Extremist Groups

Extremist Groups#

Reference of authoritative public designations of extremist organizations, nationalist, ethno-nationalist, religious- extremist, and politically-violent groups, as cataloged by state governments, multilateral bodies, and academic / research institutions.

This page does not enumerate individual members or independently designate groups. Designations move (additions and removals happen often); always consult the live source. Different jurisdictions classify the same group differently, and inclusion on a designation list is itself the result of legal process, not independent judgment.

For broader sanctions context, see Sanctions Lists. For gangs / organized crime, see Gangs and Identifiers. For hacker / cybercrime groups, see Hacker Groups. For terminology, see Biases & Fallacies.

Authoritative state designations#

Source	Notes
US State Dept FTO	Foreign Terrorist Organizations under 8 U.S.C. § 1189; ~70 organizations. Updated periodically.
US OFAC SDGT	Specially Designated Global Terrorists (E.O. 13224); broader than FTO; individuals + entities.
US Treasury SDN	consolidated list including SDGT, SDN-CIVIC, SDNTK, etc.
UK Home Office	Schedule 2 of the Terrorism Act 2000 + amendments;
proscribed orgs	~80 organizations + aliases.
EU Council CFSP	Common Position 2001/931 + Regulation 2580/2001; “EU terrorist list”.
Canada Public	Listed Terrorist Entities under Criminal Code §83.05;
Safety	~80 entities.
Australia AGD	Listed terrorist organizations under §102 of the Criminal Code.
New Zealand DPMC	Designated Terrorist Entities.
Russia FSB	Federal List of Extremist Organizations + List of Terrorist Organizations (separate; very broad).
China MPS	terrorist organizations + activities list (broader “Three Evils” framing).
India MHA	Schedule I of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act; banned terrorist organizations.
Pakistan NACTA	Schedule I First Schedule of Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.
Israel Defence Minister	declared terrorist organizations (1948 ordinance).
Saudi Arabia	designated terrorist entities; broader than US FTO.
Turkey Interior	designated terrorist organizations.
Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, GCC states	per-country designation lists.
United Nations 1267 Counter Terrorism Sanctions Committee	ISIL (Da’esh) / Al-Qaida sanctions list (UN consolidated).

Academic / NGO tracking organizations#

These organizations track + analyze extremist movements; they publish databases, reports, and longitudinal trend analyses.

Org	Notes
START / GTD	Global Terrorism Database (University of Maryland); ~200,000 incidents back to 1970.
ICCT	International Center for Counter-Terrorism (The Hague); policy + analysis.
RUSI	Royal United Services Institute (UK); CT research.
RAND	policy research; CT projects.
Soufan Group	IntelBrief; private analysis.
Counter Extremism Project (CEP)	CEP; profiles + financial-flow tracking.
GW Program on Extremism	George Washington University; US-focus + global.
Quilliam (defunct)	history reference; UK; closed 2021.
Institute for Economics & Peace	IEP; Global Terrorism Index (annual).
ISD	Institute for Strategic Dialogue; online-radicalisation focus.
Hope not Hate	UK; far-right monitoring.
Anti-Defamation League	ADL; US-focus; antisemitism + hate movements.
Southern Poverty	SPLC; US hate-group + extremist-movement tracker;
Law Center	distinct legal framework from FTO.
GIATOC	Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime; org-crime + extremism overlap.
Tony Blair Institute	extremism database (TBI).
Bellingcat	OSINT-driven attribution; covers extremist activities.
CARR	Center for Analysis of the Radical Right; academic.
Combat Hate Network	CCH; Canada-focus.
GNET	Global Network on Extremism and Technology; tech- sector-extremism intersection.
EUMC / FRA	EU Agency for Fundamental Rights; antisemitism + xenophobia monitoring.

Categorization#

The catalog below is a categorization framework used in analytical literature, not a list of groups. State designations above are the authoritative roster.

