Social Contexts of Radicalization and Violent Extremism in the MENA and Balkans: A Multi-Country Analysis

This volume is a multilevel and multidisciplinary study of radicalization in the Balkans and MENA regions. It takes a dynamic approach embracing the complexity of the social, political and economic contexts under study. Moving away from unidimensional and security-centred research on the topic, each chapter adopts a participatory and inclusive perspective, engaging communities, youth and women as significant stakeholders in building a better understanding of the dynamics of the radicalization of youth in these regions. The multiple case studies presented here cover several macro drivers of radicalization to reveal the interactions and interrelations of individuals with meso-institutions and backgrounds such as family, neighbourhood, school, peer groups, religious and ethnic communities, political parties, etc. Consequently, the volume addresses several gaps in the literature regarding radicalization and violent extremism: it is based on firm empirical evidence; it allows for comparisons between social contexts in one specific country and between countries sharing macro similarities but also differences; it proposes a fruitful dialogue and collaborations between academics, researchers and civil society experts; and, finally, it offers decentralized perspectives on extremism in the West.

This volume is an important addition to a topic that is of interest to researchers across the social sciences, and to think tanks and policy makers working on/in these regions.

Corinne Torrekens, PhD, is Professor of Political Science and director of the group of research on Ethnic Relations, Migration and Equality at the Université libre de Bruxelles in Belgium. She is also an associate member of the Observatoire des Mondes Arabes et Musulmans (OMAM). Her research focuses on the accommodation of Islam in Belgium and the public debates surrounding it, as well as on the religious practices and dynamics of political participation of Muslim populations. She is especially interested in the emergence of the visibility of Islam in the urban as well as in the political space and its consequences in terms of public policies and debates. Her latest book, Islams de Belgique, was published by the Presses de l'Université de Bruxelles in 2020. She is currently involved in several research projects such as the MSCA network Coping with Varieties of Radicalization into Terrorism and Extremism. She is skilled in qualitative methods involving highly sensitive fieldwork. One of her latest research projects involved working in prisons with individuals convicted for their involvement in terrorist groups, or activities labelled as "radicals" by institutions and security services.

Tasnim Chirchi, PhD, is a social scientist specializing in political sociology. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the Université du Québec in Montreal. She taught sociology and anthropology both in Canada and in Tunisia and is Director of the Jasmine Foundation for Research and Communication, which works on issues of governance in the context of democratic transition as well as on women's and youth's political participation. Dr. Chirchi has extensive experience both as a social scientist (sociological theories, research methods) and in project design and coordination in the academic sphere and civil society in Tunisia and the MENA region. She has written several research reports and papers and given presentations and training on research methods, social research innovation, policy research and evaluation. Through 28 projects (research, action research) that she co-designed and implemented with the Jasmine Foundation, she has developed a deep knowledge and expertise of the Tunisian and MENA contexts, especially in policy analysis, including local governance, youth engagement, and women's political participation.

Lurdes Vidal Bertran, is an Associate Professor of International Relations at Blanquerna-Ramon Llull University and at the Barcelona Institute of International Studies (IBEI). With over 20 years of experience in Euro-Arab relations, she is the Team Leader of the "Training and Information Course on Euro-Arab Relations", El Hiwar III, implemented by the College of Europe (Bruges, Belgium). She is also the Scientific coordinator of CONNEKT, an H2020 research project that studies the drivers of radicalisation and violent extremism among youth in the MENA region and the Balkans. Until August 2022 she was Director of the Arab & Islamic World Department, Editor-in-Chief of the journal Afkar/Ideas, Scientific Coordinator of MAGIC (Muslim women and communities Against Gendered Islamophobia in soCiety), a project funded under the REC Programme, and co-director of the Observatory of Islamophobia in the Media (2017-2021) at the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed). She holds a degree in Translation and Interpreting from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and is currently a PhD candidate in Politics, Policies and International Relations at the same university. Her latest edited book is Islamisme(s). Islam i política en un món global. Ed. Base, 2021.W She is also a Board member of the NOVACT Institute of Non-Violence.