CTEC Publications

67 Items

  1. Zakat, Proxies, and Plausible Deniability: The Financial Network of the Lashkar-e-Tayyiba

    | by Satyajit Lall

    In this research paper, CTEC Graduate Research Assistant Satyajit Lall traces nearly four decades of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba’s financial evolution—from its Saudi-backed origins during the Afghan jihad through the meticulously funded 2008 Mumbai attacks to the group’s continued operations culminating in the 2025 Pahalgam massacre—demonstrating that LeT’s resilience as one of South Asia’s most dangerous terrorist organizations is inseparable from the sophistication of its financial architecture. Drawing on an extensive body of scholarship, congressional testimony, and open-source intelligence, Lall maps the hybrid funding model of charitable fronts, diaspora remittances, hawala networks, and Pakistani state patronage that has allowed LeT to adapt to each successive wave of international pressure, from post-9/11 sanctions to FATF scrutiny, without ever suffering meaningful structural disruption to its financing. The paper makes a compelling case that the international community’s failure to confront the state-level enablers shielding LeT’s financial network has rendered existing designations and sanctions largely symbolic, and that only coordinated multilateral action targeting both the group’s front organizations and their institutional protectors can meaningfully degrade this persistent threat.

    – Jason Blazakis, CTEC Executive Director, April 6, 2026

  2. News Stories

    How Hamas Monetized the Gaza War

    | by Amir Tadros

    The merged challenge of terrorist financing and reputational laundering is difficult terrain for governments and the private sector to navigate. Amir Tadros’s (CTEC Graduate Researcher) paper confronts that gap head-on, arguing that Hamas’s wartime narrative production functions not as atmospheric context but as core raise-phase infrastructure within the terrorist financing lifecycle. It is an original and overdue contribution, and Tadros traces how a deliberately engineered information environment activates donor networks, legitimizes sham charities, and normalizes aid diversion—all before a single dollar enters the formal financial system where existing tools can reach it.

    Hamas has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. Department of State since 1997. Yet, efforts to truly counter the group’s financing only began in a robust way after its deadly October 7, 2023 attack. Much work remains in countering Hamas’s manipulation, and Tadros’s paper provides a partial roadmap to do so. 

    Jason Blazakis - CTEC Executive Director

  3. News Stories

    The Charities of Hamas – Designations History and Policy Recommendations

    | by Jason M. Blazakis

    It has now been more than two years since Hamas’s deadly attack in Israel. As someone who worked for more than a decade in the United States Government (USG) as head of the State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau’s Office of Counterterrorism Finance and Designations CT/CTFD, I wanted to reflect on the financial methods, with a specific examination of charities1, that Hamas has used to finance itself.

  4. A Darker Strain of Environmentalism

    | 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 

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

    | 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 

  7. Binary Breeding Grounds: How the Manosphere Manufactures Modern Antisemitism

    | by Michael S. Broschowitz

    This study examines how the manosphere has become a digital breeding ground for modern antisemitism, systematically integrating conspiracy theories with masculine grievance narratives. Through analysis of content from major platforms (2020-2024), the research reveals how engagement-driven algorithms gradually expose users to antisemitic content through seemingly unrelated dating and lifestyle advice.

  8. A black and white illustration of bodies connected by lines.

    Crowdsourced Political Violence: A Literature Review on How the Internet Embodies Leaderless Resistance and Empowers Lone Actors

    | by Paula Granger

    One of the most significant challenges and changes in political violence in modern times is not necessarily ideological but structural. The DHS and FBI identify lone offenders and small groups—particularly RMVEs, AGAAVEs, and HVEs—as persistent and lethal threats. Lone wolf attacks account for 93% of fatal terrorist incidents in the West in the past five years. These trends underscore how the Internet accelerates radicalization, connects lone actors to online communities, and provides logistical support.

  9. Photo-collage of an olive tree ad sunflowers.

    Where the Olives and Sunflowers Grow: Strategic Reconciliation in the Israel-Palestinian Conflict

    | by DJ Rosenthal

    This article argues that achieving lasting peace in the Israel-Palestinian conflict necessitates moving beyond purely political solutions to embrace reconciliation, which is generally neglected. While acknowledging the profound devastation and complex geopolitical realities, I contend that the persistent cycle of violence, dehumanization, and blame stems from unaddressed “root causes” of extremism and deeply entrenched binary thinking.

  10. Moms for Liberty: Cultural Facilitators of Exclusion and Extremism

    | by By Dr. Amy Cooter, Robin O’Luanaigh, CTEC Researcher DiRi, Brooke Allison, Toby Graf, Frances Breidenstein, and and Kendra French

    Moms for Liberty (M4L) is a so-called parent’s rights organization that has achieved incredible momentum and political gains since its inception in 2021 by latching onto and amplifying some of the most contentious cultural flashpoints of the time. Despite suffering numerous public controversies, M4L’s rhetoric and activism have dramatically impacted schools, school boards, and both local and national politics while inspiring similar organizations to take root. This paper qualitatively examines core themes and ideas that M4L has used to accomplish these outcomes via content analysis of M4L’s national website materials and their Town Hall at the 2024 Republican National Convention. We find that M4L messaging weaves together interrelated narratives rather than presenting distinct, issue-focused materials, and that these narratives center on themes of Conspiratorial Thinking, Political Engagement, Gender Roles, Parents’ Rights, and Identity-Based Narratives. While less of an overt presence in the dataset, Nationalism and Christianity are also important for contextualizing these narrative themes.