CTEC engages faculty experts and graduate students in mixed-methods research on terrorist threats, extremist networks, and counterterrorism responses. Its work encompasses several key domains, including militant accelerationism, the study of online extremism and digital platforms for radicalization, threat financing and sanctioning as tools to disrupt extremist groups, and programs for preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE). The center also examines the implications of emerging technologies for extremist activity and counterterrorism practice.[7]
Within these areas of focus, CTEC develops research initiatives and collaborative projects that are intended to provide insight for policymakers, law enforcement, and nongovernmental organizations. The center’applied research model integrates academic study with policy-oriented outcomes, aiming to inform both domestic and international approaches to countering violent extremism (CVE). By combining the resources of a graduate academic institution with practitioner-oriented research, CTEC positions itself as a bridge between scholarship and real-world counterterrorism efforts.[7]
In August, 2025, Middlebury College President Ian Baucomb announced that MIIS would be permanently shuttered sometime in the summer of 2027.[8] CTEC, as a self-sustaining research center, will remain part of the Middlebury umbrella after the school in Monterey is permanently closed.[8]
While CTEC formerly published independent publications as MonTREP, it currently maintains no publications outside of the URL for Middlebury College.[9]
In Fall 2018, the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism (CTEC) at the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) was established in 2018 from the foundations of MonTREP. However, with CTEC's status as a fully-fledged research center, it was granted much more autonomy in research and direction than MonTREP.
Jason Blazakis, a former U.S. government official and counterterrorism specialist, became director of CTEC in July, shortly before the Fall semester began.[10] Before joining the Institute, he had spent a decade as director of the Counterterrorism Finance and Designations Office, Bureau of Counterterrorism, Department of State, where he worked on issues related to the designation and sanctioning of terrorist organizations.[11] Earlier in his career, he held additional roles in the counterterrorism and intelligence fields within the federal government.[12]
Blazakis’s vision for the newly established CTEC was to examine terrorism through the study of behavior, ideology, methodology, and operations. He outlined three main areas where the center would direct its research:[13]
threat finance and sanctions
extremist messaging and the use of online platforms
the role of special operations in countering violent extremism.
The first area was intended to provide expert analysis on the financial networks associated with terrorism, crime, and proliferation. The second sought to examine social media and other digital forums to better understand how extremist messaging motivated individuals to violence. The third was linked to the Special Operations Research Database (SORD), a project led by Middlebury College professor Orion Lewis, which CTEC planned to support by making the database a resource for studying the deployment and effectiveness of special operations in counterterrorism.[13]
Blazakis stepped away from the role of Director of CTEC to run for Congress in New Jersey's 7th District. However, he dropped out of the democratic primary, nominating Sue Altman.[14] He still maintains a role as a professor at MIIS, but spends much of his time teaching online courses due to his commitments on the East Coast.
In the interim, the role of Director of CTEC was assumed by Dr. Katharine Petrich.[15]
Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism Research Program (WMDTRP)
WMDTRP
Founder
Gary Anthony Ackerman
Established
2002
Key people
Sundara Vadlamudi, Jeffrey M. Bale, Sammy Salama, Gaurav Kampani, Praveen Abhayaratne, Charles Blair
In the early 2000's, the Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism Research Program (WMDTRP) was established by Dr. Gary Ackerman as a program of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California.[16] The work of WMDTRP focused on issues at the intersection of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction (WMD), with particular attention to the possibility of non-state actors acquiring or using chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) weapons and materials. The program examined factors that might motivate terrorist organizations to pursue WMD, and aimed to provide analysis that could inform policymakers, scholars, and the public.[16]
Research conducted by WMDTRP combined regional knowledge, technical assessments, and multidisciplinary approaches, including historical, sociological, and scientific analysis. The four categories of WMDTRP's work were:[17]
Analysis
Data Collection
Education
Community Outreach
The program was directed by Gary Ackerman and staffed by scholars with expertise in social sciences, physical sciences, and policy studies. Senior staff included Jeffrey M. Bale and Gaurav Kampani, with research associates such as Praveen Abhayaratne, Charles Blair, Sammy Salama, and Sundara Vadlamudi. Graduate student research assistants from the Monterey Institute contributed to the program as part of their training in nonproliferation studies.[16]
