1. Introduction
The PAVE (Preventing and Addressing Violent Extremism through Community Resilience in the Western Balkans and MENA) project addresses the issue of radicalization and violent extremism by focusing on the twin factors of community vulnerability and resilience.
The PAVE project applied an interdisciplinary, participatory and interregional approach whose main objective was to advance evidence-based knowledge on violent extremism in the MENA region and the Western Balkans and to strengthen the capacity of policy makers and community leaders to effectively prevent violent extremism. . PAVE conducted comprehensive fieldwork and in-depth case studies in four Balkan countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia) and three MENA countries (Tunisia, Lebanon and Iraq). The project uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Although quantitative research is still ongoing, this report is based on qualitative research: 278 interviews and 17 focus groups conducted in 16 field sites in seven countries, involving local communities, government officials, religious leaders, NGOs and other civil society actors. Additionally, stakeholder meetings were held at all research sites. Discourse analysis and archival research were also carried out.
PAVE focused on four thematic areas: a) cumulative extremisms (the interface between religious, political and ethnic/sectarian extremisms); b) the interaction between religious and state institutions and actors, c) online and offline narratives and deradicalization; and d) transnational interactions, including impact on and from Europe. PAVE produced a theoretical framework document, seven national reports, five working papers and three synthesis reports based on the research findings.1 This report is an amalgamation of all these documents. While our publications to date present a detailed analysis of all countries studied across the four themes covered in PAVE, the aim of this report is to provide an overview of our findings in the area of radicalization and violent extremism.
The sections of the report present the messages we wish to communicate about our overall research findings. The report begins with a discussion of the legacy of intrastate violence and what this means for studies of radicalization and violent extremism. We argue that there is a distinct trajectory in post-conflict societies that produces unique forms of radicalization and violent extremism – such as ethnopolitical and ethno-religious. Although this pathway may differ from context to context, it is always present.
This includes the failure of reconciliation and resulting polarization, and this leads to a cycle of violence. The model for understanding radicalization and extremism in post-conflict societies therefore differs considerably from other pre-existing models.
The following sections describe the elements we identified in PAVE that contribute to this trajectory: a) state structures, b) education, c) religious leaders, d) media, e) diaspora communities and f) gender.
Based on the empirical findings, the final section argues that vulnerability and resilience are often two sides of the same coin and that further research should therefore move away from a dichotomous understanding of vulnerability and resilience.