RA D I C A L I S A T I O N : T H E R O L E O F T H E I N T E R N E T A WO R K I N G P A P E R O F T H E P P N

Terrorism Radicalization Internet

It has become a truism to say that the Internet has revolutionized our lives. It has changed so many aspects of how we live, work, shop, conduct our hobbies, and the ways we form and maintain our relationships. Most profoundly, the internet has transformed the way we communicate; it has dramatically reduced the cost of communication; it has enabled unlimited access to much of the world’s knowledge and begun to organise it in a way that makes it more searchable; it has made it easier to find people and create networks among like minded individuals, across great distances and beyond national borders; and it has lowered the threshold for engaging in ‘risky’ or ‘embarrassing’ behavior because users can interact anonymously. It is not surprising that terrorists and extremists have adopted it as one of the tools of their trade.