Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN)

This is an update on the activities of the Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN). You receive this e-mail, along with more than 5 000 other people, because you have participated in a RAN activity, or because you have registered your interest in the network. If you do not want to receive such e-mails, please let us know. Feel free to distribute this RAN Update to colleagues and invite them to subscribe.

The European Commission (DG Migration and Home Affairs) has published a call for technical support to prevent and counter radicalisation. The aim is to support the Commission in its actions in the area of prevent work and consolidate and enhance knowledge and expertise in the field of radicalisation with a view to further develop and facilitate the implementation of prevent measures at national, European and international level.

The deadline for applications is 31 July.

Click here for more information

RAN POL Exploring the role of police in dealing with released terrorist- or extremist offenders (Marseille, 8-9 May)

Hundreds of convicted terrorist or extremist offenders will be released from prisons across Europe in the next few years. In addition, many other prisoners have been radicalised. With these developments in mind, presentations from Denmark, Lower-Saxony (Germany), Bavaria (Germany), Belgium, the Netherlands and France illustrated the different roles and responsibilities for police before and after release of a terrorist or extremist offender. These ranged from having no direct contact with the subject to holding a potluck dinner with the prisoner’s family at police headquarters. Even though there is no one-size-fits-all formula for the police, there is a need for coordination between all stakeholders. This requires increased awareness – about the number of prisoners expected to be released – and understanding that this problem affects all of Europe. Check out the RAN POL paper for more info

Multi-agency meeting RAN Exit-P&P ‘Meeting adjacent fields: rehabilitation, resocialisation and exit activities’ (Prague, 5-6 June)

Cooperation between the two fields is important. Exit workers and probation officers, as well as other relevant professionals, discussed the challenges and possibilities of working together. Agreeing on common guiding principles (building a trusting relationship with the client and working to forge a mutually beneficial perspective), participants highlighted the importance of maintaining transparency about competencies and obligations as regards sharing information disclosed by the client. For instance, probation officers operate within the legal framework of probation conditions imposed on the client by a court. Exit workers, on the other hand, usually work based on the voluntary participation of the client. Despite the differences, participants identified ways to bring exit work in line with probation conditions.

Multi-agency meeting RAN YF&C – P&P Extremists being released from prison - community and family acceptance (Prague, 6-7 June)

A mixed group of practitioners – from prison and probation services to family social service agencies - discussed how to prepare communities and families for the return of extremist terrorist offenders to society. Participants agreed it is more challenging to rehabilitate radicalised and terrorist offenders than ‘normal’ convicts. They also confirmed the importance of truly engaging with terrorist offenders and gaining knowledge about the ‘social map’ of city in order to include this in a successful and sustainable rehabilitation approach. Outcomes will feed into the ex post paper and RAN’s upcoming Manual on the rehabilitation and reintegration of radicalised and terrorist offenders.

Steering Committee (Brussels, 11 June)

At the 11 June Steering Committee (SC) meeting, the Commission informed the Working Group leaders about the project-based collaboration of national authorities facing similar challenges in preventing and countering radicalisation. Seven projects have been launched: on prison leavers, research, the local level, mental health, imam training, evaluation of exit work and far-right extremism. As such, the RAN Working Groups concerned have aligned their activities with these projects, facilitating exchange between practitioner and policy insights. Also, national authorities in nearly all EU Member States have assigned points of contact to suggest speakers at RAN events and help disseminate RAN outcomes in their countries.

The SC also discussed the rehabilitation of radicalised and terrorist offenders, one of the 2019 roadmaps that will result in the Rehabilitation Manual. A draft will be discussed at the 19 September Policy and Practice event during which the first outcomes of the national authorities’ project will be presented.

The SC also reviewed the delivery of the Victim Remembrance Day in March, as well as the first Policy and Practice event of the year, which was held in April on the topic of mental health. The Research Seminar and the scope for an interactive High-Level Conference this autumn were also discussed.

RAN EDU Schools and challenging far-right extremism (Berlin, 13-14 June)

Teachers should be aware how ideas of far-right extremism can be disseminated among students. They should also be prepared to prevent this by promoting an inclusive and open school climate. One point raised by participants is the importance of avoiding ‘us’ and ‘them’ mentality when discussing far-right extremism with their students so that schools remain non-judgemental environments. Another important point is for schools to implement long-term programmes (instead of short-term fixes) aimed at preventing radicalisation.

