Countering Violent Extremism in the MENA Region: Time to Rethink Approaches and Strategies

The foreign fighters (FFs) phenomenon affecting MENA countries is unprecedented in its scale and pace. While most MENA countries have adopted “hard” strategies based on security-focused approaches, countering violent extremism (CVE) also requires the use of “soft” strategies stemming from multidimensional approaches. This means turning the current short-term strategy into a long-term strategy addressing the roots of violent extremism.

Paper prepared for the IAI-led Working Package within the framework of the EuroMeSCo project “Euro-Mediterranean Political Research and Dialogue for Inclusive Policy-Making Processes”.