CVE that leads to Terrorism: An Introduction to Policy and Practice

The training was supported by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan and aimed at familiarizing attendees with existing policy and practice to counter violent extremism that leads to terrorism.
The opening speech was delivered by Hedayah’s CEO Maqsoud Kruse, which was then followed by an introductory briefing on Hedayah and CVE conceptual framework from Patrick Lynch, Director of Training and Capacity Building. Mr. Lynch familiarized the participants to the concept of “CVE” in its history and key terminology.
Naureen Chowdhury Fink, Head of Analysis and Research at the Global Center On Cooperative Security led a discussion on factors and structural conditions that may lead to radicalization of the society as well as on programs and initiatives that can help institutions and civil society in countering the radicalization process and violent extremism that leads to terrorism.
The participants shared views on which are such factors conducive to radicalization in Tajikistan and sought to learn which CVE strategies would be most appropriate for Tajikistan’s social and political context. One of the participants stated that lack of tolerance among society members is one of the most important factors leading to violent extremism in any society.
Other causes conducive to radicalization and violent extremism in Tajikistan may be found in economic factors such as unemployment, in regional dynamics such as Tajikistan’s geographical proximity to Afghanistan, and in social phenomena such as the youth identity crisis in a country featuring continuous and rapid transformations after the independence acquired only 23 years ago.
Among other important factors of radicalization in Tajikistan pointed out by participants during the training, there were migration and limited access to mainstream religious education for parts of the Tajik population, such as women. Participants mentioned how radicalization of Tajik migrants abroad, who then return to Tajikistan as already radicalized currently poses one of the most serious CVE challenges for the Tajik national authorities.
With regard to limited access to mainstream religious education for parts of the Tajik population, participants pointed out that lack of engagement to promote moderate religious views put the society at great risk of radicalization.
As a solution to this latter issue, the training discussed ways of delivering prevention of extremist views at local levels, for example by better engaging with groups such as youth and women, who represent some of the most exposed targets of recruitment from violent extremist organizations. Via illustrative examples, the members of the training entered a conversation about designing and implementing CVE national strategies in Tajikistan and other effective community engagement activities for countering narratives and recruitment activities of violent extremist ideologies and movements in Tajikistan.