On January 30, 2024, CEP held a webinar to present a policy paper concerning the threat to global security posed by the Houthi attacks on the international shipping industry since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, 2023. 

Report here: https://counterextre.me/StakesOfHouthiAggression

Since November 18, the Iran-backed Houthis have launched dozens of attacks in the Red Sea and Suez Canal, prompting the United States to announce a multinational naval operation to protect global shipping interests. Several major shipping companies, meanwhile, have started diverting shipments around the Cape of Good Hope—adding weeks to shipping times, fuel consumption, and increasing shipping and insurance costs. Tensions and confrontations have escalated throughout 2024: on January 9, the Houthis ignored recent warnings and launched a complex missile attack against several commercial ships; on January 11, the U.S.-led coalition launched retaliatory strikes against Houthi targets. Most recently, on January 15 the Houthis struck a U.S.-owned and operated cargo ship for the first time. The Biden administration re-designated the Houthis as Specially Designated Global Terrorists on January 17.

These attacks, and the international response to them, have escalated and expanded the stakes of the war between Israel and Hamas. Houthi aggression has significant security and economic implications for international trade and the fight against ramping inflation both in Europe and the United States, as the Red Sea shipping route is a vital component of the global economy. CEP’s policy paper explores the consequences of recent Houthi aggression on the global shipping industry as well as its possible implications for both the peace process in Yemen and the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East connected to Hamas’s war against Israel.

Khalilullah Safi
Founder and director of the Afghanistan Peace Studies Organization (APSO)

On July 6, 2023, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) hosted a webinar focusing on two of the key terrorist threats emanating from the situation in Afghanistan. The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) is one of the most active regional affiliates of ISIS’s global network. ISKP remains in a complex relationship with the Taliban, in particular the powerful Haqqani Network and has operational ambitions that are not confined to Afghanistan. Furthermore, due to the symbiotic relationship of the Taliban movement with a wide range of terror groups, which the movement shelters and protects, as well as with the illegal drug industry in Afghanistan, the risks of aid diversion for the financing of terrorism and large-scale money laundering are significant. Therefore, more effective monitoring and control mechanisms should be introduced to mitigate these risks.

Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler
Senior Director, Counter Extremism Project (CEP)

On July 6, 2023, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) hosted a webinar focusing on two of the key terrorist threats emanating from the situation in Afghanistan. The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) is one of the most active regional affiliates of ISIS’s global network. ISKP remains in a complex relationship with the Taliban, in particular the powerful Haqqani Network and has operational ambitions that are not confined to Afghanistan. Furthermore, due to the symbiotic relationship of the Taliban movement with a wide range of terror groups, which the movement shelters and protects, as well as with the illegal drug industry in Afghanistan, the risks of aid diversion for the financing of terrorism and large-scale money laundering are significant. Therefore, more effective monitoring and control mechanisms should be introduced to mitigate these risks.

Ambassador Edmund Fitton-Brown
Former Coordinator of the ISIL, Al-Qaeda and Taliban Monitoring Team of the United Nations Security Council, Member of the CEP Advisory Board

On July 6, 2023, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) hosted a webinar focusing on two of the key terrorist threats emanating from the situation in Afghanistan. The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) is one of the most active regional affiliates of ISIS’s global network. ISKP remains in a complex relationship with the Taliban, in particular the powerful Haqqani Network and has operational ambitions that are not confined to Afghanistan. Furthermore, due to the symbiotic relationship of the Taliban movement with a wide range of terror groups, which the movement shelters and protects, as well as with the illegal drug industry in Afghanistan, the risks of aid diversion for the financing of terrorism and large-scale money laundering are significant. Therefore, more effective monitoring and control mechanisms should be introduced to mitigate these risks.

"Linkages of Terrorist Groups in West Africa with Terrorist Networks in other African Regions" 
Sofia Koller, Senior Research Analyst, Counter Extremism Project (CEP)

The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) hosted a webinar on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, focusing on the deteriorating security situation in West Africa and the Sahel region. 

This webinar was the first in a series of virtual events in which CEP and KAS present the results of a joint project focusing on the region. The project analyzes the various aspects of the complex security environment and develops policy options to mitigate these challenges for regional as well as international policymakers, including at the European Union level.