Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism

Our mission is to advance education, research, and intelligence analysis across the critical domains of domestic extremism, transnational emerging threats, and trust and safety tech policy, to drive change in pursuit of a more just world.

Research

We go beyond the page to produce work that is not only academically excellent, but deeply policy relevant.

Intelligence

At CTEC, we examine the full spectrum of terrorism and extremism to provide bespoke analysis for tech and government clients.

Education

We leverage experiential learning to train the next generation of intelligence and security researchers and analysts to respond to emerging threats.

CTEC is integrated into the curriculum of several Middlebury Institute degree and certificate programs, giving students opportunities to gain real-world work experience as paid research assistants:

Areas of Focus

CTEC focuses on three topics: Trust & Safety, Extremism, and Transnational Emerging Threats.

Trust and Safety is the policies, procedures, and technologies aimed at protecting users from harm, ensuring data security, and fostering a respectful and inclusive online environment. This involves the proactive identification and mitigation of risks related to privacy breaches, cyberbullying, fraud, and other forms of abuse, thereby promoting a safe and trustworthy user experience across digital platforms.

Extremism

Extremism, as defined by senior fellow J.M. Berger’s seminal work Extremism, is “the belief that an in-group’s success or survival can never be separated from the need for hostile action against an out-group.” Our work focuses on the full spectrum of extremism, from lawful to violent. Critically, we understand terrorism to be a tactic, while extremism is a belief system.

Transnational Emerging Threats

Transnational emerging threats are the complex and evolving challenges that cross national borders, impacting global security and stability. These threats encompass a wide range of issues including cyber attacks, terrorism, organized crime, pandemics, climate change, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. At CTEC, we are particularly focused on those threats posed by non-state actors. Addressing these threats requires coordinated international efforts, innovative policy solutions, and the integration of advanced technologies to detect, mitigate, and respond to incidents that can rapidly escalate and have widespread consequences for societies, economies, and international relations.

A Darker Strain of Environmentalism

February 4, 2026 | by Olivia Kilborn

As Executive Director of CTEC, I am proud to share this Michael Donnelly Research Fellowship report—part of a tradition of rigorous, student-led analysis that reflects the very best of our Institute. Like the Donnelly Fellow reports that came before it, this paper is published in honor of Michael Donnelly, a late friend and colleague whose legacy lives on through this fellowship supporting underrepresented MIIS students.

This report was written by Olivia Kilborn, a CTEC Michael Donnelly Research Fellow and an M.A. candidate in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies at MIIS. In A Darker Strain of Environmentalism, Kilborn examines the resurgence of ecofascist rhetoric in the context of the climate crisis and asks a timely question: how do online eco-fascist subcultures and far-right European political parties draw on ecofascist ideology—where do their rhetorical strategies converge, and where do they diverge? By comparing narratives across mainstream political arenas and extremist digital spaces, the report helps clarify how climate anxiety, migration politics, and identity-based grievance can be braided into exclusionary—and potentially violent—worldviews.

— Jason M. Blazakis, CTEC Executive Director
Seeds of Extremism: Ecofascism and Militant Accelerationism in a Warming World

February 3, 2026 | by Isabela Bernardo

As Executive Director of Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism (CTEC), I’m pleased to share Seeds of Extremism: Ecofascism and Militant Accelerationism in a Warming World—a timely, rigorously researched analysis of how climate stress can be exploited by violent extremist movements, and how ecofascist narratives increasingly fuse with accelerationist tactics to produce a more dangerous hybrid threat. Grounded in a clear framework and strengthened by detailed case studies (including the 2019 El Paso shooting and an examination of the “Pine Tree Party” network), the report equips policymakers, practitioners, and researchers with the conceptual tools to recognize early warning signals, understand online radicalization

This research paper—written by CTEC Senior Research Analyst Isabela Bernardo—is a must-read for anyone concerned about the rise of ecofascism and its intersection with violent extremist ideologies. I also want to express my sincere gratitude to the Kathryn Wasserman Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation for its generous support; without it, this paper and CTEC’s work examining the dangerous edges of accelerationist culture would not be possible.

— Jason M. Blazakis, CTEC Executive Director
Hermetic Hatred: How Antisemitism's Architectural Framework Survives Theology, Politics, and Progress

September 1, 2025 | by Michael S. Broschowitz

This article examines antisemitism not as sporadic prejudice, but as a sophisticated ideological architecture that has preserved its structural integrity across nearly two millennia while adapting its surface manifestations to diverse historical contexts.

Illustration: two silhouettes with torches, social media icons in the background

Cropped illustration of two snakes coming out of a computer screen

Working with the Institute’s Financial Crime Management program, CTEC studies and provides expert policy guidance on terrorism, criminal, and nonproliferation-related financing. In addition to counterterrorism financing and counterproliferation financing investigations and regulatory compliance, CTEC’s research highlights cases of sanctions evasion and examines the efficacy of terrorism-related sanctions imposed multilaterally by the U.S. government and other governments.
In collaboration with fintech and cryptocurrency companies, CTEC undertakes in-depth research to understand the use of online fundraising platforms and methods by terrorists and extremists.

Digital literacy is a critical component in the fight against radicalization and extremism, and CTEC works to build educational capacity in local communities for digital literacy skills.
CTEC also works with practitioners and experts in P/CVE to understand and improve on prevention and reintegration efforts for extremists and terrorists.
Awarded a grant from the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA, CTEC is currently working with the iThrive Games Foundation to build an innovative games-based curriculum to help build resilience to violent radicalization in high schools.

Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism

Research

Intelligence

Education

Areas of Focus

Extremism

Transnational Emerging Threats

Recent Publications

A Darker Strain of Environmentalism

Seeds of Extremism: Ecofascism and Militant Accelerationism in a Warming World

Hermetic Hatred: How Antisemitism's Architectural Framework Survives Theology, Politics, and Progress

Key Terms

Terrorism

Online Extremism

Threat Finance and Sanctions

Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism

Money Laundering

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