HOW TO PREVENT VIOLENT EXTREMISM? PREVEX will contribute to more effective policies that prevents violent extremism through strengthening societal resilience.

Photograph: NTB Scanpix

Preventing Violent Extremism in the Balkans and the MENA: Strengthening Resilience in Enabling Environments (PREVEX)

2019 - 2022 (Ongoing)
Research project
The overarching objective of PREVEX is to put forward more fine-tuned and effective approaches to preventing violent extremism.

Despite the EU having 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.

  • For more information about PREVEX, visit the project's website: PREVEX-Project

The overarching objective of PREVEX is, therefore, to put forward more fine-tuned and effective approaches to preventing violent extremism. 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 then brought together in a regional comparison. In doing so, PREVEX will seek to improve the understanding of how different drivers of violent extremism operate. Particular emphasis will be placed on how to strengthen resilience through investigating the non-occurrence of violent extremism in ‘enabling environments’.

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.

Project leader Morten Bøås explains the core objective of the PREVEX project:

Want to know more about our research on these topics? See EUNPACK, NUPI's recently completed H2020 project on the EU's crisis response.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 870724.

Funding program

Prosjektet er finansiert gjennom EUs forskningsprogram Horisont 2020 (H2020).

Articles

Understanding the roots of Kurdish resilience to violent extremism in Iraq

April 27, 2023

What are the reasons behind the limited impact of violent extremism and the Islamic State in the Kurdistan region of Iraq?

Rethinking radicalisation and resilience in Mali and the Sahel

January 11, 2023

What does resilience against radicalisation and violent extremism look like in Mali and the Sahel? And which drivers are present for the spread of extremism?

News
Bildet viser NUPI-forskerne som har fått innvilget H2020-prosjektet PREVEX fotografert utendørs

Drivers of violent extremism: NUPI to coordinate EU-funded project

December 19, 2019

PREVEX will shed light on how the various drivers of violent extremism operate.

Project Manager

Themes
Terrorism and extremism  Conflict  Governance  The EU  Europe  The Middle East and North Africa  Comparative methods
Participants

Henriette Ullavik Erstad

Former employee

External

Henrik Vigh, University of Copenhagen
Morten Koch Andersen, University of Copenhagen
Matthew Carey, University of Copenhagen
Ulf Engel, University of Leipzig
Steffi Marung, University of Leipzig
Stefan Troebst, University of Leipzig
Francesco Strazzari, Sant'Anna Schol of Advanced Studies
Luca Raineri, Sant'Anna Schol of Advanced Studies
Alice Martini, Sant'Anna Schol of Advanced Studies
Alessandra Russo, Sant'Anna Schol of Advanced Studies
Alain Dieckhoff, Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques – Centre for International Research (CERI)
Stéphane Lacroix, Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques – Centre for International Research (CERI)
Nadia Marzouki, Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques – Centre for International Research (CERI)
Sergio Carrera, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Steven Blockmans, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Loes Debuysere, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Diana Mishkova, Centre for Advanced Study Sofia (CAS)
Anna Krasteva, Centre for Advanced Study Sofia (CAS)
Simeon Evstatiev, Centre for Advanced Study Sofia (CAS)
Olivier Roy, European University Institute.
Federica Bicchi, European University Institute
Georges Fahmi, European University Institute
Predrag Petrović, Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP)
Edina Bećirević, Atlantic Initiative
Gjergji Vurmo, Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM)
Djallil Lounnas, Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane (AUI)
Nizar Messari, Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane (AUI)
Abdoul Wakhab Cissé, Alliance for Rebuilding Governance in Africa (ARGA)
Dlawer Ala’Aldeen, Middle East Research Institute (MERI)