In a new piece for The Conversation, Professor Colleen Murphy is featured as part of a panel of counterterrorism experts who provide insight into what they see as the greatest practical challenges to fighting far-right violent extremism in the United States. Murphy, along with Monika Nalepa (University of Chicago) writes:
"The problem of domestic terrorism is not just something to be tackled by the government, but is a fundamental challenge within government agencies. Radicalization is particularly dangerous within law enforcement and the military, whose members are armed and hold positions of power in society.
"Screening military and other government officials for ties to extremist groups is key to the success of the other components of the White House strategy. But most government background checks rely heavily on friends and family members. That system will not be reliable if many of those people themselves have deep distrust in the government and may be radicalized or otherwise misguided by disinformation.
"Vetting systems could be adapted to include questions that will elicit information about radicalism. In addition, government agencies could require job candidates – or existing employees – to disclose their own connections to extremist groups and ideologies, coupled with penalties for failing to do so."
Read the full piece at theconversation.com.