, who died in 1942, an ...

and ISD Germany, BC4D provides a business-led approach to digital literacy for adults, including employee training on hate speech, disinformation and conspiracy theories. * Digital Policy Lab (DPL): Funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, the DPL is an intergovernmental working group focused on regulation and policy regarding disinformation, hate speech, extremism and terrorism online. * ''Beam'': Developed in partnership with the Centre for Analysis of Social Media (CASM), ''Beam'' is a meta-project that uses tech to detect, track & measure online manipulation, disinformation, and harassment. ''Beam'' was a winner of the 2021 U.S.-Paris Tech Challenge.
Prevention Practitioner Network
Developed in partnership with the

McCain Institute The McCain Institute for International Leadership is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank in cooperation with Arizona State University whose mission is to "advance leadership based on security, economic opportunity, freedom, and human dignity, in ...

, the Prevention Practitioner Network is a national network of interdisciplinary professionals dedicated to preventing targeted violence, terrorism and their impacts within the United States.
Strong Cities Network
(SCN): Launched at the United Nations in September 2015, SCN is a global network of mayors, municipal-level policy-makers and practitioners seeking to build social cohesion and countering violent extremism. * Youth Civil Activism Network (YouthCAN): Launched in Oslo, Norway in 2015, YouthCAN is a global youth network of counter-extremism and social justice activists.
Be Internet Citizens
(BIC): Developed in partnership with

Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

in 2017, BIC is a digital literacy programme for youth that aims to explain fake news, echo chambers, filter bubbles, and promote safety online. * Shared Endeavour Fund: ISD managed an £800,000 fund, supported Google.org and the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current m ...

, to empower communities to tackle violent extremism and a rise in hate crime offences in London. ISD is also a member of the Christchurch Call advisory network and the

Commission for Countering Extremism The Commission for Countering Extremism is a British government agency created under Prime Minister Theresa May in response to the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing. History The idea was mentioned in the 2017 election platform of the Conservative Pa ...

's Expert Group in the United Kingdom.

Past

* The Far-Right Extremism in Europe (FREE) Initiative: FREE is an online resource for practitioners responding to far-right extremism and violence. *

(AVE) network: A global network of former extremists, survivors of violence and interested individuals working together to counter all forms of

violent extremism Violent extremism is a form of extremism that condones and enacts violence with ideological or deliberate intent, such as religious or political violence. Violent extremist views can manifest in connection with a range of issues, including politics ...

.
Extreme Dialogue
A

multi-media Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to traditio ...

education resource for teachers and social workers featuring stories from former extremists and survivors of extremism. * Counter Conversations: Developed as a research project with

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

, this initiative facilitates interventions between former extremists and young people who show serious extremist tendencies. * Online Civil Courage Initiative (OCCI): A strategic partnership with

, OCCI launched in Germany in 2016 and expanded to France and the UK in 2017. OCCI helps develop new responses to hate speech and violent extremism on

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

, providing resources that are often unavailable to grassroots activist organisations. * Policy Planners’ Network (PPN): A European inter-governmental network of policy chiefs from integration and interior ministries working to develop upgraded, coordinated responses to integration and extremism.
Innovation Fund to Counter Extremism
Launched with Google.org in 2017, this fund distributed £1M to support organisations countering hate, racism, and extremism in the UK.
Google Impact Challenge on Safety
Launched with Google.org an
Ashoka
in 2019, this fund distributed €10M to support organisations across Europe countering hate, extremism and supporting child safety online. ISD previously chaired the EU's

Radicalisation Awareness Network Radicalization (or radicalisation) is the process by which an individual or a group comes to adopt increasingly views in opposition to a political, social, or religious status quo. The ideas of society at large shape the outcomes of radicalizat ...

(RAN) working group on the Internet and social media and has provided testimony to the US Committee on House Administration, the US Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the UK Home Affairs Select Committee.

Funding and partnerships

ISD partners with a number of Western governments, including agencies in Canada, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, the United States, and the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

. It also works on funded projects with technology companies and organisations such as

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

, Meta, and the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism. Notable sources of foundation support include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the

Omidyar Network Omidyar Network is a self-styled " philanthropic investment firm," composed of a foundation and an impact investment firm. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, Omidyar Network has committed over $1.5billion to ...

, the Gen Next Foundation, and the

Open Society Foundation Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with a sta ...

. Other institutional partners include the Global Disinformation Index, the

Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society is a research center at Harvard University that focuses on the study of cyberspace. Founded at Harvard Law School, the center traditionally focused on internet-related legal issues. On May 15, 2008, ...

Institut Montaigne Institut Montaigne is a think tank based in Paris, France, founded in 2000. Institut Montaigne's makes public policy recommendations to advance its agenda, which broadly reflects that of the large French companies that fund it. It contracts expert ...

, the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

, and the

German Marshall Fund The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is a nonpartisan American public policy think tank that seeks to promote cooperation and understanding between North America and the European Union. Founded in 1972 through a gift from the We ...

Notable publications

* Ayad, Moustafa
"The Vladimirror Network: Pro-Putin Power-Users on Facebook"
(April 2022) * O'Connor, Ciaran
"Hatescape: An In-Depth Analysis of Extremism and Hate Speech on TikTok"
(August 2021) * Comerford, Milo; Havlicek, Sasha
"Mainstreamed Extremism and the Future of Prevention"
(September 2021)
"Bankrolling Bigotry: An overview of the Online Funding Strategies of American Hate Groups"
(October 2020) * Miller, Carl; Smith, Melanie, Marsh, Oliver; Balint, Kata; Inskip, Chris; Visser, Francesca
"Information Warfare and Wikipedia"
(October 2022) * * * * *

References

External links

* {{Authority control Foreign policy and strategy think tanks based in the United Kingdom International organisations based in London