Workshop on Improving Understanding of the Roots and Trajectories of Violent Extremism

A Workshop on Improving Understanding of the Roots and Trajectories of Violent Extremism was held at Washington on June 20- 21, 2017.

Sample observations of individual participants on carrying out and combating violent extremism: 

Foreign fighters who have been recruited in distant countries or regions have generally been well-educated young men, often recruited in groups, and often seeking recognition of their noble purpose rather than remaining anonymous with no purpose.

Many foreign fighters have become disenchanted with their status and try to return home, a challenge that can lead to execution. Some have married women from abroad, and wives often have an easier time leaving with their children than do foreign fighters. 

Extremist groups need territory and finances. While territory can be lost and finances can be difficult to arrange, in the Middle East there are always new areas for activities. 

Understanding local context is essential to combat Jihadist movements. 

Often urban residents dominate disaffected populations, prisons provide many Jihadist recruits, and small countries are most open to migrants with unknown intentions.

A long-term regional security framework is important if the strategies of the western countries in addressing violent extremism are to be effective in the long term. 

The impact of social media is a priority area for research, although it is difficult to come up with reasonable hypotheses that can be effectively tested. 

Research often threatens religious leaders, increasing risks for the researchers. 

Voter turnout may be a useful indicator of future governance trends. 

Access to water is of spiraling importance in the Middle East, and cross-border approaches to increase water availability can at times help reduce political tensions. 

Differentiating between first, second, and third generation migrants is often of critical importance in analyzing attitudes relevant to violent extremism. 

Jihadists are probably fewer than 100,000 in number, with annual budgets of less than $10 million. Western governments have spent hundreds of billions of dollars in combating the Jihadists, and it is difficult to identify our successes. What are we doing wrong? (An unanswered question raised at the end of workshop by one participant.) Sample observations of individual participants on organizational and procedural issues: 

Joint U.S., Russian, and French efforts provide a good basis for a broad range of research and analytical activities. The CNRS international research network across North Africa and the Middle East is an important asset. Decades of Soviet/Russian involvement in ethnic and religious relationships in Central Asia and adjacent areas can be very informative. The heavy U.S. military presence in the Middle East often influences personal perspectives. 

Information about well-documented, but little-known, research and about availability of rare but insightful documents can be useful to scholars around the world. 

Interactions between residents in areas in turmoil and local authorities that build mutual understanding and trust may be difficult to arrange but can have high payoff. 

General discussions during annual meetings of experts from the U.S., Russia, and France can be valuable, but such meetings can also benefit from reports on specific field investigations of mutual interest—and ideally jointly organized investigations. 

Providing international and national officials with results of well-designed research programs, and particularly research involving on-the-ground observations, deserves high priority.