Material grievances - in particular high youth unemployment - are a far greater breeding ground for extremism than religious or political beliefs. This is the conclusion of a large-scale international study involving the Research Centre Global Dynamics at Leipzig University: researchers have examined local and structural factors that promote extremist radicalization in 17 countries in the Balkans, the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel region. The researchers from the European research network "Strengthening Resilience in Enabling Environments" (PREVEX) also identified preventive forces in the communities that counteract budding extremism. The key findings have just been published in the open access book "Resisting Radicalization. Exploring the Nonoccurrence of Violent Extremism".
In their studies from 2020 to 2023 in 17 countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia; Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt; Mali, Niger; Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates), the researchers found that trust in local control authorities and social cohesion play a decisive role in preventing extremist developments. Western military interventions and interventions in sovereign regional structures, on the other hand, often had a counterproductive effect and could even contribute to a strengthening of the extremist discourse.
Creating economic incentives for the future
"The project has taught us a lot about the role of socio-economic factors that can either encourage radicalization or help to contain it. Where it is possible to create prospects - whether through state structures, EU funding programs or other international actors - economic incentives for the future are created," says Gilad Ben-Nun from the Global and European Studies Institute at Leipzig University, who is co-editor of the open access publication. These could be jobs, infrastructure projects or extensive investments. This would give people a perspective instead of slipping into the feeling of having nothing left to lose. This, in turn, could be exacerbated by extremist influences, such as Islamist violence. According to the researchers, further training for teachers, social workers and local security forces also helps to identify threats in good time.
Together with 14 European partner institutions and the coordinating Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), researchers from the Research Centre Global Dynamics at Leipzig University, which played a leading role in the project, conducted quantitative surveys as well as qualitative interviews and discussions with focus groups in the respective countries. In addition to representatives of local administrations, religious authorities and security agencies, the main respondents were people living in communities perceived to be "at risk of radicalization". Local religious leaders such as imams or traditional dignitaries were actively involved in the research, as they enjoy trust in the community and are quicker to recognize "extremist" influences. This made it possible to gain in-depth insights into local living conditions, perspectives and resistance strategies. On-site observations also contributed to the knowledge gained. Local researchers were also directly involved in each country. Funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 funding program, the researchers were able to gain a deep insight into regional characteristics through close cooperation with local actors and mixed research teams.
University researchers contribute their regional expertise
"From Leipzig University’s point of view, participating in the PREVEX project was important because we were able to expand our international cooperation network with good partner institutes and outstanding colleagues. We were also able to contribute our own regional expertise on the Balkans, the Middle East and North Africa as well as Africa," says Ulf Engel from the Institute of African Studies at Leipzig University and co-editor of the publication. Alongside him and Ben-Nun, Dr. Kari Osland and Morten Bøås from NUPI are also among the editors of the open access book.
The authors emphasize that future measures should primarily aim to address structural and economic causes and strengthen trust in locally anchored institutions. Particularly when dealing with Muslim societies, cooperation with recognized religious authorities is of central importance in order to develop sustainable solutions.
Original publication:
"Resisting Radicalization: Exploring the Nonoccurrence of Violent Extremism"; Morten Bøås, Gilad Ben-Nun, Ulf Engel, Kari Osland; published by Lynne Rienner Publishers
