Prevent Violent Extremism Why does it happens? What kind of futures we should build in order to prevent it? How do we prevent violent extremism? OPEV Manual to prevent violent extremism 1 Work done by www.opev.org Coordinator Nacho García Pedraza Authors: Begoña Aramayona Débora Avila Mauge Cañada Javier Fernández Ramos Sergio García García Nacho García Pedraza Luis González Reyes Conchi Piñeiro Alexandra Vassilou Lily Vassilou 2 Index Why now?.................................................................................................................7 Who it is aimed at.....................................................................................................7 Theory of change in this manual............................................................................7 From macro to micro, from “why?” to “how?” through working on needs.....................................7 How to read and use this manual...........................................................................8 The limits to this manual.........................................................................................9 1 What is violent extremism?................................................................................10 Summary............................................................................................................................10 Introduction.........................................................................................................................10 1.1 Radicalism or extremism?............................................................................................10 1.2 What is violence?.........................................................................................................11 1.3 What is violent extremism?...........................................................................................11 1.4 What causes VE?.........................................................................................................15 1.4.1 What do we understand as fundamental needs and satisfying such needs?....................17 1.5 How to anticipate? Prevention is transformation: Nonviolence that transforms..........19 2 WHY DOES VE HAPPEN?...................................................................................21 Summary............................................................................................................................21 Introduction.........................................................................................................................21 2.1 Global Crisis.................................................................................................................21 2.1.1 Environmental Crisis.........................................................................................................21 2.1.2 Economic Crisis................................................................................................................23 2.1.3 Social Crisis......................................................................................................................23 2.2 Global Crisis and EV....................................................................................................24 2.3 Lack of socio-economic opportunities..........................................................................25 2.4 Marginalisation and discrimination...............................................................................26 2.5 Political repression, violation of human rights and rule of law.....................................27 2.6 Prolonged and unresolved conflict...............................................................................28 2.7 Conclusion....................................................................................................................29 3 TRANSITIONS TO AN ECOSOCIAL FUTURE TO PREVENT VE......................31 Summary............................................................................................................................31 Introduction.........................................................................................................................31 3 3.1 Guiding principles in building synergic satisfiers in a just, democratic and sustainable sociedades.........................................................................................................................31 3.2 Strategies for non violent ecosocial transitions............................................................32 3.2.1 Building a culture of non violence through the satisfaction of needs.................................33 3.2.2 Slowing down increasing unease......................................................................................34 3.2.3 Construction of viable, ecosocial institutions in the Global Crisis......................................35 3.3 Tactics for non violent ecosocial transitions.................................................................38 4 WHEN “SECURITY” IS PART OF THE PROBLEM............................................43 Summary............................................................................................................................43 4.1 Context keys: violence, insecurity and security............................................................43 4.2 Understanding the hegemonic security model.............................................................44 4.2.1 Securitising territory, policing and militarising conflict........................................................44 4.3 Excepcionality, states of emergency and fear of the other as a securitarian strategy.46 4.3.1 Non-state actors in the production of securitarian strategies.............................................48 4.3.2 “Security” that produces insecurity?..................................................................................48 4.4 Synergic satisfiers of security: Towards security based on rights and bonds..............49 4.4.1 Human security.................................................................................................................49 4.4.2 Anti-securitarian discourse................................................................................................49 4.4.3 De-securitizing our lives: community and feminism in building trust..................................50 5 IDENTITY..............................................................................................................54 Introduction: Why work on identity?...................................................................................54 5.1 Concept of Identity.......................................................................................................54 5.1.1 What is identity and what components does it have?........................................................54 5.1.2 How is identity built? Priority identities..............................................................................55 5.1.2.1 The threat in our identity..............................................................................................55 5.1.2.2 Identity crisis...............................................................................................................57 5.1.3 From threatened identity or identity crisis to VE................................................................59 5.1.4 What threatens our identity? Threat factors and drivers....................................................60 5.2 Satisfaction of the need of identity: Social identity.......................................................62 6 CONFLICT AND POLARISATION.......................................................................65 Summary............................................................................................................................65 Introduction.........................................................................................................................65 6.1 Dealing with conflict......................................................................................................65 6.1.1 Conflict stages..................................................................................................................65 6.1.2 Content of conflict.............................................................................................................68 6.1.3 Conflict operates on three levels.......................................................................................69 6.1.4 Awareness and Fluidity in Conflict.....................................................................................71 6.2 Escalation and De-escalation.......................................................................................71 4 6.2.1 What escalates a conflict?................................................................................................72 6.2.2 What de-escalates conflict................................................................................................73 6.3 Polarisation...................................................................................................................77 6.3.1 From flow on a continuum to polarisation..........................................................................77 6.3.2 Polarisation as a communication process.........................................................................78 6.3.3 De-escalation of conflicts between polarised groups........................................................78 6.3.4 Tips for preventing polarisation.........................................................................................79