For the launch of his new paper, the latest in ICSR's series Developments in Radicalisation and Political Violence, Omar Ashour presented his conclusions on Islamist movements and their transformations during a talk at King's College. Opposing the common perception according to which Islamist movements are static and monolithic, he exposed the multiple transformations that these movements have undergone, especially in the last forty years.

He isolates and reviews three processes of change: radicalisation, moderation and de-radicalisation. Looking at them, Omar Ashour intends to foresee the future of Islamist movements and to define the path taken by Islamist movements nowadays.

Contemplating a possible 'end of history' for armed Islamism through the examples of de-radicalisation, Omar Ashour called for further research on the dynamics of de-radicalisation which he says is crucial for policy-makers and academics alike in order to expand their understanding of Islamist movements.

If you have missed Dr Ashour's lecture you can listen to the podcast below.

Dr. Ashour lectures in Politics of the Middle East at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. He is the author of The Deradicalization of Jihadists: Transforming Armed Islamist Movements (Routledge 2009).