While the phenomenon of violent extremism has received increased attention from the research community within and beyond the EU, preventive strategies have been neglected as an object of study. When it comes to examining the various ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors of radicalisation and violent extremism, scholars have predominantly adopted a macro-level perspective (e.g. structural drivers) or a micro-level perspective (e.g. profiling radicalised individuals). There is, however, a significant knowledge gap regarding the impact of socio-political interactions at the meso-level, which PAVE has addressed.
Through the three-year research project, the PAVE consortium has explored ethno-political, sectarian and religiously-inspired manifestations of radicalisation and violent extremism. PAVE’s cross-country comparisons within and between the Western Balkans and the MENA revealed common trends as well as context specificities. While religion remains an important identity marker, and a mobilisation factor for violent extremist groups in all countries under study, P/CVE programs insufficiently address other manifestations of violent extremism, such as sectarian politics in Lebanon and Iraq, and far-right or ethno-political groups in the Western Balkans (e.g. football hooligans, foreign fighters in Ukraine). The driving factors of vulnerability within local communities were found to be remarkably similar across the cases and regions, such as unresolved legacies of violence and war, an unregulated online media environment, social and geographic disparity/inequality, dysfunctional power-sharing system, a lack of quality/inclusive education impeding crucial thinking, and mistrusted religious institutions.
PAVE research also uncovered a number of common factors of social resilience against the drivers and manifestations of violent extremism. Especially, in both regions under study, the project identified various agents of resilience, vested with influence and legitimacy, and situated at the intersection between the state, formal and informal religious institutions, and civil society – including traditional and social media. Other common factors of resilience include sustained inter-sector and inter-faith collaboration at the national and local (municipal) levels, initiatives for media literacy as well as civic and religious education, conflict-sensitive and gender-inclusive programming.
The PAVE research has been impactful thanks to the participatory approach of the project (i.e. collaboration and partnership with research and practice-oriented organisations in most countries under study), the wide dissemination of findings and recommendations in multiple languages, the development of hands-on policy tools, guidelines and training material, and the organisation of numerous dissemination events in the EU and in neighbourhood countries. This approach has supported mutual learning and policy uptake of the results among various stakeholders, including community leaders (such as religious leaders, mayors, educators, media outlets, civil society organisations, women and youth), policy-makers and the wider public in the EU, MENA and Western Balkans.
