VORTEX – Coping with Varieties of Radicalization into Terrorism and Extremism

Lotta Rahlf’s doc­toral project syste­matically compares how evaluations of efforts to prevent and counter violent extre­mism (P/CVE) are structu­rally organised across Europe. By mapping various ‘P/CVE evaluation systems’ and exami­ning factors that may explain their differences, her disser­tation draws attention to the variety of ways countries orga­nise the generation of evaluative know­ledge to respond to increasing demands for evidence-based P/CVE measures. Filling crucial theo­retical and empirical gaps in P/CVE research, Rahlf parti­cularly examines the levers that make P/CVE evaluation sys­tems more centralised in some countries and more decen­tralised in others. This means that her disser­tation explores why P/CVE evaluations are strongly controlled by the govern­ment in some contexts while such activities are more distri­buted among several entities, including civil society, in others. After a com­parative mapping of evaluation manage­ment in the P/CVE field in Europe, she will use qualitative compa­rative analysis (QCA) to analyse which factors have an influence on certain designs of such eva­luation systems. Based on the results, Rahlf will then select three countries to analyse their respec­tive evaluation systems in depth. This disser­tation, which is part of the EU-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie PhD network VORTEX, also has a high prac­tical relevance as it enables P/CVE practi­tioners and policy makers to learn from other European con­texts.

The dissertation examines how pre­vention hybrids influence practice. Prevention of extremism is usually divided into three areas. In theory, a dis­tinction is made between primary, secondary and tertiary pre­vention. While primary prevention is aimed at the general public, secondary prevention attempts to reach people who are assumed to be at an in­creased risk of radicalization. Finally, tertiary pre­vention is aimed at distancing and deradi­calization. In practice, however, overlaps can be found be­tween the areas, resulting in a mixture of ob­jectives and approaches. For example, primary prevention programs are implemented in the con­text of secondary prevention and vice versa. These prevention hybrids thus combine aspects that by definition are as­cribed to different areas. The project examines how prac­titioners experience and implement these programs in different contexts. The dis­sertation thus explores how opportunities and needs are ne­gotiated in prevention practice. This re­search project, which is part of the EU-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie doctoral network VORTEX, provides insights into the con­ception and implementation of pre­vention and thus has theoretical and practical relevance.