The threat of violent extremism is more geographically dispersed and more localized than ever, yet the security-focused and other responses of national governments and multilateral institutions have not been and will not be sufficient to counter and prevent its spread. A more comprehensive and strategic approach that empowers local actors and focuses more attention on community-led interventions to address underlying drivers of the phenomenon is required. This involves, inter alia, the development and deployment of a more dynamic and complete set of policies and programs and the involvement of a more diverse set of actors, particularly at the local level, such as public health, mental health, or social services providers; parents; researchers; teachers; businesses; and women’s, religious, and youth leaders. In addition, this group includes police and corrections officials, actors that also have roles to play, albeit different ones, in the “hard” response to terrorism. This approach requires a sustainable global network of these stakeholders that can have impact at the local level and a voice at the global level. It requires leveraging, although not co-opting, a wide array of efforts, including development, peacebuilding, good governance, and public health, that can contribute to preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) by helping address some of the grievances that fuel the spread of violent extremism. Furthermore, it requires leveraging existing knowledge of which P/CVE and related interventions have and have not worked to improve the effectiveness of efforts to address the threat.
Perhaps most importantly, this new approach requires recognizing that how governments treat their citizens really matters when it comes to P/CVE. In many respects, the broader aims of strengthening the relationship between the state and its citizens and building trust between all levels of government and local communities lie at the heart of the P/CVE agenda. Thus, effective implementation of this agenda requires addressing the marginalization and alienation, poor governance, and state-sponsored violence that damage the government-citizen relationship and are among the most prevalent drivers of violent extremism. Yet, all too often, national governments are reluctant to acknowledge that their behavior matters when it comes to P/CVE, let alone change it so as to mitigate some of the drivers that can fuel violent extremism.
The Prevention Project was launched in March 2016 to gather from, develop with, and disseminate to the ever-expanding group of P/CVE stakeholders practical guidance on overcoming these challenges and allowing for the development and implementation of the community-focused solutions required to prevent the spread of violent extremism. The actionable recommendations contained in this report2 draw on the experiences and expertise of a wide range of policymakers, practitioners, and civil society leaders and have been informed by a series of consultations, roundtables, and workshops organized by or involving The Prevention Project team and engaging a diversity of stakeholders.
The recommendations are organized around a number of themes. These include:
- moving from rhetoric to action, with a particularemphasis on resource mobilization;
- ensuring greater coherence between counterterrorism and P/CVE policies and objectives;
- moving from a national-level and security-centric approach to a local-level and community-centric approach;
- empowering cities and civil society;
- securing more strategic donor engagement;
- integrating to a greater extent countermessaging and other communications efforts to dissuade potential recruits and delegitimize violent extremist organizations into broader P/CVE efforts and devoting a higher proportion of those efforts to interventions that address the underlying drivers of violent extremism and provide positive alternative activities;
- expanding “off-ramp” programs; and
- making the international architecture fit for purpose.
You can find the original publication here