On September 3, Jonatan Kurzwelly visited the NATO Center of Excellence for Defense Against Terrorism (COE-DAT) in Ankara. As part of the course “Efficient Crisis Management to Mitigate the Effects of Terrorist Activities,” he gave a lecture on Germany’s experiences in crisis management and counterterrorism. In addition to selected examples, such as the cases of the “Red Army Fraction” or the “National Socialist Underground” (NSU), the focus was on fundamental ethical and political questions regarding overarching legal and administrative structures of counterterrorism and terrorism prevention.
A total of 51 participants from 17 different countries took part in the five-day course. The course provider, COE-DAT, is a NATO-accredited multinational institution specializing in advising decision-makers on counterterrorism. Alongside the framework nation, Turkey it consists of six sponsoring nations, including Albania, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and the United States.
At PRIF, Jonatan Kurzwelly co-leads the Research Group on Radicalization, Terrorism, and Extremism Prevention with Julian Junk. He works, among other topics, on radicalization and deradicalization processes. His recent article on extremists’ psychological defenses was published open-access in the Journal for Deradicalization. An extensive summary is also available as a PRIF Spotlight.