The Resolve Network

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13 December 2021 / Samuel Henkin
Dynamic Dimensions of Radicalization and Violent Extremism in Sabah, Malaysia
Malaysia offers a unique lens to evaluate the changing dynamics of radicalization and extremism in Southeast Asia, as the threat of both home-grown and external extremism grows. The country’s geographic location, bordering multiple active centers of violent extremism (the southern Philippines, southern Thailand, and Indonesia), makes it particularly vulnerable to further threats from violent extremism and terrorism, as regional and local violent extremist organizations (VEOs) exploit Malaysian geohistorical contexts and growing grievances related to social and political instability.  Threats and risks of violent extremism are especially pronounced and manifest with severe consequences in the Malaysian state of Sabah.  This policy note advances a granular review of the dynamics underlying radicalization risk in Sabah, Malaysia, in order to extrapolate an analysis of emerging areas of threat and risk of violent extremism facing Southeast Asia. It offers an opportunity to better understand current and future threats and risks of violent extremism facing Southeast Asia and identifies important trends and recommendations for policymakers and practitioners in mitigating the spread of violent extremism and radicalization to violence in Sabah. The policy note also considers how building local preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) capacity can mitigate Malaysia’s role as a staging area, transit hub, and conduit for the transportation of weapons, operatives, finances, and supporters to other regional and global terrorist organizations.    Suggested citation:  Henkin, Samuel. Dynamic Dimensions of Radicalization and Violent Extremism in Sabah, Malaysia. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2021. https://doi.org/10.37805/pn2021.25.sea. 
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10 December 2021 / Jason M. Blazakis and Colin P. Clarke
From Paramilitaries to Parliamentarians: Disaggregating Radical Right Wing Extremist Movements
The global far right is extremely broad in nature and far from monolithic. While the “far right” is often used as an umbrella term, using the term runs the risk of over-simplifying the differences and linkages between white supremacist, anti-immigration, nativist, and other motivating ideologies. These beliefs and political platforms fall within the far-right rubric, and too often the phrase presents a more unified image of the phenomena than is really the case. In truth, the “far right” and the individual movements that comprise it are fragmented, consisting of a number of groups that lack established leadership and cohesion. Indeed, these movements include chauvinist religious organizations, neo-fascist street gangs, and paramilitary organs of established political parties. Although such movements largely lack the mass appeal of the interwar European radical right-wing extreme, they nevertheless can inspire both premeditated and spontaneous acts of violence against perceived enemies. This report is intended to provide policymakers, practitioners, and the academic community with a roadmap of ongoing shifts in the organizational structures and ideological currents of radical right-wing extremist movements, detailing the difference between distinct, yet often connected and interlaced echelons of the far right. In particular, the report identifies and analyzes various aspects of the broader far right and the assorted grievances it leverages to recruit, which is critical to gaining a more nuanced understanding of the potential future trajectory of these movements.   Suggested citation:  Blazakis, Jason M., and Colin P. Clarke. From Paramilitaries to Parliamentarians: Disaggregating Radical Right Wing Extremist Movements. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2021. https://doi.org/10.37805/remve2021.2. 
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29 November 2021 / Rida Lyammouri
Central Mali: Armed Community Mobilization in Crisis
The proliferation of community-based armed groups (CBAGs) in Mali’s Mopti and Ségou Regions has contributed to transforming Central Mali into a regional epicenter of conflict since 2016. Due to the lack of adequate presence of the state, certain vulnerable, conflict-affected communities resorted to embracing non-state armed groups as security umbrellas in the context of inter-communal violence. These local conflicts are the result of long-standing issues over increasing pressure on natural resources, climate shocks, competing economic lifestyles, nepotistic and exclusionary resource management practices, and the shifting representations of a segregated, historically constructed sense of ethnic identities in the region.  This report untangles the legitimacy of armed groups, mobilizing factors, and the multi-level impact of violence implicating CBAGs. It further explores the relations amongst different actors, including the state, armed groups, and communities. The findings provide relevant insight for context-specific policy design toward conflict resolution and hybrid security governance.     Suggested citation:  Lyammouri, Rida. Central Mali: Armed Community Mobilization in Crisis. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2021. https://doi.org/10.37805/cbags2021.4. 
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Security Dilemmas in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of Community-Based Armed Groups
Community-based armed groups in Sub-Saharan Africa tend to emerge where official security actors lack reach, resources or trust from the public. Often formed along socioeconomic, ethnic or political lines, these groups depend on popular support and often cooperate with state security forces or other armed groups, presenting a complex challenge to communities, governments and development practitioners. With escalating conflicts across the continent, we need to better understand how community-based armed groups impact the wider conflict ecosystems in Sub-Saharan Africa: Are they part of the problem or the solution? And could hybrid security — where non-state actors co-produce justice and security — be a viable alternative to state governance?  Since 2018, the RESOLVE Network has been researching the complex interactions between armed groups, civilians, state actors and international security — with particular attention to discerning women’s roles, agency and choices in conflict. Join USIP and the RESOLVE Network for a virtual conversation that’s part of the sixth annual RESOLVE Global Forum Series. The discussion will examine community-driven security and the role of local armed groups in conflict ecosystems, as well as look at women’s contributions to formal and informal community-based security, conflict resolution, governance and rule of law mechanisms. Speakers Dr. Alastair Reed, welcoming remarks Senior Expert and Executive Director, RESOLVE Network Dr. Lauren Van Metre, moderator  Senior Advisor, Peace and Security, National Democratic Institute Dr. Jakana Thomas Associate Professor, School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California San Diego Rida Lyammouri Associate Fellow, Clingendael Institute; Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South    REGISTER HERE   For more on the RESOLVE Global Forum Series, follow us on Twitter at @resolvenet, and join the conversation with #RESOLVEForum. 2021 Global Forum: Racially and Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremism (REMVE)  2020 Global Forum: Violent Extremism in 2020 and Beyond 2019 Global Forum: Resetting Priorities to Address Violent Extremist Threats 2018 Global Forum: Innovative Approaches to Understanding Violent Extremism 2017 Global Forum: Confronting the Next Wave of Violent Extremism 2016 Global Forum: Violent Extremism: Setting Priorities for Research RESOLVE Network/ Better Research. Informed Practice. Improved Policy on Violent Extremism. 

