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ISIS Expert Talks About Current Terrorism Threat

Jessica Stern will discuss “ISIS: Terrorism at Home and Abroad” at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, in Sanford 04.

Author and national security expert Jessica Stern will speak on “ISIS: Terrorism at Home and Abroad” at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy Thursday, Sept. 10. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 6 p.m. in Lecture Hall 04. Event parking will be available in Duke’s Bryan Center parking garage or Science Drive visitor lot. The discussion will analyze how and why ISIS came to power, how it is attracting foreign fighters from Europe and the United States, its extensive use of social media and the U.S. strategy for addressing the threat it poses. Stern has authored numerous articles and books on terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Her book, “ISIS: The State of Terror,” published in March, explains the genesis and evolution of the brutal Islamic State, as well as how we can fight it. Stern, a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, is a fellow at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University. She serves on the Hoover Institution Task Force on National Security and Law and is a 2014-2015 Fulbright Scholar. In 2009, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for her work on trauma and violence.“The activities of ISIS in Syria and Iraq and its spread within the Middle East and North Africa are one of our greatest national security challenges,” said David Schanzer, associate professor of the practice in the Sanford School and director of the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security.“Jessica Stern is among our nation’s top experts on ISIS and religious-based terrorism.  Discussing these critical issues with her is an appropriate way to honor the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.”Event sponsors include the Duke Program in American Grand Strategy, the Sanford School of Public Policy and the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security. A book signing will follow.