Category	Description
Salafi-jihadist	transnational network of groups invoking militant Islamist ideology; UN 1267 list anchors the designations (ISIS / Al-Qaida + affiliates).
Ethno-nationalist	groups defining membership + grievance by ethnicity / nation; many on national lists (e.g. PKK on US/UK FTO).
Religious-	non-Salafi religious-extremist movements (e.g.
extremist	some Buddhist Burmese, Christian Identity in US, Hindutva fringes in India).
Far-right /	white-nationalist + neo-fascist + accelerationist
white nationalist	movements; some on UK / Canada / Australia proscription lists; SPLC + ADL track US.
Far-left /	revolutionary leftist movements; many historical
revolutionary left	(Red Brigades, RAF, FARC); some current.
Separatist /	groups seeking territorial independence; varied
nationalist	status across designating bodies (PKK, ETA
movements	historical, IRA continuity factions, ULFA, KLF).
Single-issue /	anti-abortion, eco-terrorism, animal rights
issue-motivated	extremism; usually designated under domestic- terrorism frameworks, not FTO.
Lone-actor	ideologically-motivated individuals not formally affiliated; tracked by national agencies (e.g. FBI HVE program).
Cult / NRM	religious or new-religious-movement groups with historical violence (Aum Shinrikyo, Heaven’s Gate); academic + LE attention rather than FTO.

Cross-country comparison#

Same group, different designation status, a recurring analytical challenge:

PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party): US + EU + UK + Türkiye + AU = designated; some EU member-state courts have ruled against the designation periodically.
Hizballah: US designates the entire organization; many EU members designate only the “military wing” (UK shifted to whole-org 2019).
Hamas: US + EU + UK + IL designate; some Latin American + Arab states do not.
Right Sector / Azov: contested across various national registers; US FTO listed neither as of 2024.
Antifa: not a designated organization in US / EU / UK; more a movement label than a group.
Boogaloo: US monitors; not a designated FTO; a label applied by many distinct cells.
Proud Boys: Canada designated 2021 as terrorist entity; US has not.
Atomwaffen Division / The Base: UK + Australia + Canada designated; US treats as criminal under domestic framework.
National-Action: UK proscribed 2016 (first far-right group on UK list).
Wagner Group / private military companies: variously treated under sanctions frameworks rather than FTO; US designated as Transnational Criminal Organization in 2025.

Operator notes#

Designation ≠ ground truth, groups are designated for legal-policy reasons; non-designation does not mean non-existent or non-violent.
Terminology choice matters, “extremist”, “terrorist”, “militia”, “freedom fighter”, “insurgent”, “national- liberation movement” carry political weight. Use the designating body’s terminology when citing; document the framework.
Domestic terrorism in the US is not chargeable as a separate offence; the US has no domestic FTO equivalent (debated periodically).
Authorization, collection on these subjects is heavily regulated under counter-terrorism intelligence frameworks (US Title 50 + EO 12333; UK IPA; equivalents elsewhere). Independent OSINT operators should consult counsel before systematic collection or publication.
Naming named individuals in this kind of work risks defamation, harassment, and (for state-affiliated subjects) retaliation; state designations are themselves the published names.
Watch the supply chain, fundraising, recruitment, propaganda, weapons / explosives flows are usually the productive analytical surfaces, not membership rosters.
Sectarian conflict zones (Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sahel, Lake Chad basin) feature dozens of overlapping groups whose status changes monthly; rely on UN, ICG, ACLED for current-state.

Conflict / event databases#

Source	Notes
ACLED	Armed Conflict Location & Event Data; per-incident geocoded; the standard for current-conflict tracking.
GTD (above)	historical (1970-recent); University of Maryland.
UCDP / PRIO	Uppsala Conflict Data Program; armed-conflict deaths + organized violence.
RAND DTV	Database of Worldwide Terrorism Incidents; closed.
ICG	International Crisis Group; per-region analyses.
SIGACT	military-only events; classified at higher levels.
EVE (Extremist Violence Events)	cross-sourced extremist events tracking.