Work Package 1 – Project Management
Work Package 2 – Concepts and Methods
Building on PREVEX’ analytical framework, WP2 will provide operational conceptual, methodological and theoretical guidance to the empirical investigations in WP4–8. This includes an elaboration of the established PREVEX analytical framework, as well as a clear-cut field manual for the examination of violent extremism in the broader MENA region and the Balkans.
Work Package 3 – Dissemination and Impact
Work Package 4 – EU Prevention Strategies
WP4 will investigate the EU’s approach to preventing violent extremism in the Balkans and the broader MENA region, asking what tools the EU has developed; what measures it has adopted; how they are implemented; and what is their impact.
Work Packages 5-7 – Case studies: Preventing Violent Extremism
The objectives of WP5-7 are to:
-provide analyses of ‘enabling environments’ and the drivers of violent extremism in the regions;
-conduct a detailed mapping of the P/CVE strategies and policy instruments adopted by the EU and other key stakeholders, and how they are perceived in the regions where they are implemented, i.e. whether they are seen as effective and legitimate, irrelevant, or even counter-productive;
-examine community resilience to violent extremism by studying and comparing cases of occurrence and non-occurrence in the regions; thereby identifying factors that make some communities more likely to experience violent extremism while others remain relatively resilient; and
-identify lessons learnt and report in detail on how the EU can have a greater impact in its prevention measures.
Work Package 5 – Preventing Violent Extremism: the Balkans
WP5 will be responsible for the project tasks and deliverables concerning the Balkans. More specifically, WP5 examines this region under two broader, linguistically divided, case studies: (1) Slavic cases: Bosnia, Serbia, and Slavic areas of Macedonia and Montenegro; and (2) Albanian speaking cases: Kosovo, Albania, and Albanian areas of Macedonia. By examining the occurrence and non-occurrence of violent extremism in similar ‘enabling environments’, WP5 will identify best practice for the EU in its work on preventing violent extremism.
Work Package 6 – Preventing Violent Extremism: North Africa and the Sahel
WP6 will be responsible for the project tasks and deliverables concerning North Africa and the Sahel, implementing the overall research design into micro-level analysis of the EU approach to preventing violent extremism in this region. In terms of case studies, Morocco, Tunisia and Mali will be subject to intensive field research, with research on Algeria, Niger and Libya conducted remotely or through limited study visits.
Work Package 7 – Preventing Violent Extremism: Middle East
WP7 will be responsible for the project tasks and deliverables concerning the Middle East, examining how the overall research design can be addressed based on case studies from the region. Given the breadth of the region, the main empirical focus will be on Egypt, Iraq and Syria, due to their size and influence regarding this issue. WP7 will also analyse how Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates impact on the three aforementioned cases through their approach to P/CVE.
Work Package 8 – Regional Comparison: Preventing Violent Extremism
WP8 will be responsible for the project’s tasks and deliverables concerning regional comparison of the Balkans and the larger MENA region. Through engaging in intra-regional and cross-regional comparisons, WP8 is key to transforming the research produced by the project into consumable outputs, both in terms of policy recommendations and academic knowledge. Specifically, WP8 considers both the ways in which the EU itself can enhance the effectiveness of its prevention measures, and how co-operation with other stakeholders can be expanded and/or enhanced.