Radicalization: Behind Bars and Beyond Borders

"While resurgent, al-Qaeda in its classic form is now a degraded entity, with many of its key figures on the run. However, it has franchised itself across the globe, with its franchises prepared to act locally and largely independently--in effect as a network of networks...Measures taken to combat this transnational insurgency have made it more difficult for extremist groups to recruit through mosques, and so the search for new and different areas of opportunity to expand their ranks is constant and outpacing many efforts to outpace this threat." (Brown Journal of World Affairs) The authors assert that the U.S. prison system and the Internet are "fertile grounds" for Islamic radicalization and recruitment, and urge targeted "prevention and response measures" in those areas.