The Violent Extremism Evaluation Measurement (VEEM) framework
An online resource for evaluating CVE interventions
This page sets out the Violent Extremism Evaluation Measurement (VEEM) framework in an easy-to-use format for anyone looking to evaluate Counter-Violent-Extremism (CVE) interventions.
The VEEM framework has an overarching structure of three broad categories of violent extremism attributes: ‘Initial states of extremism’, ‘Initial manifestations of extremism’ and ‘Extremist manifestations’.
Initial states of extremism
Anger, frustration and outrage towards wider society and culture
- Positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS): see Watson et al., Development and Validation of Brief Measures of Positive and Negative Affect: The PANAS Scales, 1988
- Harrington, The Frustration Discomfort Scale: development and psychometric properties, 2005
- State–trait anger expression inventory (STAXI): see Spielberger and Reheiser, The nature and measurement of anger, in Potegal et al., eds., International Handbook of Anger, 2010
- Measures of anger, aggression, and violence: see, e.g., Ronan et al., Practitioner's Guide to Empirically Supported Measures of Anger, Aggression, and Violence, 2014
- Emotional stability scale: see Chaturvedi and Chander, Development of emotional stability scale, 2010, and Williams et al., Evaluation of a Multi-Faceted, U.S. Community-Based, Muslim-Led CVE Program, 2016
- Revised religious fundamentalism scale (which can be used in conjunction with measuring other ‘Initial states’ attributes): see Altemeyer and Hunsberger, A Revised Religious Fundamentalism Scale: The Short and Sweet of It, 2009
Dissatisfaction and distancing of individuals/groups from society, segregation and insularity from wider society
- Social network analysis: see, e.g., Scott, Social Network Analysis, 2013
- Social isolation measures: see, e.g., Zavaleta et al, Measures of Social Isolation, 2017
- Integrative complexity: see, e.g., Savage et al., Preventing Violent Extremism in Kenya through Value Complexity: Assessment of Being Kenyan Being Muslim, 2014
- The BRAVE-14 Standardised Measure for Youth Resilience to Violent Extremism: see Grossman and Ungar, Understanding Youth Resilience to Violent Extremism: A Standardised Research Measure [PDF], 2017
Alienation and perceived ‘otherness’
- Jessor and Jessor, Problem behavior and psychosocial development, 1977.
- Violent extremist risk assessment (VERA): see, e.g., Pressman, Risk Assessment of Radicalization to Violence: Applications of VERA-2 in Prisons [PDF], 2016
Genuine and perceived levels of discrimination leading to anger, frustration and hatred; translation of frustration and anger into revenge and hatred
- Sympathy for violent radicalisation and terrorism (SyfoR) scale: see Bhui et al., Is Violent Radicalisation Associated with Poverty, Migration, Poor Self-Reported Health and Common Mental Disorders? 2014
- Major experiences of discrimination scale or the everyday scale: see Williams et al., Racial Differences in Physical and Mental Health: Socio-economic Status, Stress and Discrimination, 1997
A sense of grievance and consequent distrust and rejection of the authorities and society
- Consulting a variety of social surveys and data
- Grievance, activism, and radicalism scale: see McCauley, Predictors of Activism and Radicalism: past activism, past radicalism and grievance against the government, 2007, in Williams et al., Evaluation of a Multi-Faceted, U.S. Community-Based, Muslim-Led CVE Program, 2016
- Rosenberg’s set of questions on trust in people: see Misanthropy and Political Ideology, 1956
- Trust in police scale: see Williams et al., Evaluation of a Multi-Faceted, U.S. Community-Based, Muslim-Led CVE Program, 2016
Disempowerment and consequent lowered resilience to radicalisation
- Measures of attachment: see Stein, Terror, Love and Brainwashing Attachment in Cults and Totalitarian Systems, 2017
- Normative belief measures: see Amjad and Wood, Identifying and changing the normative beliefs about aggression which lead young Muslim adults to join extremist anti‐Semitic groups in Pakistan, 2009
- Self-esteem and empathy measures: see, e.g., Feddes et al., Increasing self‐esteem and empathy to prevent violent radicalization: a longitudinal quantitative evaluation of a resilience training focused on adolescents with a dual identity, 2015, and Rosenberg, Society and the Adolescent Self-Image, 1965
- Integrative complexity: see, e.g., Savage et al., Preventing Violent Extremism in Kenya through Value Complexity: Assessment of Being Kenyan Being Muslim, 2014
- Brief resilience coping scale: see, e.g., Sinclair and Wallston, The Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Brief Resilient Coping Scale, 2004
Initial manifestations of extremism
Lack of political participation or lack of involvement in the democratic political process, and frustration at lack of status and recognition in mainstream society, leading to contempt and alternative recognition
- Hansard Society, Audit of Political Engagement
- Questionnaires, surveys and focus groups are all effective ways to understand these levels of activity and what drives them
- Ipsos MORI, Veracity Index [PDF], 2015
Identification with, belief in and acceptance of extremist narratives (including that violence is acceptable, justified and necessary)
- Spacial patterning and analysing data from narrative inquiry: see, e.g., Clandinin and Connelly, Narrative Inquiry: Experience and Story in Qualitative Research, 2004
Regularly accessing and viewing extremist websites and engaging with others on extremist forums and chatrooms
- Analysing instances of accessing, viewing and engaging using institution-specific tracking tools
Posting, sharing and interacting with extremist content in social media
- Lexical/textual analysis tools
- Social network analysis tools: see, e.g., Scott, Social Network Analysis, 2013
Extremist manifestations
Exploitation of individual vulnerability to recruit, radicalise and mobilise
- Established instances of recruitment and mobilisation. The numbers of such instances would then be compared.
Utilisation of criminality, both for recruitment and for contacts, access and knowledge for extremist groups
- Contextualised approach to ascertaining the type of crimes of relevance: see, e.g., Andre and Harris-Hogan, Mohamed Merah: From Petty Criminal to Neojihadist, 2013
- Indicators of criminal behaviour from other fields, such as gang literature: see Davies et al., Exploring the transferability and applicability of gang evaluation methodologies to counter-violent radicalisation, 2017
Individual membership in extremist groups leading to indoctrination and terrorist training
- No specific measure, but consider the number of relevant instances, which can be ascertained using tools such as interviews, social media analysis, or social network analysis.
Violent radicalisation of individuals and groups to the point of terrorism or travelling abroad with the intention of committing an act of terrorism
- Violent extremist risk assessment (VERA): see Pressman, Risk Assessment of Radicalization to Violence: Applications of VERA-2 in Prisons [PDF], 2016