Rethinking education to counter violent extremism: a critical review of policy and practice

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Fatima Waqi Sajjad
Author(s):  
Nora Abdelrahman Ibrahim

Terrorism and violent extremism have undoubtedly become among the top security concerns of the 21st century. Despite a robust agenda of counterterrorism since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the evolution of global terrorism has continued to outpace the policy responses that have tried to address it. Recent trends such as the foreign fighter phenomenon, the rampant spread of extremist ideologies online and within communities, and a dramatic increase in terrorist incidents worldwide, have led to a recognition that “traditional” counterterrorism efforts are insufficient and ineffective in combatting these phenomena. Consequently, the focus of policy and practice has shifted towards countering violent extremism by addressing the drivers of radicalization to curb recruitment to extremist groups. Within this context, the field of countering violent extremism (CVE) has garnered attention from both the academic and policy-making worlds. While the CVE field holds promise as a significant development in counterterrorism, its policy and practice are complicated by several challenges that undermine the success of its initiatives. Building resilience to violent extremism is continuously challenged by an overly securitized narrative and unintended consequences of previous policies and practices, including divisive social undercurrents like Islamophobia, xenophobia, and far-right sentiments. These by-products make it increasingly difficult to mobilize a whole of society response that is so critical to the success and sustainability of CVE initiatives. This research project addresses these policy challenges by drawing on the CVE strategies of Canada, the US, the UK, and Denmark to collect best practice and lessons learned in order to outline a way forward. 


Author(s):  
Andrew Silke ◽  
John Morrison ◽  
Heidi Maiberg ◽  
Chloe Slay ◽  
Rebecca Stewart

Abstract Improving our understanding of how disengagement and deradicalisation from terrorism and violent extremism occurs has critical real-world implications. A systematic review of the recent literature in this area was conducted in order to develop a more refined and empirically-derived model of the processes involved. After screening more than 83,000 documents, we found 29 research reports which met the minimum quality thresholds. Thematic analysis identified key factors associated with disengagement and deradicalisation processes. Assessing the interactions of these factors produced the Phoenix Model of Disengagement and Deradicalisation which is described in this paper. Also examined are some of the potential policy and practice implications of the Phoenix Model, as are avenues for future research in this area.


2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Brookfield

Neighbourhood planning, introduced through the Localism Act 2011, was intended to provide communities in England with new opportunities to plan and manage development. All communities were presented as being readily able to participate in this new regime with Ministers declaring it perfectly conceived to encourage greater involvement from a wider range of people. Set against such claims, while addressing significant gaps in the evidence, this paper provides a critical review of participation in neighbourhood planning, supported by original empirical evidence drawn from case study research. It does so at an interesting time as the community, and/or neighbourhood, appears across political parties as a preferred scalar focus for planning. Challenging Ministers’ assertions, while mirroring past experiments in community planning, participation is found to be modest and partial, concentrated amongst a few, relatively advantaged communities, and relatively advantaged interests within those communities. The paper considers the implications for future planning policy and practice.


2021 ◽  
pp. 293-317
Author(s):  
Michele Grossman

Violent extremism and terrorism are themselves multisystemic phenomena, with movements, actors, and events embedded within deeply complex and highly networked co-occurring systems that interact with one another at different levels and scales to support and enable violent extremist narratives, behaviors, actions, and outcomes. They can be highly resilient and pose significant challenges and threats to the function and viability of multiple nested and interconnected human (and at times natural) systems. Various meanings and practices of resilience have accordingly occupied a critical but vexed position within multisystemic approaches to preventing and countering violent extremism policy and practice. A strong focus on identifying and building the resilience of individuals and communities has come at the expense of understanding the ways in which the institutional and governmental co-occurring systems involved in countering terrorism may themselves be less or more resilient and what this means for future efforts to effectively prevent violent extremism.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Horgan

Involvement in violent extremism is not a one-way street. People can, and do, leave violent extremist movements. Understanding how and why they leave (or want to leave) constitutes actionable knowledge that brings immense practical benefits. Such knowledge may help in designing initiatives aimed at persuading people to leave violent extremist groups as well as reducing the risk of re-engagement in violent extremism in the future. Deradicalization programs have much to offer but they are not a magic solution to a highly complex, fluid problem. Not everyone who engages in violent extremism is necessarily going to benefit from such interventions, and no program can ever expect to produce complete success. Yet, they continue to show promise. Deradicalization programs can be effective for some and, if subjected to greater evaluation efforts, may prove far more beneficial than is currently believed. Despite an abundance (and apparent increase) in programming, a continued lack of evaluation work both fuels skepticism and hinders our ability to believe that there is a strong future for these programs.


2010 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Harper ◽  
Thomas Bean ◽  
Judith Dunkerly

In this article we discuss the current nature and circumstances of cosmopolitanism and what it means to the field of adolescent literacy. Drawing on contemporary scholarship, cosmopolitanism is understood as: 1) the local experience or condition of globalization, what has been called ‘internal globalization,’ and, 2) as a disposition or sensibility that ensures productive and peaceful relations in light of globalization or any circumstance that creates dynamic and culturally diverse contexts. From a critical review of the key documents in the field, we argue that for many adolescents their lives and literacies now, and especially in the future, will be lived out in the interface of the local and global. In what might be described as a cosmopolitan age we discuss what that means for the field of adolescent literacy. In critical review of the work done under the rubric of adolescent literacy, it was evident the field has been carefully documenting the terrain of adolescent literacies, and leading the charge for reform in policy and practice. However, there is a need to reconfigure and expand the concepts, precepts and practices that have come to name adolescent literacy in order to ensure that students are well served by the field and by their literacy education. Cet article discute la nature et les circonstances du concept de cosmopolitisme et ce qu’il signifie dans le domaine de la littératie des adolescents. Du point de vue du savoir actuel, ce concept définit (1) l’expérience ou la condition locale de globalisation, ce qui est connu sous le terme de « globalisation interne » et (2) la disposition ou sensibilité qui assure des relations productives et pacifiques dans un contexte global ou toutes circonstances qui créent des contextes culturellement dynamiques et différents. En nous basant sur une révision critique des documents clés, nous argumentons que les vies et les littératies actuelles et futures de beaucoup d’adolescents seront vécues dans une interface entre un monde tout aussi local que global. Nous discuterons ce que ce monde peut représenter dans le domaine de la littératie adolescente dans l’ère cosmopolite. En révisant cette littératie de façon critique, il est facile de s’apercevoir du nombre croissant de publications et de son importance dans la réforme de politiques et de pratiques de terrain. Il est cependant tout à fait nécessaire de reconfigurer et de développer ces concepts, préceptes et pratiques afin d’assurer leur adéquation dans le domaine et l’éducation en littératie des adolescents.


2012 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirstein Rummery ◽  
Michael Fine

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document