Preventing Violent Extremism in the Balkans and the MENA: Strengthening Resilience in Enabling Environments (PREVEX)
Why are some communities more likely to experience violent extremism than others? This is a core question for the PREVEX project coordinated by the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), with 14 international partners.
The EU has revised its counter-terrorism policies several times since 2001, the destructive impact of violent extremism continues to take its toll, generating negative shocks across international borders. The overarching objective of PREVEX is, therefore, to put forward more fine-tuned and effective approaches to preventing violent extremism, through strengthening societal resilience.
Focusing on the broader MENA region and the Balkans, context-sensitive, in-depth case studies of the occurrence and non-occurrence of violent extremism will be carried out and brought together in a regional comparison. Particular emphasis will be placed on how to strengthen resilience through investigating non-occurrence of violent extremism in ‘enabling environments’.
The Enabling Environment Model
PREVEX employs a bottom-up approach to local–global dynamics combined with an institutionalist analysis of the responses of the EU, member states and Third Countries. The project consists of a carefully assembled team of area and subject experts, representing both EU member states and the regions analysed. PREVEX utilises an inter-disciplinary approach informed by mixed-methods. The project is therefore ideally positioned to ensure mutual learning between and within the EU, the Balkans and the broader MENA region. Hence, PREVEX will contribute to more effective policies that prevents violent extremism through strengthening societal resilience.
The case countries
The Balkans
Albania
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo
Montenegro
North Macedonia
Serbia
North Africa and the Sahel
Algeria
Libya
Mali
Morocco
Niger
Tunisia
The Middle East
Egypt
Iraq
Jordan
Saudi Arabia
Syria
United Arab Emirates