Forum on Violent Extremism
On September 18, policymakers and experts on violent extremism gathered at the U.S. Institute of Peace for the annual RESOLVE Global Forum. They discussed a new wave of research on the complex and diverse reasons – from ideology to highly localized grievances – that drive people to join terrorist groups. Scholars also highlighted successful cases of terrorist rehabilitation.
The RESOLVE Network is a global consortium of researchers, research organizations, policymakers and practitioners committed to empirically driven, locally defined research on the drivers of violent extremism and sources of community resilience. The U.S. Institute of Peace hosts the RESOLVE Network Secretariat. The following are presentations and discussions from the 2019 forum.
J.M. Berger, a research fellow with VOX-Pol and a PhD candidate at Swansea University's School of Law, discussed the need to focus on extremism more broadly – not just violent extremism – in a discussion with Michael Singh, a senior fellow and managing director at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “Movements can go back and forth between violent and non-violent modes,” Berger warned. He also noted the limits of testing CVE programs due to a lack of standard metrics. Berger argued that a successful CVE strategy will manage the problem but not completely solve it. “We’ve had extremism, always, throughout human history.”
William Braniff, director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland, discussed "Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) as a Grand Strategic Response to Terrorism."
Denise Natali, assistant secretary of the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations of the U.S. Department of State, provided an update on the Trump administration’s counterterrorism strategy, including non-military means. She highlighted prevention efforts, partnerships and targeted programs.
Nafees Hamid, a research fellow with Artis International, discussed "Neuroscience and Countering Violent Extremism."
John Horgan, distinguished university professor at Georgia State University, discussed "The Psychology of Terrorism."
Click here for more information about the RESOLVE Network.
Click here for information about the U.S. Institute of Peace.
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