IMPACT Europe news digest [#7]
Welcome to the seventh instalment of the IMPACT Europe news digest. Through this series, the IMPACT Europe team will endeavour to present you with a selection of news, commentaries, journals articles and web materials relating to research and policy developments touching on the subject matters underpinning IMPACT Europe’s project’s mission. To receive the latest updates on IMPACT Europe’s research, dissemination and outreach activities you can follow our Twitter account (@impacteurope) or sign up to our quarterly newsletter through our homepage.
NEWS & PUBLICATIONS
Justice and Home Affairs Council endorse roadmap to enhance information exchange
Justice and Home Affairs Council – Press release
In a European Council meeting that took place on 10 June, EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers endorsed a roadmap designed to enhance information exchange and information management in the Justice and Home Affairs domains. The roadmap outlines a framework for a more integrated EU information architecture, and sets out specific, actionable recommendations for the short and medium, as well as long-term strategic orientations to enhance information management and information exchange. The roadmap was developed in light of recent terrorist incidents which have highlighted the need for better, more effective and responsive information exchange and information management across the Union. The roadmap includes also the adoption of specific interoperability solutions.
Announcement of EU action to strengthen Member States’ prevention and countering of violent extremism leading to terrorism
European Commission – Press release
On the 14 June, the European Commission announced a set of actions it would be taking in order to deliver on its European Agenda on Security and to support Member States in their efforts to tackle violent radicalisation leading to terrorism. The planned initiatives will focus on seven particular policy areas where it is felt that cooperation at an EU level will bring added value. These are: i) countering violent extremist content online; ii) preventing and countering radicalisation in prisons; iii) inclusive education and the promotion of EU common values; iv) youth engagement and building societal resilience; v) strengthening cooperation with third counties; vi) supporting research, evidence, monitoring and networks; and vii) enhanced security measures. For further details on these actions, please see the link below.
MEPs argue for increased efforts against new forms of radicalisation
European Parliament – Press release
On 22 June, and following recent attacks on a gay nightclub in Orlando (USA) and on two police officers in France, and following the murder of UK MP Jo Cox, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) engaged in a debate with the European Council and Commission focusing on the rise of radicalisation. During the debate, MEPs highlighted that more must be done to tackle new forms of radicalisation, in particular the increasing radicalisation of “lone wolves” via the internet, the spread of radical ideologies in prisons and schools, but also the rise of hate speech and violent acts committed against specific groups in society.
Making CVE Work: A Focused Approach Based on Process Disruption
J. M. Berger, International Centre for Counter Terrorism – The Hague
Research paper abstract: One of the biggest barriers to designing a comprehensive Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) programme is defining its scope. This paper argues for a narrow approach, focusing on disengagement and the disruption of recruitment. The author develops a simplified model of radicalisation and the concurrent terrorist recruitment process, proposing concrete themes for disruptive intervention and messaging. After analysing case studies of disengagement, the author offers recommendations for specific action to accomplish CVE goals by disrupting recruitment processes and deploying targeted messaging within the framework of the correlated models.
‘All Radicalisation is Local’: The genesis and drawbacks of an elusive concept
Rik Coolsaft, Egmont – The Royal Institute for International Relations
This paper looks at the origins of the term ‘radicalisation,’ and its subsequent entrenchment in everyday vocabulary, arguing that in spite of its widespread use it remains an ill-defined and poorly understood concept. Competing claims as to what radicalisation is – whether rooted in ideology, individual characteristics, or broader political, social and economic causes – have embroiled the concept in controversy, and the author of this paper now questions its added value. Coolsaft concludes that the use of the term ‘radicalisation’ has had very negative consequences in precisely those areas in which social policy, and particularly ‘deradicalisation’ programmes and strategies, have sought to affect positive change. Coolsaft calls for the term to be put into perspective and understood as a symptom of underlying issues which yet require adequate diagnosis.
UPCOMING EVENTS AND CONFERENCES
- 10th Annual International Conference – Counter-Terrorism Research and Practice: Addressing Key Societal Challenges
The Society for Terrorism Research and the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) of Leiden University
The Hague, The Netherlands
7-8 November 2016
[Link]
The call for papers on ‘Counter-Terrorism Research and Practice’ is now open. Proposals for paper presentations, symposia, posters, and other formal sessions must be received by 1 August 2016.
- Advanced Summer Programme on Countering Terrorism 2016
ICCT and the T.M.C Asser Instituut
The Hague, The Netherlands
29 August – 2 September 2016
[Link]
The deadline for applications is 18 July 2016.
[Image shared by Dean Hochman via Flickr; CC BY 2.0]