
How We Win
How Cutting-Edge Entrepreneurs, Political Visionaries, Enlightened Business Leaders, and Social Media Mavens Can Defeat the Extremist Threat

Farah Pandith argues for a paradigm shift in our approach to combating extremism, one that mobilizes the expertise and resources of diplomats, corporate leaders, mental health experts, social scientists, entrepreneurs, local communities, and, most of all, global youth themselves.
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- Foreign policy analyses written by CFR fellows and published by the trade presses, academic presses, or the Council on Foreign Relations Press.
There is a war being fought, and we are losing it.
Despite the billions of dollars spent since 9/11 trying to defeat terrorist organizations, the so-called Islamic State, Al Qaeda, and other groups remain a terrifying geopolitical threat. In some ways the threat has grown worse: The 9/11 hijackers came from far away; the danger today can come from anywhere—from the other side of the world to across the street. Unable to stem recruitment, we seem doomed to a worsening struggle with a constantly evolving enemy that remains several steps ahead of us. Unfortunately, current policies seem almost guaranteed not to reduce extremist violence but instead to make it easier for terrorists to spread their hateful ideas, recruit new members, and carry out attacks.
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We actually possess the means right now to inoculate communities against extremist ideologies. In How We Win, CFR Adjunct Senior Fellow Farah Pandith presents a revolutionary new analysis of global extremism as well as powerful but seldom-used strategies for vanquishing it. Drawing on her visits to eighty countries, the hundreds of interviews and focus groups she’s conducted around the world, and her high-level experience in the Bush and Obama administrations, Pandith argues for a paradigm shift in our approach to combat extremism, one that mobilizes the expertise and resources of diplomats, corporate leaders, mental health experts, social scientists, entrepreneurs, local communities, and, most of all, global youth themselves.
There is a war being fought, and we can win it. This is how.
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In the News
Defeating Extremism: How We WinThe Aspen Institute
At Aspen Security Forum, National Security Leaders Admit, ‘We Have Been Lazy On Hate’The Daily Beast
How to Counter the Threat of Extremist IdeologiesRANE Network
Is the Fight Against Extremism Winnable?The Arab Weekly
Combating Violent Extremism in a New WayGlobal I.Q. with Jim Falk
How Do We 'Win' Against White Nationalist And Jihadist Extremists?WGBH
Combating Violent ExtremismNational Preparedness Leadership Initiative
Fighting the Battle of IdeasBoston Globe
The United States Has Been 'Lazy on Hate,' Says Terrorism ExpertMSNBC
How We Win: A Conversation with Farah Pandith9/11 Memorial & Museum
Why Young Muslims Need To Hear From Former ExtremistsNPR
Why the United States is Losing the War on ExtremismCipher Brief