Evaluating Policy Frameworks for Countering Violent Extremism: Comparative Insights from Global Strategies

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16886050

Abstract

Violent extremism has been one of the major security issues facing the world and requires a flexible yet strong set of policies to deal with its dynamic threats. This paper is a comparative study of the Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) approaches in various geopolitical settings, France, Denmark, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Morocco, to determine their effectiveness, ethical concerns, and their appropriateness in different geopolitical environments. Using qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and the theories of radicalization (e.g., Social Identity Theory, Relative Deprivation Theory) and approaches to public policy (e.g., Multiple Streams Framework), the paper locates major differences between regional policies, including those of securitization and community-based models, and their effects. The results show that participatory approaches, such as the Aarhus Model in Denmark and the religious-counter-narrative program in Indonesia, could be more successful in the long run to disrupt radicalization than top-down, militarized approaches when they tend to create overestimates of threats and distrust. The success of such policies, however, hinges a lot on socio-political issues, such as governance structure, cultural legitimacy, as well as the current state-community relations. The paper also reveals some of the ongoing ethical issues, including the tradeoffs between surveillance and civil liberties, and the unintentional stigmatization of marginalized communities through programs like the UK Prevent strategy. To cope with such issues, the article suggests integrated, human-rights-sensitive CVE models, which integrate specific security policies with grassroots prevention, decentralized policymaking, and independent oversight. It is recommended that more localised and evidence-based approaches are needed with focus on reparative justice, economic inclusion, and ideological deradicalisation. This study can help fill the gap between the need to protect the nation and the need to have a resilient society by informing people about the need to have policies that will be as malleable as the problems they are designed to solve.

Keywords: Violent Extremism, Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), Radicalization, Deradicalization, Securitization, Community Engagement, Human Rights, Policy Frameworks, Comparative Analysis