Policymakers and Officials

ISD resources for policymakers and Officials

ISD has a 20-year track record of helping governments at all levels. Our work includes policy advisory support, cutting-edge analysis, and monitoring of the threat landscape to safeguard national security and individual rights.

Threat detection, research and analysis

We provide governments with the best-in-class data analysis to combat a range of emerging threats both online and offline. Our analysis tracks the connections between extremist networks and offline violence, dissects the role of foreign interference in regional politics, and explores a variety of threats to democracy across different jurisdictions.

Policy advisory support

We use evidence and expertise to make sure regulations can adapt and last. Our Digital Policy Lab (DPL) convenes regulators and other officials from to discuss threats to democracy, free speech and public safety.

Please email us at [email protected] if you would like to learn more about this work.

topic areas

September 17, 2026

25 years after 9/11, al-Qaeda remains perennially online: The group’s digital ecosystem in 2026

Twenty-five years after 9/11, al-Qaeda remains online, adapting its decentralized ecosystem across platforms, messaging services and AI.

Islamist Extremism, Tech Accountability and Safety, Threat Analysis and Prevention

September 7, 2026

Lessons from Extremism Prevention for Countering Hybrid Threats: A Framework for Policy Response

Threat Analysis and Prevention

August 26, 2026

Online antisemitism and digital regulation: ISD’s submission to the Australian Royal Commission

Antisemitism, Targeted Threats, Hate and Abuse

May 21, 2026

Addressing the Intersection of Misogyny, Targeted Hate and Violent Extremism

Targeted Threats, Hate and Abuse, Tech Accountability and Safety

March 10, 2026

The 2025 Annual Review of Plots and Attacks Across the US

Hybrid Extremism and Nihilistic Violence, Islamist Extremism, Terrorism and Extremism, Threat Analysis and Prevention

MORE Resources for policymakers and OfficIals

May 20, 2018

“I Left to be Closer to Allah”: Learning about Foreign Fighters from Family and Friends

This report studies the motivations of foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq, using the largest collection of interviews with them and their families.

Islamist Extremism, Terrorism and Extremism

August 1, 2016

“Shooting in the right direction”: Anti-IS Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq

This report represents the first publication in ISD’s new “Horizons” series, launched to examine emerging trends related to violent extremism or CVE.

Islamist Extremism, Terrorism and Extremism

February 1, 2016

Lone Actor Terrorism: Analysis Paper

A systematic analysis of lone-actor terrorists reveals considerable variation in terms of individual characteristics.

Terrorism and Extremism

January 1, 2016

FREE Initiative: ‘Diverting People from Getting Involved’

A series of practical how-to guides for local authorities across Europe to use to understand and counter the rising threat of Far-Right extremism.

Far-Right Extremism, Resources

May 1, 2015

‘Till Martyrdom Do Us Part’ Gender and the ISIS Phenomenon

This report explores the phenomenon of Western females travelling to Syria and Iraq in support of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Islamist Extremism

January 29, 2014

FREE Initiative: Full series of practical guides to respond to Far-Right threats