RAN RVT meeting - How can victims contribute to social cohesion after a period of violence? (Bilbao, 20 & 21 June 2019)

At one time or another, all countries have faced periods of intensified violence. These may lead to a polarised society that fails to properly deal with the past and shuts out the victims. Participants stressed the need for victims to contribute to social cohesion by sharing their testimonials at schools, prisons and other at-risk arenas. There are also numerous inspiring practices that work through sports, arts, restorative justice and social media as well as video games. The role of governmental institutions is also key. The ex post paper will delve into all these elements and provide practical guidelines.

Research seminar (Vienna, 26-27 June)

Building on last year’s experiences, the two-day RAN Research Seminar gathered practitioners, researchers and policymakers. On the first day, participants focussed on how extremist ideologies are evolving. They also discussed the role of gender in Islamist extremism and far-right extremism. On the second day, various aspects of rehabilitation were tabled. Break-out sessions focused on imprisonment, release and reintegration. Specifically, they reviewed risk assessment, evaluation of rehabilitation programmes and prerequisites for successful reintegration. The research seminar concluded with panel presentations underlining the importance of sharing knowledge and building trust among practitioners, policymakers and researchers to improve P/CVE interventions.

Meet Jacek Purski, chairman of Poland’s Institute of Social Safety. Jacek has 18 years’ experience in the field of countering radicalisation and violent extremism. “It is a lifetime commitment but also a passion,” he says. His institute aims to train teachers, police and local authorities to effectively address radicalisation, as well as hate crimes and the phenomenon of polarisation.

Listen to the podcast here.

RAN RVT Evaluating the impact of testimonies by victims of terrorism

This paper highlights the importance of evaluating testimonies, and provides practical recommendations to support practitioners in developing the evaluation process. It includes step-by-step guidelines and a summary of the main challenges.

RAN POL What role do police play in the resocialisation & risk management of released former terrorist offenders?

Member States will be confronted with the release of detainees who were convicted for violent extremism or even terrorism. This brings challenges for society in terms of risk management and resocialisation. Police across Europe need to be aware of these challenges and to be prepared to play a matching role. This paper identifies potential roles and contributions for police, before and after the release. Read our latest publications.

Psychology, behaviour studies and de-radicalisation

Evaluating outcomes of de-radicalisation programmes is a key topic of research. The aim is to understand why a programme may work for some individuals but not others. One recent offering is an adaptation of the “Innovative Moments Coding System”. This method for determining de-radicalisation of an individual is based on establishing the degree to which there has been a transformation of the self through autobiographical narratives. Through in-depth interviews with participants of a deradicalisation programme, the aim is to establish when and where they began to ‘see themselves differently’.

These changes in individuals’ actions, thoughts and feelings have been termed Innovative Moments (IMs) and can be categorised under three levels:

• Level 1 – when the individual distances themselves from the problem;
• Level 2 – when the person starts to voice how they could change; and
• Level 3 – when the individual makes the necessary changes. Identifying if these levels have been achieved in relation to political violence (and to what extent) can help determine whether an individual is ‘de-radicalised’.

Another study that looks to individual approaches to understanding radicalisation makes use of neuro-imaging technology. Here the objective is to identify an individual’s’ entry points into violent extremism. The researchers attempted to uncover different decision pathways mediating willingness to fight and die for sacred values compared with non-sacred values in the same individuals. They found that once ‘sacred values’ entered into the decision-making, cost-benefit calculations were disrupted at the neurological level. Sacred values appeared to work as a heuristic, making decisions easy to solve, or cached-offline, whereas decisions regarding non-sacred values would involve some degree of calculation. They also found that community feedback and peer judgement was influential in decision-making for sacred values (i.e. it shifted the willingness to fight and die).

The research suggested that while social network interventions are unlikely to reduce commitment to a scared value, they could reduce adherence to violent options. This means that attempting to persuade radicalised individuals through rational arguments will have little effect, and may backfire especially if they also attack core values. Instead, peer-groups, family and friends are seen as crucial in preventing recidivism. It also suggests that focusing on disengagement or demobilisation may be more viable than ‘de-radicalisation’. The risk with this research is pathologizing of extremists and members of terrorist groups as it is translated into policy or interventions.

The use of psychological research in the field of CVE, is an issue presented in Foreign Policy, where they examined “Significance Quest Theory” (SQT) and “cognitive openings” in both individual radicalisation and de-radicalisation. The authors found that positive redirection of a person’s life was important to develop more complex multifaceted “de-radicalised" lives. However, the authors were also cautious about the role of government in developing types of socio-psychologically orientated de–radicalisation programmes for concerns that there are human rights and legal implications, as well as question marks over the legitimacy and credibility of government interventions in ‘values’ debates.

The full calendar for 2019 is available online.

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