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Research Report

William Maley

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17 December 2021

Research as an Outsider: Positionality, Ethics, and Risk
Outsiders—or “foreigners”—who study violent extremism in affected countries can have multiple identities as students of violent extremism, as students of the countries in question, and as “foreigners” to the contexts they study. They often have long-standing personal relationships with local community members and in some cases they have spent more time living in the countries they study than in their countries of nationality. Yet they inhabit an ambiguous space, being “insiders” in the eyes of some, and “outsiders” in the eyes of others. This ambiguity gives rise to both practical and ethical challenges in undertaking fieldwork. The following reflections draw on the author’s own experiences to illustrate some of the complexities associated with positionality, ethics, and risk as well as important considerations that all researchers should take into account when undertaking fieldwork in a country other than their own.   Suggested citation:  Maley, William. Research as an Outsider: Positionality, Ethics, and Risk. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2021. https://doi.org/10.37805/rve2021.7. 
Research Report

Marina Lažetić

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01 November 2021

Migration, Extremism, & Dangerous Blame Games: Developments & Dynamics in Serbia
The rapid arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants into the European Union (EU) from the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa beginning in 2015 coincided with an increase in support for anti-immigrant rhetoric and the far-right in many European countries. A substantial number of these migrants came to the EU through what became known as the “Balkan Route” a major transit land route cutting through the Western Balkans. In 2016, however, the Route officially “closed,” leaving many of those people attempting to reach Europe effectively stranded within the Balkans. In 2020, for example, approximately 7,000 migrants and refugees were present within the borders of Serbia at any given time. This presence of migrants within the Balkans did not go unnoticed and, in some cases, even spurred increased activity within and mobilization among far-right actors opposed to their presence in the region. Exploring this phenomenon, this report focuses on dynamics surrounding migration and responses to it from the far-right in Serbia, one of the countries on the Balkan Route.   Suggested citation:  Lažetić, Marina. Migration, Extremism, & Dangerous Blame Games: Developments & Dynamics in Serbia. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2021. https://doi.org/10.37805/wb2021.1.   Updated November 3, 2021
Policy Notes

Emmaculate Asige Liaga

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26 October 2021

Towards Local Approaches and Inclusive Peacebuilding in South Sudan
The post-liberation peacebuilding in South Sudan, which largely drew from liberal peace theory, was employed between 2005 (after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and before the referendum, secession, and independence in 2011) and December 2013 (when it imploded into a civil conflict) and proved insufficient to sustain the fragile peace that briefly existed after the country’s secession from Sudan. After a protracted conflict lasting almost half a decade and the presence of multiple peace actors, the lack of a comprehensive and coordinated peacebuilding strategy proved detrimental. This failure is partly due to poor coordination between stakeholders and lack of local/domestic legitimacy, leading to insufficient peacebuilding and an aggravation of the 2013 conflict.   Over the years, liberal peacebuilding strategies, which emphasize formal institution-building and statebuilding in fragile and conflict-affected environments, continue to produce mixed to poor results and fragile peace. This decline has resulted in the shifting of discourses and operations within peacebuilding, a paradigm shift that pays greater attention to localization and the local context in the conceptualization of peacebuilding objectives and strategies. This transformation promotes local ownership and inclusivity in peace processes and their dividends. The dialogue on inclusive peace has thus gained momentum, bearing a need to fully engage both states and societies in this process. The “local” in peacebuilding forms an important resource when solving root causes of conflicts, as in South Sudan, by improving awareness of the cultural and historical diversity in a given context.     Suggested citation:  Liaga, Emmaculate Asige. Towards Local Approaches and Inclusive Peacebuilding in South Sudan. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2021. https://doi.org/10.37805/pn2021.23.lpbi.

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