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  • article

    16 September 2021 / Ryan Scrivens, Steven M. Chermak, Joshua D. Freilich, Thomas W. Wojciechowski, and Richard Frank

    Detecting Extremists Online: Examining Online Posting Behaviors of Violent and Non-Violent Right-Wing Extremists
    Like most of us, violent extremists often leave a digital footprint behind. Researchers, practitioners, and policymakers raise questions about whether violent individuals can be identified online prior to their attacks offline based on their online posting behaviors. Despite ongoing concerns, few empirically grounded analyses have identified which online users have engaged in violent extremism offline and then assessed their digital footprints, and fewer analyses have identified differences in posting behaviors of those who share extreme ideological beliefs but are violent or non-violent in the offline world. This policy note highlights the importance of both identifying and examining the online behaviors of violent and non-violent extremists in preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) and provides researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with a number of recommendations for detecting and analyzing the online behaviors of violent and non-violent extremists in the future.    Suggested citation: Scrivens, Ryan, Steven M. Chermak, Joshua D. Freilich, Thomas W. Wojciechowski, and Richard Frank. Detecting Extremists Online: Examining Online Posting Behaviors of Violent and Non-Violent Right-Wing Extremists. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2021. https://doi.org/10.37805/pn2021.21.remve.
  • article

    15 September 2021 / Eric Rosand

    20 Years After 9/11: Why Cities Matter More Than Ever When It Comes to Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism
    With the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks upon us, there is no shortage of reflections on two decades of global counterterrorism practice. Much of the commentary is focusing on the situation in Afghanistan and the Taliban's return to power. While understandable, this potentially obscures some of the important developments that have taken place during the period, including those related to our understanding of the threat and how best to counter and prevent it. Three important ones point to the growing relevance of cities in preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE).     Suggested citation: Rosan, Eric. 20 Years After 9/11: Why Cities Matter More Than Ever When It Comes to Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2021. https://doi.org/10.37805/pn2021.20.
  • article

    24 August 2021 / Lydie C. Belporo

    Building Peace through DDR Programs: Lessons from Reintegrating Boko Haram Ex-Recruits in Cameroon
    In the countries of the Lake Chad Basin, Boko Haram’s emergence has created major new security challenges for the region’s governments. Cameroon’s Far North region, the most populous in the country, is at the heart of these security issues. Since late 2020, Boko Haram has intensified attacks in Far North localities with assassinations targeting civilians, kidnappings, and looting in small towns along the Nigerian border. In response, the Cameroonian government has pursued a hardline strategy and militarized the affected localities. In addition to arbitrary arrests, prolonged pre-trial detention, prison overcrowding, and the death penalty are all sources of concern. This policy note outlines core findings from a case study of the Boko Haram ex-associates reintegration process in Cameroon. The note examines how existing community norms or mechanisms might be as useful as more standard approaches to disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) in addressing challenges presented by Boko Haram ex-associates in Cameroon.   Suggested citation: Belporo, Lydie C. Building Peace through DDR Programs: Lessons from Reintegrating Boko Haram Ex-Recruits in Cameroon. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2021. https://doi.org/10.37805/pn2021.19.lpbi.
  • article

