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|International Symposium in Tokyo Highlights Growing Interactions Between Terrorism Separatism and Organized Crime
International academics, researchers, and experts called on Friday in Tokyo for a renewal of approaches to analyzing separatism, arguing that this phenomenon can no longer be understood independently of terrorism, organized crime, disinformation campaigns, and new forms of cognitive manipulation.
Organized in a hybrid format by the International Center for the Study of Separatism (ICSOS), this first International Conference on Separatism, Extremism, and Regional Security brought together specialists from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas around the theme "Separatism, Extremism, and Regional Security: Perspectives from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe."
The proceedings, chaired in their first session by Professor Kei Nakagawa, President of Hagoromo University of International Studies, were opened by the President of ICSOS, Mr. Shoji Matsumoto, who emphasized that separatism and terrorism constitute two of the major challenges facing the international community today. He advocated for a multidisciplinary approach integrating legal, political, economic, social, and psychological dimensions to better understand these phenomena.
The various presentations highlighted the evolving nature of separatist movements in several regions of the world, their interactions with terrorist organizations and criminal networks, as well as the growing role of disinformation campaigns, social media, and new technologies in the processes of radicalization and destabilization of states.
Professor Mohd Mizan Aslam, from the National Defence University of Malaysia, analyzed the growing links between separatism, terrorism, and organized crime in Southeast Asia, while Professor Sapto Priyanto, from the University of Indonesia, demonstrated how the terrorist threat is evolving into decentralized networks largely structured around digital spaces.
Professor John Edward Phillips, for his part, traced the evolution of Boko Haram, emphasizing that this organization has gradually become a regional threat challenging the foundations of the postcolonial state in the Lake Chad Basin.
Professor Elwasila Saeed Elamin Mohamed, meanwhile, analyzed the consequences of the Sudanese crisis and warned of the risks of new separatist dynamics in the context of the ongoing war in Sudan.
The director of the Libyan Counter-Terrorism Center, Major General Mohamed Bashir Saleh, emphasized the common factors that simultaneously foster terrorism and separatist movements, including fragile institutions, territorial inequalities, and socio-economic difficulties.
Professor Abdoul Sogodogo, from the University of Legal and Political Sciences in Bamako, Mali, highlighted the growing convergence between separatist groups and jihadist organizations in the Sahel, as well as the central role of social media in contemporary propaganda and recruitment strategies.
El Mostafa Rezrazi, professor at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, and president of the Moroccan Observatory on Extremism and Violence (OMEV), presented a new scientific approach to separatism based on cognitive science.
Drawing on an interdisciplinary study conducted with former detainees in the Tindouf camps who had returned to Morocco, he introduced the concept of "distorted mental maps of the territory." He also presented the concept of "cognitive geoengineering," through which certain actors seek to influence collective perceptions in order to legitimize "separatist projects."
The Moroccan researcher further noted that his analysis of the educational content and socialization mechanisms observed in the Tindouf camps reveals several processes comparable to those used in the indoctrination strategies of terrorist organizations, notably the exploitation of hate speech, victimhood narratives, and identity crisis. In this regard, he advocated for a comprehensive approach to preventing separatism that integrates psychological, cognitive, educational, and informational dimensions, complementing diplomatic and security responses.
At the conclusion of the proceedings, participants emphasized that the emerging convergences between separatism, terrorism, organized crime, and information warfare necessitate the development of interdisciplinary approaches and the strengthening of international cooperation.
They welcomed the official launch of ICSOS as the first international platform dedicated to the comparative study of separatism, with the ambition of promoting scientific research, international dialogue and the formulation of recommendations aimed at strengthening peace, stability and regional security.
News and events on Western Sahara issue/ CORCAS
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| 7/13/2026
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