After a hiatus of one year in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) conducted its 13th Terrorism Analyst Training Course (TATC) from 12 to 16 July 2021 at the Suntec Convention Centre, Singapore. The TATC is ICPVTR’s principal capacity-building programme, which aims to provide the latest analyses on terrorism and radicalism trends by academics and senior practitioners. TATC is also a networking platform for counter-terrorism researchers/analysts and law enforcement officials.
TATC 2021 was delivered via online and in-person presentations to 32 Singapore-based participants who came from law enforcement/security agencies and the private and community sectors. They had the privilege of hearing from 31 speakers based in Australia, Europe, Singapore, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In his welcome address, Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, Executive Deputy Chairman, RSIS, elaborated on the theme of TATC 2021, “Terrorism Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic”, highlighting the fluid pandemic environment which has placed new pressures on all aspects of human activity, including states’ responses to current and emerging radical and terror threats.
Over the week, speakers presented insights into country-specific developments in South Asia and Southeast Asia, as well as emerging strains of radicalism such as the far-right phenomenon. Participants also learnt about enabling mechanisms such as terrorism financing, technology, and the role of the family unit in terror activities. Challenges related to terrorist reintegration and rehabilitation, and lessons learnt from whole-of-society responses, were also discussed. The programme provided participants with an opportunity to actively engage with the speakers and apply their learning in a half-day table-top exercise.
TATC 2021 also saw the launch of ICPVTR’s Southeast Asia Militant Atlas, a geospatial mapping of militancy in our region, believed to be the first of its kind in Southeast Asia. Unveiled by Ambassador Ong on 12 July 2021, the Militant Atlas will be available to those interested in producing data-driven terrorism research about the region.