    18 August 2021 / John Horgan

    Deradicalization Programs: Recommendations for Policy and Practice
    Involvement in violent extremism is not a one-way street. People can, and do, leave violent extremist movements. Understanding how and why they leave (or want to leave) constitutes actionable knowledge that brings immense practical benefits. Such knowledge may help in designing initiatives aimed at persuading people to leave violent extremist groups as well as reducing the risk of re-engagement in violent extremism in the future. Deradicalization programs have much to offer but they are not a magic solution to a highly complex, fluid problem. Not everyone who engages in violent extremism is necessarily going to benefit from such interventions, and no program can ever expect to produce complete success. Yet, they continue to show promise. Deradicalization programs can be effective for some and, if subjected to greater evaluation efforts, may prove far more beneficial than is currently believed. Despite an abundance (and apparent increase) in programming, a continued lack of evaluation work both fuels skepticism and hinders our ability to believe that there is a strong future for these programs.   Suggested citation: Horgan, John. Deradicalization Programs: Recommendations for Policy and Practice. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2021. https://doi.org/10.37805/pn2021.18.vedr.
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  • Policy Notes
    Maryam Rokhideh
    |
    01 July 2021
    Leveraging the Peacebuilding Potential of Cross-border Trader Networks in Sub-Sa...
    Cross-border trade plays a prominent role in economic, social, and political life in Sub-Saharan Africa, contributing significantly to development, poverty reduction, and job creation. Across the continent, cross-border trade accounts for 43 percent of the entire population’s income. As actors embedded in licit and illicit networks at local and regional levels, cross-border traders have the potential to fuel conflict or mitigate it. They can act as spoilers, supporting armed groups and war economies, or as peace intermediaries, negotiating peace deals and bridging conflict divides across communities. Given that most armed conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa are shaped by cross-border dynamics, cross-border traders present an underexamined yet critical point of entry for analyzing and addressing conflicts and should be included in new and ongoing peacebuilding programming. This policy note provides recommendations on how policymakers can leverage the untapped peacebuilding potential of cross-border traders and decrease their spoiling power.   Suggested citation: Rokhideh, Maryam. Leveraging the Peacebuilding Potential of Cross-border Trader Networks in Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2021. https://doi.org/10.37805/pn2021.17.lpbi.
              
  • Policy Notes
    Michael Niconchuk
    |
    15 June 2021
    Whose Vulnerability? Trauma Recovery in the Reintegration of Former Violent Extr...
    Violent extremism has a trauma problem. Psychological trauma plays a role in the genesis, perpetration, and resolution of violent extremism. Despite evidence attesting to the positive effects of trauma-informed rehabilitation programs and trauma recovery support for armed combatants and criminal offenders, there has been limited donor interest or coordinated policy effort to meaningfully integrate trauma recovery into the design of rehabilitation and reintegration of violent extremists specifically. Research in global mental health confirms trauma is not only relevant to the emergence of violent extremism but is also a consequence of participation in violent extremism. While there is a general dearth of data on the psychobiological markers of trauma among extremist populations specifically, the limited data we have from child recruits, as well as from other conflict-affected populations calls for a more prominent role of psychological rehabilitation and trauma recovery in the reintegration of violent extremists.   Suggested citation: Niconchuk, Michael. Whose Vulnerability? Trauma Recovery in the Reintegration of Former Violent Extremists. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2021. https://doi.org/10.37805/pn2021.16.vedr.
              
  • Research Report
    Mary Beth Altier
    |
    22 March 2021
    Violent Extremist Disengagement and Reintegration: Lessons from Over 30 Years of...
    Recent questions surrounding the repatriation, rehabilitation, and reintegration of those who traveled to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the reintegration of violent extremists in conflict zones including Somalia, Nigeria, Libya, and Mali, and the impending release of scores of homegrown violent extremists from prisons in the United States and Europe have heightened policymaker and practitioner interest in violent extremist disengagement and reintegration (VEDR). Although a number of programs to reintegrate violent extremists have emerged both within and outside of conflict zones, significant questions remain regarding their design, implementation, and effectiveness. To advance our understanding of VEDR, this report draws insights from a review of the literature on ex-combatant disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR). The literature on DDR typically adopts a “whole of society” approach, which helps us to understand how systemic factors may influence VEDR at the individual level and outcomes at the societal level. Despite the important differences that will be reviewed, the international community’s thirty-year experience with DDR—which includes working with violent extremists—offers important insights for our understanding of VEDR.   Suggested citation: Altier, Mary Beth. Violent Extremist Disengagement and Reintegration: Lessons from Over 30 Years of DDR. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2021. https://doi.org/10.37805/vedr2021.1.
              

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