Between 2004 and 2005, the staff of WMDTRP, and especially its director Gary Ackerman, worked to transition WMDTRP into a new program established more specifically to address issues of terrorism in research, which would be called the Monterey Terorism Research and Education Program (MonTREP).[18] The WMDTRP maintained a database, called the WMD Terrorism Research Database. After MonTREP was established in 2006, WMDTRP continued to exist, but primarily to maintain the database.[19]
Monterey Terrorism Research Education Program (MonTREP)
The Monterey Terrorism Research and Education Program (MonTREP)
MonTREP
Established
2006
Mission
to research topics related to terrorism studies and extremist movements;
to educate students about the history and trends of these groups;
to generate policy recommendations that can guide professionals in counterterrorism and related fields
to be an academic and professional resource to MIIS students, those professionals concerned with terrorism related issues, and the wider international security community
MonTREP collaborated with government agencies, international organizations, and academic foundations, and was a partner in the Department of Homeland Security’sNational Center for the Study of Terrorism and the Response to Terrorism (NC-START), one of the department’s Centers of Excellence.[21] Its work combined historical, sociological, and technical analysis with expertise in regional and language studies, producing assessments on terrorism, weapons proliferation, and international security.[21] The program was staffed by faculty and researchers from a range of disciplines. Key figures included Fred Wehling, Jeffrey M. Bale, Sammy Salama, and Sundara Vadlamudi, supported by additional researchers and graduate assistants specializing in nonproliferation and security studies.[21]
Terrorism Studies Club
For a brief time, beginning on August 26, 2013, there existed a Terrorism Studies Club (TSC) run by students studying MANPTS courses through MonTREP.[22] The first president of the club signed their posts to the club's newsletter as "C."[22] In the espionage and terrorism studies community, "C" often refers to the director of the British Secret Services, and stood for "Control."[23]
TSC held annual student-driven conferences on terrorism in Monterey. The second annual conference, which was held from March 6-7, 2014, was focused on terrorism and counterterrorism in Africa. There were panel discussions and a keynote address was made by Congressman Jim Kolbe.[24] Over 100 people attended the conference.
The last entry from the TSC was posted to their newsletter on January 28, 2016, detailing the MonTREP Antiquities Conference.[25]
History (2006-2018)
On January 20, 2005, MIIS was awarded a grant to focus on reducing worldwide terrorism.[26] By 2006, MIIS had established a program aimed at addressing the goals of this grant, called the Monterey Terrorism Research Education Program (MonTREP). Fred Wehling and Gary Ackerman served in 2006 as MonTREP's research directors, and Moyara Ruehsen was serving as MonTREP's education director.[27][28] The senior researcher at the time was Jeffrey Bale, who had been working at MIIS for several years.[29]
Howard's replacement as interim director in 2014 was Sharad Joshi, who had been working as a Research Associate at MonTREP since 2008, after transferring from his postdoctoral fellowship at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS).[34] General Howard remained in the program for several years as an associate professor.[35]
On January 5, 2015, a delegation from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) visited MonTREP. During the visit, graduate students Leslie Wukstich, Jonathan Prohov, and Marc Elliott delivered presentations examining the links between threat finance and unconventional funding sources for terrorism. Prohov and Elliott discussed a MonTREP research project on antiquities trafficking as a form of terrorist financing and highlighted an op-ed they had co-authored with General Howard. The presentations were followed by a question-and-answer session, with consecutive translation provided by a student from the MIIS language department, Flora (Tian) Zhang. MonTREP experts Melissa Hanham and Stephanie Lieggi also participated in the discussions.[36]
By 2016, MonTREP was casting out for a new Director, placing adds for professors of MANTPS to be available to become the director of the new program.[37]
In 2018, MonTREP was redesigned and elevated from program status into a fully-fledged center, and rebranded as the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism (CTEC).[38]
Publications
Islam, Islamism, and Politics in Eurasia Report (IIPER)
The Islam, Islamism and Politics in Eurasia Report (IIPER) was a periodical established by Gordon M. Hahn. Produced between November 2009 and early 2013, it issued 67 editions and covered political developments related to Islam, Islamism, and jihadist movements in Russia and the wider Eurasian region. Hahn compiled, edited, and authored most of the content.[39] IIPER was initially published through Hahn’s affiliation with the MonTREP, where he was serving as senior researcher and adjunct professor. In September 2011, publication of the report was transferred to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., where Hahn was a non-resident senior associate in the Russia and Eurasia Program until the report ceased in 2013.[39]
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