A fundamental initial step in effective programming for preventing violent extremism is to understand what is driving it.

The fight against terrorism has come at a tremendous cost of lives lost and development disrupted. Radical Islamist extremism has become the world’s most potent global revolutionary force and terrorism has become a constant threat inside and outside our societies.

The numbers within 2017 Global Terrorism Index tell us one part of the story but the weight of the narrative lies elsewhere. It lies with the people living with the daily realities of the impact of violent extremism and the global war on terror.

Terror attacks began increasing in Asia in the early 2000s. According to the Global Terrorism Database (GTD), South Asia was more affected than anywhere else in the world between 2008 and 2013.

In 2015 successes by international military coalitions targeting ISIL and Boko Haram corresponded with the intensification of terrorism in many countries.

This year’s results present a juxtaposition of the dynamics of terrorism in modern society. On one hand, they show a 10% fall (since last year) in the number of deaths attributed to terrorist incidents – the first decline since 2010.