Hannah Stuart


Hannah Stuart
Hannah is Co-Head of our Security and Extremism Unit alongside Martyn Frampton. Hannah was previously a Senior Research Fellow at The Henry Jackson Society and has written reports on extremism, terrorism and jihadist ideology as well as religious law and the role of religion in the public sphere. Her most recent research project analysed all Islamism-inspired terrorism convictions and attacks in the UK since 1999 and used the data to provide statistical and thematic connections within radicalisation and terrorism in the UK today. Hannah has advised government officials, MPs and other relevant stakeholders and her research and ideas have informed counter-radicalisation policy. Hannah has extensive broadcast media experience and has written analysis for the Wall Street Journal, The Times, Foreign Policy, Current Trends in Islamist Ideology and the Guardian, among others. Hannah was previously a Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Cohesion think tank in London. She has a MA in International Studies and Diplomacy (with Distinction) from the School of Oriental and African Studies, and a BA in English Literature from the University of Bristol. Hannah is currently on secondment as Head of Research at the independent Commission for Countering Extremism.

Related News

Policy Exchange welcomes new Home Secretary's updated CONTEST strategy

Hannah Stuart, Policy Exchange's Co-head of Security and Extremism, commented on the new Home Secretary Sajid Javid's rejection of the Muslim Council of Britain as unrepresentative of British Muslims.

Where is the line between extremism and terrorism?

Writing for the Evening Standard, Policy Exchange’s Co-Head of Security and Extremism Hannah Stuart challenges suggestions by new terrorism watchdog Max Hill QC that IS fighters returning from Syria are “naive” and should be “reintegrated”. Are they really “disillusioned”, she asks — or, as the caliphate crumbles, are these IS fighters merely running out of options?” Stuart argues that we have the legal armoury we need to deal these fighters, but that we need to use it more effectively. She also warns Max Hill QC against meeting Islamist groups who crave the legitimacy such meetings bestow.

Related Publications

An Age of Incivility

Recent years have seen a sustained and significant coarsening of the tone in British politics. Why is this happening? What are the consequences? And what should be done about it?

Related Blogs

Islamist attacks on Sara Khan show importance of Extremism Commissioner

The reaction to the appointment of Sara Khan as lead Commissioner for Countering Extremism has shown that Islamist narratives are still accorded too much prominence in national debates. Policy Exchange's Hannah Stuart cautions politicians, officials and journalists who mistakenly give voice to Islamists claiming to speak on behalf of all Muslims.

High Court rejects legal challenge against counter-radicalisation strategy at UK universities

Hannah Stuart — Co-head of Policy Exchange's Security and Extremism unit — analyses the High Court's rejection of a legal challenge against the government’s counter-radicalisation strategy, Prevent, and its delivery IN higher education institutions. She explains why the ruling 'highlights issues that are central not only to tackling terrorism in the UK, but also to challenging the extremist ideologies used to legitimise terrorism'.

Trojan Horse: ‘If anyone is still in any doubt that the practices uncovered were inappropriate, just listen to the pupils’

Hannah Stuart (Co-Head of Policy Exchange's Security and Extremism Unit) and John Blake (Head of Education and Social Reform) look at the latest developments on the Trojan Horse affair.

The Prime Minister says online extremism must be tackled – and here’s how

Policy Exchange’s Co-Head of Security and Extremism, Hannah Stuart, looks at what more can be done to counter extremism online following Theresa May’s pledge to prevent the internet being used as a safe space for extremism. She proposes a new regulator to work with Ofcom to ensure that technology companies take responsibility for extremist material published on their platforms and provide more support and funding for the police’s online security teams

Police can’t stop terror alone – we must do more

Last week’s attack in Manchester confirms that jihadist terrorism poses the greatest threat to British national security. Much of what has emerged so far about the bomber, Salman Abedi, fits a typical profile: a man in his 20s, raised in an immigrant family in the UK and previously known to the authorities. He spent time in his parents’ native Libya, where his father reportedly fought with the proscribed Libyan Islamic […]

Manchester attack brings renewed prominence to debate around Britain’s counter-radicalisation strategy, Prevent

Last week’s terrorist attack in Manchester has brought renewed prominence to the debate around Britain’s counter-radicalisation strategy, Prevent. A concerted campaign to discredit Prevent has seeped into both elements of the public sector and prevailing thinking on the political left. The success of the ‘Preventing Prevent’ campaign, however, depends on a misunderstanding of the distinction between theology and ideology as well as the radicalising impact of an Islamist ideology, one to which many of the strategy’s most prominent detractors adhere. Understanding the anti-Prevent campaign is one way in which the authorities can more effectively disrupt extremists – a fundamental component of counter-terrorism work.

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