The White House Summit to Counter Violent Extremism in February 2015 spurred an Action Agenda that emphasizes the need for more local and regional research about drivers of violent extremism. Governments and civil society actors alike have underscored the need for more nuanced analyses about violent extremism in national and regional contexts to better inform and develop tailored interventions that address specific issues and audiences. To this end, a number of initiatives are underway or in the planning stages to develop regional and thematic networks relating to countering violent extremism (CVE), with a number of them focusing to some extent, if not wholly, on research.
While CVE is still a relatively young field, it builds on a body of knowledge, experience, and expertise in a number of related fields, including development, psychology, anthropology, history, and gender studies, to name a few. Over the past decade there has also been a growing body of research and scholarship more specific to CVE policy and practice. This includes research on transnational terrorist networks, individual actors, extremist narratives and ideology, and personal motivations, including from a gender perspective. There are also a number of widely cited studies on global drivers of violent extremism and on the structural and proximate conditions associated with radicalization and mobilization to violence.
To enhance global coherence, and to support to the EU to maximise the value-added of its interventions, CT MORSE is developing an extensive analysis of current and planned CVE research initiatives across the globe.
The analysis will include an extensive and detailed overview of all current and planned research initiatives across the globe. This stocktaking exercise would also include an overview of key national and regional institutions, including academic and policy focused centers, as well as networks or individuals conducting or developing relevant research.
The final report will provide an extensive analysis of how the various research initiatives are engaging among themselves and present a set of concise, practical recommendations on how research efforts could be improved at the regional and global level.
The conclusions and findings will be presented at the CVE Research Summit to be hosted by Hedayah in the UAE in December 2015.
For more information, please contact the project manager, Ms. Naureen Fink, GCCS: nfink@globalcenter.org
