The Resolve Network

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30 June 2022 / Amanda Lucey
Lessons from Africa: 20 Years of UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Policy
In 2021, Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 48% of global terrorism deaths. The continent appears to be no closer to mitigating the threat that extremist groups pose, despite years of counter-terrorism (CT) operations and other measures, many of which are part of an effort to implement the various United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions related to terrorism. New and innovative approaches are needed that extend beyond those that have dominated the CT landscape in Africa over the past two decades and which have been heavily influenced by decisions taken by the UNSC in New York. This research brief analyzes UNSC efforts, unpacks the African Union's approach to these issues, and looks at how these have impacted regional and national efforts on the ground before making recommendations on the way forward. This research brief is the first in a series commissioned by the Securing the Future Initiative (SFI) and published by the RESOLVE Network. SFI is co-led by the Fourth Freedom Forum and The Soufan Center, with funding provided by generous support from the European Union, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Launched in September 2021, on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, SFI is conducting the first-ever independent review and assessment of the United Nations Security Council’s counterterrorism activities.   Suggested citation:  Lucey, Amanda. Lessons from Africa: 20 Years of UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Policy. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2022. https://doi.org/10.37805/sfi2022.1. 
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28 June 2022 / Donald Holbrook, James Hopkins, & Graham Macklin
Violence, Risk, & Rightwing Extremism: Temporal, Perpetrator, Geographical, & Victim Patterns in Western & Central Europe
Right Wing Extremism (RWE) is recognized as a growing threat across the globe. However, it is not a homogenous entity. There is broad consensus in the literature that RWE incorporates such a complex web of movements and ideological currents that any accurate assessment of threat or resource prioritization is hard to achieve. This report examines patterns of RWE violence within Western and Central Europe to tease out different manifestations of the threat, in particular as regards temporal, perpetrator, geographical and victim patterns. Our aim is to help practitioners, policymakers and other stakeholders understand that RWE is not a one-size-fits-all problem; that responses need to be tailored; that geographic differences persist; and that while networks and groups may constitute the most visible components of the threat, they may not be the most violent.   Suggested citation:  Holbrook, Donald, James Hopkins, and Graham Macklin. Violence, Risk, & Rightwing Extremism: Temporal, Perpetrator, Geographical, & Victim Patterns in Western & Central Europe. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2022. https://doi.org/10.37805/remve2022.4.
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21 June 2022 / Arsène Brice Bado & Brandon Kendhammer
Women, CBAGs, and the Politics of Security Supply & Demand in Côte d’Ivoire
This study explores the drivers of participation and the roles women play within their communities in participating both formally and informally in community-based security groups. It seeks to understand how women are involved in community-based security groups by investigating and illustrating, among other things, their motivations and roles, the context, and the dynamics that underpin their participation in both the supply side and demand side of security provision. Based on extensive field research and an original dataset of interviews with a wide range of informal security actors, this research report offers two key findings to inform the work of policymakers and practitioners interested in security provision and peacebuilding.  First, while women continue to engage directly and indirectly with community-based armed and informal security groups with a wide range of motivations, their overall place in the landscape of these groups is in flux, and those who participate bear social costs for doing so. Second, women’s influence in shaping the trajectory of community-based armed and security proving groups extends not just to their roles as suppliers of security (or insecurity, in the case of some groups), but as demanders of security. These complex dynamics point to the fact that women’s roles as participants, organizers, and mobilizers/legitimizers in CBAGs in ostensibly post-conflict settings like Côte d’Ivoire are no less complex than in overt conflict settings.   Suggested citation:  Bado, Arsène Brice, and Brandon Kendhammer. Women, CBAGs, and the Politics of Security Supply & Demand in Côte d’Ivoire. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2022. https://doi.org/10.37805/cbags2022.1. 
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14 June 2022 / Donald Holbrook and Graham Macklin
Deconstructing Rightwing Extremism: Conceptual Variance and Attitudes Towards Islam
The purpose of this report is to map, conceptually and empirically, the diverse elements that constitute rightwing extremism. The aim is to offer readers a guide to this complexity and an appreciation for the numerous ideas, actors, and outcomes associated with RWE. The report is divided into two parts. The first focuses on the conceptual issues associated with RWE while the second explores how this complexity plays out in practice by examining various ways in which RWE has framed and reacted to Islam. This case study was selected as it illustrates the intricacies of varied and evolving RWE responses and because Islam and Muslims are often a major target of RWE violence and hostility. In Part 1 we caution against describing RWE as a single movement or an ideology given that those associated with RWE, overall, lack the common bonds that bind members of a movement together. We explore the substance of this complexity and summarize the key features on a schema focusing on actors, ideas, and outcomes associated with RWE. In Part 2 we illustrate, with reference to this conceptual complexity, how a plethora of mainly European RWE approaches to Islam underscores the pluralism of ideas and interpretations within RWE. This ideological plurality steers its proponents in divergent directions and results in varied outcomes. Not only do right-wing extremists, including those inspired by white supremacism, nationalism, and cultural nativism, adopt divergent positions on the issue, their approach ranges widely from co-optation and inspiration to non-engagement and outright hostility. These divergent positions, in turn, differ depending on local contexts, frames of reference, core beliefs, and individuals’ interpretations of each of these factors. This heterogeneity has important implications for practitioners, policymakers and those who study RWE movements. Importantly, perceptions of threat are not constant or consistent across RWE movements. Varied threat perceptions can, in turn, produce different types of violence and extremism, with a diverse and inconsistent list of potential targets for violent acts, potential allies, and perceived constituents among RWE actors.   Suggested citation:  Holbrook, Donald, and Graham Macklin. Deconstructing Rightwing Extremism: Conceptual Variance and Attitudes Towards Islam. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2022. https://doi.org/10.37805/remve2022.3.

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