Approach

The FFP's approach to threat convergence is distinguished by the following factors: a focus on the role of fragile states and environments in terrorist or criminal demand for weapons of mass destruction (WMD); the compilation of a wide evidence base generated from field research; the refinement of indicators of the phenomena of threat convergence; and a comparative assessment of which indicators have greatest influence in varying local, on-the-ground conditions. The project builds on a strong base of scholarly and policy attention to the intersections of weak and failing states, terrorism, and WMD proliferation.

Research in vulnerable regions

Since FFP's threat convergence work commenced in 2006, Threat Convergence staff have completed four research trips to:

• the Black Sea and South Caucasus regions,
• The Tri-Border region of Latin America,
• East Africa and the Horn of Africa, and
• Southeast Asia.

Please see our fact sheets and publications on each of these regions.

Over the next year, the program will continue to convene workshops with experts from the three diverse security fields, refine and promote our findings, and work to undertake research trips to West Africa and Southeast Asia.

Regional and International partnerships

The Threat Convergence program maintains working relationships with local civil society groups and organizations in regions such as East Africa, the South Caucasus and South-East Asia.

The Threat Convergence program has convened workshops that engage with local civil society. One such event in the South Caucasus focused on security cooperation in the region and was held in partnership with the George C. Marshall Center Alumni Union of Georgia and The Georgian Foundation for Security and International Studies (GFSIS). Interviewees and workshop participants included government officials and independent analysts, scholars, and experts, both local and foreign, from the defense, foreign affairs, commercial, and civil society sectors. Please see Completing the Circle: Threat Convergence Risks in the Black Sea and South Caucasus Regions for our findings from the region.

The Threat Convergence program has previously provided expert support to the NATO Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council/Partnership for Peace Workshop on Threat Convergence.