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Violent Extremism

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Commentary
The Promise—and Pitfalls—of Researching Extremism Online
How big of a problem is extremism in the United States and around the world? Is it getting worse? Are social media platforms responsible, or did the internet simply reveal existing trends? We have few answers because this research is easy to do poorly and hard to do well.
Jul 17, 2023
Report
Veterans Don't Support Extremist Groups Any More Than the Public Does
Radical groups find military members and veterans attractive potential recruits because of their skills and training. But the veteran community does not manifest higher support for extremist groups or beliefs than the general population.
Sep 11, 2023

Explore Violent Extremism

Report
Countering Violent Extremism Programs May Gain Insights from Each Other
As countries around the world develop CVE programs to prevent homegrown terrorism, there is a dearth of understanding about what types of such programs exist and which approaches are most effective. Mapping CVE programs against goals and activity types could facilitate information exchange across countries.
Apr 4, 2019
Commentary
A New Framework for Evaluating Counter Violent Extremism Projects
Gathering evidence in the area of counter violent extremism (CVE) is vital, given the increasing role for CVE interventions in the political and security environment. Evaluations of these interventions can play a role in growing this knowledge, by helping the CVE field itself to develop.
Feb 15, 2019
Project
Violent Extremism Evaluation Measurement (VEEM) Framework
A key challenge in counter violent extremism evaluation is the lack of commonly agreed metrics to measure behavioural changes in people. RAND Europe researchers developed a web-based framework that lists behavioural categories, attributes, and suggested measurement tools.
Jan 14, 2019
Report
Assessing Online Campaigns Countering Violent Extremism
Efforts to counter violent extremism online have grown, but measuring their impact is complicated. An assessment of one such campaign finds that individuals searching for violent jihadist or far-right content clicked on ads that offered alternative narratives at a rate on par with industry standards.
Dec 10, 2018
Report
Evaluating interventions that prevent or counter violent extremism: A practical guide
This document provides an overview of data collection methods and evaluation designs suitable for evaluating interventions and programmes designed to prevent and counter violent extremism and radicalisation.
Oct 30, 2018
Project
How to evaluate counterterrorism policies and interventions
Initiatives to prevent and counter terrorism and violent extremism are rarely evaluated and are often designed on the basis of untested assumptions. Researchers developed and reviewed an inventory of 48 evaluations conducted between 2013 and 2017 to draw practical lessons and recommendations.
Oct 25, 2018
Report
Counterterrorism evaluation: Taking stock and looking ahead
This report presents the results of a study investigating how evaluations of counterterrorism and preventing and countering violent extremism policies were designed and conducted over the last five years and what practical lessons can be drawn.
Oct 24, 2018
Journal Article
Evaluation in an Emerging Field: Developing a Measurement Framework for the Field of Counter-Violent-Extremism
This report seeks lessons from the evidence-based healthcare movement, which has a track record of using evaluation to develop practice, to consider what it might take to develop evaluation capacity in the emerging field of counter-violent-extremism.
Oct 12, 2018
Multimedia
Countering Violent Extremism
A series of brief videos introduces important elements of the RAND Program Evaluation Toolkit for Countering Violent Extremism (CVE). The toolkit helps community-based CVE programs design an evaluation that is appropriate for their program type, resources, and expertise.
Jan 10, 2018
Commentary
The Origins of America's Jihadists
American jihadists are made in the United States, not imported. Homegrown terrorists have accounted for most of the jihadist activity in the U.S. since 9/11, with most of those who carried out or plotted terrorist attacks either born in the U.S. or arriving as children.
Dec 4, 2017
Journal Article
Innovative Methods and Procedures to Assess Counter-violent-radicalisation Techniques in Europe
We found that IMPACT Europe's main result is a more robust and quasi-standardised mode of measuring effectiveness, broadly defining and evaluating programmes and interventions.
Nov 17, 2017
Commentary
Countering Violent Islamist Extremism: The Value of Words Over War
It is highly probable that the world will witness more attacks on civilian-centric locations as groups like the Islamic State group try to prove their continued relevance. Governments need a more nuanced strategy aimed at helping communities counter the conditions that contribute to extremist violence.
Sep 1, 2017
Report
Exploring the transferability and applicability of gang evaluation methodologies to counter-violent radicalisation
Through a targeted literature review and comparative analysis, this report examines the transferable lessons that can be drawn from evaluations of gang interventions and applied to evaluation practice in the field of counter violent extremism.
Jul 21, 2017
Project
What Works in Tackling Violent Radicalisation and Extremism?
Violent radicalisation and extremism are one of the most severe and immediate security threats facing European society in the early 21st century. IMPACT Europe aimed to fill the gap in understanding of what works in tackling and preventing these phenomena.
May 25, 2017
Report
Undermining Violent Extremism in Yemen
In the past 50 years, Yemen has faced significant political instability, including multiple civil wars. Why might Yemenis reject political violence despite persistent conflict and unrest? And how can the United States and its partners undermine violent extremism?
May 22, 2017
Tool
How to Evaluate Countering Violent Extremism Programs
The RAND Program Evaluation Toolkit for Countering Violent Extremism can help program staff overcome common challenges to evaluating and planning improvements to their programs.
Mar 13, 2017
Report
Development of the Program Evaluation Toolkit for Countering Violent Extremism
Countering violent extremism (CVE) requires reducing the underlying factors that give rise to radicalization and recruitment. Using evaluations of past programs, researchers created a toolkit for CVE program administrators to use to measure their effectiveness.
Mar 13, 2017
News Release
Family Is Greatest Factor That Causes Youth to Reject Violent Extremism
Family influence is more important than peer groups in dampening a young person's propensity toward becoming a terrorist. Policies aimed at undermining radicalization should include teaching parents how to discuss detrimental messages on social media, as well as building programs to strengthen families' influence on youth and ties to communities.
Sep 29, 2015
Report
Family Is Greatest Factor That Causes Youth to Reject Violent Extremism
Family influence is more important than peer groups in dampening a young person's propensity toward becoming a terrorist. Policies aimed at undermining radicalization should include teaching parents how to discuss detrimental messages on social media, as well as building programs to strengthen families' influence on youth and ties to communities.
Sep 29, 2015
Report
Improving the U.S. Military's Understanding of Unstable Environments Vulnerable to Violent Extremist Groups: Insights from Social Science
What factors create and perpetuate environments susceptible to insurgency, terrorism, and other extremist violence and instability? Twelve are presented to inform military decisions on allocation of analytic and security assistance resources.
Jan 16, 2014

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Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Emily Ellinger

Policy Analyst

Emily Ellinger (she/her) is a policy analyst at RAND Corporation, based in the Pittsburgh office. Her research interests include strategic competition, alliance formation and politics, the security clearance process, extremism, and security cooperation, geographically focused on Europe and East…
Ondrej Palicka

Research Assistant

Ondrej Palicka is a research assistant at RAND Europe working in the areas of defence and security. His research interests include terrorism, extremism, sectarian violence, and disinformation with primary focus on the Middle East.

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