Violent Extremism

"The vast size of the literature on radicalisation, terrorism and violent extremism does not mean that these phenomena are well-understood."

This reading pack from the Governance and Social Development Resource Centre (GSDRC) is an effort to help navigate the controversy and uncertainty surrounding the definition of violent extremism - or, more precisely, the lack of clarity that characterises discussions of the issue. Noting that what we call a phenomenon helps determine how we see it and what we do in response to it, the pack provides brief summaries of and links to 9 readings from the literature on violent extremism. These readings examine what violent extremism is, how people become violent extremists, why they do so, where violent extremism takes place (and how it affects the West and Asia/Africa very differently), and what can be done about it.

For example, one of the papers cited in the pack "is a rare example of an independent evaluation of a CVE [countering violent extremism] initiative in the public domain." (It examines the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI)'s Kenya Transition Initiative (KTI), which aimed to counter the drivers of violent extremism through a system of small grants funding activities such as livelihood training, cultural events, community debates on sensitive topics, and counselling for post-traumatic stress disorder,.) The evaluation proposes some refinement to how violent extremism problems are diagnosed and recommends a more focused approach to interventions through the identification of groups at risk of radicalisation.

As explained in the pack, researchers are only now beginning to examine the various responses to violent extremism, which can be classified under 3 headings: counter-terrorism (CT - e.g., using military or policing resources to deter or disrupt terrorists), countering violent extremism (CVE - preventative approaches using mostly non-coercive means), and risk reduction (seeking to ensure that violent extremists do not cause harm - e.g., through efforts to change behaviour).

Questions to guide reading are offered, including:

• "Terms such as radicalisation, violent extremism and terrorism notoriously slippery. Does this matter? How might this affect what governments and agencies do in response? Can we develop better, more consistent definitions?
• What are the methodological traps in researching and writing on violent extremism? How effectively do the authors of these papers distinguish between fact, analysis and opinion? How can we improve the evidence base in this field?
• Is it possible to conceptualise or theorise violent extremism? Or is it such a diverse, context-dependent and contingent set of problems that we should simply accept that each case is different and try to understand it as best we can?
• Can we better understand the relationship between religious belief and violence – or is religion a red herring? Does looking at more specific cultural factors pay dividends?
• What are the implications for government policy and development practice of the fact that most violent extremism takes place in a handful of countries in Asia and Africa?
• How can we be clearer about what CVE actually is? Is it the answer to violent extremism? What are the strengths and weaknesses in CVE methodology when compared with other types of intervention?"

GSDRC reading packs are commissioned by the United Kingdom (UK) Government's Department for International Development (DFID) for independent study and professional development use.