The CSTPV is "dedicated to the study of the causes, dynamics, characteristics and consequences of terrorism and related forms of political violence", while committed to rigorous, independent evidence-based scholarly analysis.

[1] In addition, the CSTPV investigates the responses of states, civil society, and international organizations to violent modes of waging conflict.

[3] CSTPV has been able to expand its research and teaching work as the result of a donation from the Worldwide Support for Development (WSD), chaired by Japanese religious leader Haruhisa Handa.

It also hosts events year round including the annual Paul Wilkinson Memorial Lecture and is home to the Extremism Journal, Contemporary Voices in International Relations and an academic blog.

The Centre was founded in 1994 by Paul Wilkinson and Bruce Hoffman[4] and created the Rand-St. Andrews terrorism incident database which provides data for their studies.