Understanding – and preventing – violent extremism and radicalisation
From far-right violence to jihadist terrorism, extremism, radicalisation and polarisation are frequent topics of discussion in modern society. The decline of society as a place of institutional integration, social participation and a source of morality generates self-victimisation, marginalisation, anomia and unhappiness: the effort by some to disconnect from this reality leads them to try to re-build their subjectivity via violent extremism. “Quite different forms of far right extremism are having an impact in Europe and along its borders,” says Francesco Antonelli, a professor of sociology at Roma Tre University, Political Science Department. “Far right violence which emerged in violent football ‘ultra’ groups that in some cases mutated into militias, far right cultures across gamer platforms, and jihadist violence that remains a threat – these are just a few examples of the extremism that permeates our everyday lives.” How do we mitigate the spread of extremism and prevent it from escalating into violence? According to the EU-funded PARTICIPATION project, it all starts with implementing more effective social and education policies and interventions. After 2001, the massive return of terrorism in our societies has determined, among other things, an increasing divide between political élites and experts engaged to understand and tackle violent radicalisation, homegrown terrorism and extremism. This discord also extends to civil society, usually a prisoner of fear and sometimes seen as part of the problem rather than the solution: “Stopping extremism must start from the assumption that it has to be fought through a broad mobilisation of civil society – an alliance between science, academia and society,” adds Antonelli, who coordinated the project.
A bottom-up approach to stopping extremism and radicalisation
The PARTICIPATION project is unique in that it takes a holistic, bottom-up approach to stopping extremism and radicalisation. “This approach allows us to capture and explore contemporary experiences of extremism and radicalisation and propose concrete actions, policies and digital tools that will empower policymakers and practitioners to respond to a changing reality,” explains Antonelli. To start with, researchers conducted an in-depth analysis of what drives extremism and radical ideologies. Based on these findings, they then looked at possible communication and education-based countermeasures. These include a number of ICT tools and handbooks for teachers. Next, the team turned to developing policies, methodological tools, a set of early warning signs, skills and knowledge that could be used to tackle radicalisation. Finally, the project shared their proposed solutions with civil society actors, practitioners and decision makers.
Empowering society against extremism
Radicalisation is a process whereas extremism refers to a person’s beliefs. One of the most important outcomes of the project is an innovative methodology for analysing violent radicalisation. The method, which has been fully tested and validated, uses a combination of participatory approaches like a social lab and traditional research tools such as surveys. “What makes this strategy so unique is that it cast people – those who are most often the victims of such extremism – as the main protagonist for preventing violent radicalisation,” remarks Antonelli. “Instead of driving the conversation, decision makers take a supporting role, developing policies geared towards empowering society against extremism.”
A blueprint for holistically addressing violent radicalisation
Thanks in part to this methodology, the PARTICIPATION project has developed a blueprint for not only understanding the root causes of violent radicalisation in Europe but taking a society-centric approach to addressing those causes. By involving decision makers, along with civil society, marginalised minorities, scientific communities and academia, the project believes it can help make democratic societies more robust in facing the threat of extremism and polarisation. “We demonstrated that it is possible and necessary to contrast violent extremism, as well as the authoritarian regimes threatening some European countries, with an improvement in the quality of democracy and the reconstruction of the alliance between social sciences and civil society,” concludes Antonelli. To further strengthen this connection, the project team is now looking at how they can add co-creation to the PARTICIPATION methodology. Researchers have also made the project’s results available via the First Line Practitioners platform.
Keywords
PARTICIPATION, violent extremism, radicalisation, polarisation, far right, jihadist terrorism, civil society, democracy