Violent extremism
[5][15] Although "radicalization" is considered by some to be a contentious term,[14] its general use has come to regard the process by which an individual or group adopts violence as a desirable and legitimate means of action.
[16] In United States military jargon, the term violent extremist organizations (VEO) is defined as groups of "individuals who support or commit ideologically motivated violence to further political goals".
[24] According to a report on counter-terrorism from the Security, Conflict, and Cooperation in the Contemporary World (SCCCW) series published by Palgrave Macmillan (2022), "jihadist groups have exploited—and continue to exploit—the Internet to plan, recruit, train and execute terrorist attacks and spread their ideology online.
"[23] Most studies fail to provide evidence on the drivers of interest in extremist sites, the engagement of social media in these issues, the reasons for the influence of its content, and the correlated external and internal factors, as well as the trajectories of youth who come to perpetuate violent acts.
[27] Contextual factors provide a favourable terrain to the emergence of violent extremist groups, such as: fragile states, the lack of rule of law, corruption, and criminality.
The following behaviors in combination have been identified as signs of potential radicalization:[28][22] The role of education in preventing violent extremism and deradicalizing young people has only recently gained global acceptance.
GCED aims to instill respect for human rights, social justice, gender equality and environmental sustainability, which are fundamental values that help raise the defenses of peace against violent extremism.
[31][32][22] In line with the understanding of Global Citizenship Education, individual level impacts, which encompasses three domains of learning include: cognitive, social-emotional and behavioural.
According to UNESCO, "MIL can effectively contribute to intercultural dialogue, mutual understanding, peace, promote human rights, freedom of expression, and counter hate, radicalization, and violent extremism.
These initiatives aim at creating digital counter-narratives that are authentic and reflect youth perceptions of self and others, especially in terms of injustice, felt experiences of discrimination, corruption and abuse by security forces.
While responding to the drivers, one critical component includes the challenge of profiling and poor relationship between the community and the law enforcement agencies; who are at the forefront, when dealing with violent extremism.
Discussions about the challenges associated with the impact of violent extremism and terrorism, especially to those directly affected by attacks, are aware of the importance of security from government agencies including law enforcement.
The actions from the government as administered by the law enforcement teams over time, serve as a pointer to the never-ending link between violent extremism and the grievance narrative that has fueled the revenge in the communities.
One identified trend is a feminist claim of women coming forward to take their place in the fighting, which coincides with a structured use of communication processes by terrorist groups to recruit them.
