Call for articles. "Preventing violent extremism in Europe: Approaches, methods and strategies"

Barcelona, May–June 2020

Created in 1982, CIDOB Journal of Afers Internacionals is a cultural–academic international relations journal that publishes original work. Pioneer in the Spanish-speaking world, each issue is a monograph coordinated by an expert that provides in-depth analysis of an aspect of the international state of affairs from an inter- and transdisciplinary perspective. The articles undergo an external double-blind peer review process and are indexed and summarised in the main academic social sciences databases, such as Scopus and Web of Science. 

Subject and content of issue 128:

"Preventing violent extremism in Europe: Approaches, methods and strategies"

Scientific coordinators: Dr Diego Muro, Senior Lecturer at the University of St Andrews (United Kingdom) and Moussa Bourekba, Researcher at CIDOB (Barcelona)

Over the past two decades, Europe has faced three security challenges: the rise of home-grown terrorism, the foreign fighters phenomenon and the rise of the violent far right. 

Despite the police and military resources and efforts devoted to fighting terrorist organisations, violent extremism continues to pose a real threat to many European countries: several terrorist organisations operate globally in a decentralised manner and through digital spaces, which makes fighting them difficult. What is more, certain violent extremist ideologies – whether far right or jihadist Salafist – retain their attractive capacity, and violent radicalisation continues to affect European countries. 

Faced with this constantly evolving scenario, and alongside traditional counterterrorism strategies, several European countries have developed strategies aimed at preventing violent extremism (PVE). Unlike counterterrorism, which usually focuses on the existing threat, preventing violent extremism refers to a series of strategies, policies and programmes whose purpose is to prevent the violent threat from emerging. While these strategies were initially designed and implemented by institutions responsible for security (intelligence, security forces and bodies, etc.), an increasing number of non-state actors are developing PVE policies and programmes (international organisations, local associations, NGDOs, etc.). 

In this context, how should we understand preventing violent extremism (PVE)? Issue 128 of Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals on preventing violent extremism in Europe seeks to analyse a range of public policies and prevention strategies developed across the continent. By studying PVE experiences in different European contexts, an attempt will be made to examine the theoretical and practical implications of preventing violent extremism. As well as generating academic knowledge on a subject that has been little researched, this issue will allow us to formulate some initial answers to the general question: Is PVE a pillar of counterterrorism policies or is it a new paradigm for action against violent extremism? 

As such, the research questions this issue seeks to answer are: 

• What is PVE and how does it differ from counterterrorism?
• What approach to the problem of violent extremism underpins PVE?
• Which strategies and tools have been implemented in Europe within the framework of policies to prevent violent extremism?
• Is PVE effective against the threat of violent extremism? 

In summary, this issue of Revista CIDOB d'Afers Internacionals is intended to be a reflection, both theoretical and practical, on a relatively recent concept in the field of fighting and preventing violent extremism; in this sense, contributions will be welcomed that offer original work – empirical, comparative or theoretical and with a critical focus – on a European country’s experience of preventing violent extremism. 

Possible subjects:

1. Approach to violent extremism within the framework of preventing violent extremism policies.
2. PVE Strategies.
3. Evaluating of PVE policies.
4. Case study of a public policy or initiative focused on preventing violent extremism. 

Timetable of the call:

June 30th 2020: Submission deadline for abstracts (300 words) and a short biographical note (100 words). 

July 13^th–17th 2020: Authors are notified of the outcome of the selection process. 

November 25th 2020: Submission deadline for completed articles (see instructions for authors).  

Selection process: 

• The Editorial Board  – coordinated for this issue by Dr Diego Muro and Moussa Bourekba –  will conduct the pre-selection of proposals based on the abstracts received.
• The authors of the selected proposals will receive detailed instructions for sending the full texts within the agreed time frame.
• Once the scientific selection is made, the final texts undergo an external double-blind peer review process followed by the final selection of the papers for publication.
• All written communication must be sent by email to: publicaciones@cidob.org 

Additional requirements: 

• The works must be original and unpublished.
• Abstracts will be accepted in Spanish and English.
• The articles will be published in Spanish with abstracts in English.