On May 11 2016, Dr. Sara Silvestri (City University London), Andrew Glazzard and Martine Zeuthen (RUSI) discussed issues raised in their reading packs on religion and conflict and violent extremism. An audio-only version is available below.
Radicalisation & violent extremism
Violent extremism
‘Violent extremism’ is rarely defined: neither the United Nations nor the European Union has an official definition. USAID defines it as “advocating, engaging in, preparing, or otherwise supporting ideologically motivated or justified violence to further social, economic or political objectives”. However, this apparently simple and obvious statement conceals a great deal of controversy and uncertainty….» more
Extremist radicalisation towards non-state political violence in Jordan
Within available evidence, there are a number of knowledge gaps on issues, social structures (such as gender), and geographic areas. To reflect this state of knowledge and to be precise about the sources of specific findings, this report presents references in the form of an annotated bibliography. Key findings and themes include: There has been little non-state ...» more
Islamist radicalisation and terrorism in Tanzania
The literature generally emphasises that while relations between Christian and Muslim groups are increasingly tense, there is evidence that Tanzania is not ‘a battleground for conflicting civilisations’ (Heilman & Kaiser 2002, p. 692). Many argue that while a number of identity groups (political, religious, ethnic) have served as the basis for political organisation and ...» more
Role of development assistance in countering extremism and terrorism
The relationship between development assistance and security has attracted particular attention since the post-2001 ‘global war on terror’. Heightened international concern about religious extremism has placed the development-security nexus into a renewed focus, with increasing recognition of the links between development, governance, and terrorist threat. Drawing from the ...» more