This Topic Guide introduces conceptual and practical approaches to violent extremism in different contexts, setting out what we know from the literature (English and Arabic). ...» more
Gender norms in the Western Balkans
The Western Balkans remains a region dominated by patriarchal gender norms. The biggest challenge for improving gender equality is changing the mentality of women and men towards traditional gender roles (Petričević, 2012). The literature consistently identifies social attitudes as a barrier to increasing gender equality. Many people are not aware of women’s rights or gender ...» more
Gender and conflict in the Western Balkans
Ethnic wars in the Western Balkans had a parallel in ‘gender wars’ – and both were instrumental in fostering competitive, conflictual and antagonistic perspectives of social relations (Hughson, 2012). This report provides a brief summary of gender relations and (in)equalities in the Western Balkans, in particular, how they have been influenced by the violent conflicts following ...» more
Integrating special-status territories into national political structures
This rapid literature review has searched for experiences of areas or regions that have gone from having a form of special status governance to integration into a national political, legal and administrative system. The focus was on identifying cases similar to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in Pakistan, and the Government of Pakistan’s proposed reforms to this ...» more
Economic drivers of conflict in the Western Balkans
This report looks at each of the six Western Balkans countries listed above, identifies the key economic challenges they face and assesses whether any of these are, or have the potential to become, drivers of conflict. The literature reviewed largely comprised reports from international development/finance organisations, notably the World Bank, IMF and European Commission, as ...» more