On 20-21 July, Arif Sahar – member of the INDEED Consortium from CENTRIC – will participate in the 15th Annual International Conference of Society for Terrorism Research in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Society for Terrorism Research (STR) is an international, multi-disciplinary organization of theoretical and empirical researchers whose mission is to enhance knowledge and understanding of terrorism and political violence through annual conferences, events and articles in their peer-reviewed journal.

Arif Sahar will participate with a paper focusing on the complexities of policy response to radicalisation in the EU from a practitioners’ perspective.

Specifically, this paper reports on the findings of a workshop with practitioners and policymakers to determine the complexions e.g., assumptions, design, and implementation surrounding P/CVE/DeRAD policies. This paper addresses the involvement of practitioners responsible for the implementation of these policies and whether the assumptions upon which they are based respond to the security landscapes and meet the requirements of the practitioners. The paper suggests that practitioners are not provided with the space and voice they require in the design and development P/CVE/DeRAD policies, leading to a lack of clarity in the objectives and terms of reference utilised. The paper further suggests ways in which practitioners can be involved in the efforts aimed at mitigating violent extremism. The paper concludes that for P/CVE/DeRAD policies to deliver on their aims/promises, practitioners must be involved meaningfully in all stages of design and development of such policies, as practitioners are better placed to provide insights into the processes, causal factors, and practical and evidence-based consideration for the wider contexts within which (dis)engagement in terrorist activities may take place.