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Radicalization Into Violent Extremism Ii: A Review Of Conceptual Models And Empirical Research, Randy Borum

Journal of Strategic Security

Over the past decade, analysts have proposed several frameworks to explain the process of radicalization into violent extremism (RVE). These frameworks are based primarily on rational, conceptual models which are neither guided by theory nor derived from systematic research. This article reviews recent (post-9/11) conceptual models of the radicalization process and recent (post-9/11) empirical studies of RVE. It emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between ideological radicalization and terrorism involvement, though both issues deserve further empirical inquiry.Finally, it summarizes some recent RVE-related research efforts, identifies seven things that social science researchers and operational personnel still need to know about violent radicalization, …

Disarming Youth Combatants: Mitigating Youth Radicalization And Violent Extremism, Alpaslan Özerdem, Sukanya Podder

Journal of Strategic Security

In the complex of motivating variables that define the push and pull factors behind recruitment and participation in civil conflict, "radicalization"—or "violent extremism"—is not conceived as a very strong motive, as is the case with studies on terrorism. As part of disarming youth combatants,the linkages between reintegration outcomes and possible rerecruitment into radical and extremist violence must be better understood to mitigate such risks. In our analysis, the policies guiding reintegration of child soldiers and youth should be better attuned to the relationship between recruitment motivations and reintegration outcomes, and must be approached from a political lens rather than a …

Radical Islamism And Migrant Integration In Denmark: An Empirical Inquiry, Marco Goli, Shahamak Rezaei

Journal of Strategic Security

It has been suggested that alienation and failed integration may be causes of "Homegrown Radical Islamism" in Western societies. Western countries often expect that migrants and their descendants residing there as citizens will embrace or support common democratic ideals as a predicate for—or consequence of—their societal integration. Conventional wisdom suggests: "The more you associate yourself with the cherished and established goals and means, the more you will disassociate yourself from Radical Islamism," and vice versa. We believe that, quite surprisingly, an empirical test of this idea is lacking. Based on a nationally representative sample of 1,113 youth (ages 15–30) in …

Radicalism Within The Context Of Social Movements: Processes And Types, Remy Cross, David A. Snow

Journal of Strategic Security

Drawing on work within the study of social movements and on conversion processes that is relevant to understanding radicalization, as well as on our own relevant research experiences and findings, especially on radicalism in right-wing and left-wing movements, we focus attention on the elements and dynamics of social movements, both intra-movement and extra-movement, that facilitate the grassroots development and maintenance of radical identities and enhance or diminish the prospect of engagement in radical action. In particular, we note the importance of free spaces to associate apart from the reach of control agents and adversaries,the development of affinity groups and a …

Four Lessons From The Study Of Fundamentalism And Psychology Of Religion, Sara Savage

Journal of Strategic Security

What lessons can the study of fundamentalism and the psychology of religion teach the newer field of Radicalization and Involvement in Violent Extremism (RIVE)? Four lessons and an intervention are offered in this article: (1) Religion is a robust human experience and cultural product that adopts a defensive shape when its worldview is threatened. (2) This does not mean that all "fundamentalisms" or radical versions of religion are somehow linked or perform similar functions; rather, they reflect the limited human repertoire to threat, yet within different cultural and historical contexts. (3) Causal explanations on the level of the individual are …

Gangs, Terrorism, And Radicalization, Scott Decker, David Pyrooz

Journal of Strategic Security

What can street gangs tell us about radicalization and extremist groups? At first glance, these two groups seem to push the boundaries of comparison. In this article, we examine the important similarities and differences across criminal, deviant, and extremist groups. Drawing from research on street gangs, this article explores issues such as levels of explanation,organizational structure, group process, and the increasingly important role of technology and the Internet in the context of radicalization. There are points of convergence across these groups, but it is important to understand the differences between these groups. This review finds little evidence to support the …

The Development Of British Defence Policy: Blair, Brown And Beyond. By David Brown, Ed. (Burlington, Vt: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2010), Edward M. Roche

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Friction: How Radicalization Happens To Them And Us. By Clark Mccauley And Sophia Moskalenko (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), Robin L. Thompson

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Cover & Front Matter

Journal of Strategic Security

No abstract provided.

Biruh Tesfa ('Bright Future') Program Provides Domestic Workers, Orphans And Migrants In Urban Ethiopia With Social Support, Hiv Education And Skills, Annabel Erulkar, Herma Gebru, Gebeyehu Mekonnen

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This brief provides details about the Biruh Tesfa (“Bright Future”) program in Ethiopia established by the former Ethiopia Ministry of Youth and Sports (currently Ministry of Women, Children and Youth) with technical assistance from the Population Council. Biruh Tesfa aims to address the social isolation of adolescent girls by building their social capital and participation and giving them access to basic literacy, life skills, and HIV and reproductive health information. This evaluation of Biruh Tesfa shows early success and the program, which was initially pilot-tested in the low-income area of Mercato in Addis Ababa, was ultimately expanded to four urban …

First Generation Of Gender And Hiv Programs: Seeking Clarity And Synergy, Judith Bruce, Nicole Haberland, Amy Joyce, Eva Roca, Tobey Nelson Sapiano

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In the past decade, there have been expanding resources to address the underlying gender dimensions of HIV. This has been particularly urgent in sub-Saharan Africa as the female-to-male infection ratios in young populations has reached 3 to 1 and sometimes above. The phrase “gender and HIV” has become commonplace yet does not provide any specific guidance as to target audiences, content, or measurable results. It can include everything from microcredit programs for HIV-positive women, to workplace programs seeking to change negative male norms, to efforts to increase respect for diverse sexual and gender identities. This review, conducted by the Population …

National Efforts Toward Fgm-Free Villages In Egypt: The Evidence Of Impact, Ghada Barsoum, Nadia Rifaat, Omaima El-Gibaly, Nihal Elwan, Natalie Forcier

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This report is a midterm evaluation and documentation of the process and approach of the FGM-Free Village Model implemented in Egypt by the National Council of Childhood and Motherhood with assistance from the Population Council. In a comparison of responses from women and men in intervention groups to those in nonintervention (control) villages, data analysis shows that the program has been successful in changing views and attitudes toward female genital mutilation (FGM). FGM is an entrenched generational practice, and eradicating it in a community requires concerted effort over an extended period of time. This evaluation strongly recommends that efforts be …

Are There Ethical Implications Of Karma?, Thomas Pynn

Faculty Articles

Though Americans have been exposed to Asian philosophical traditions since the nineteenth century – with much recent help from the Beat writers of the 1950s and 1960s – too little attention has been paid to the texts and ideas of these traditions and to their implementation in daily life. This is especially true with regard to Buddhist ideas of ethics and karma. Compounding the problem is the commercial exploitation of Asian philosophical terms like Dharma, karma, tantra and reincarnation, which tends to impede deeper understanding of these important concepts. In America, ethics are once more on the lips of many …

The Tea Party, The Constitution, And The Repeal Amendment, Randy E. Barnett

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Given that the Tea Party is a right-of-center movement, it does not take an empiricist to know that most Tea Partiers hold right-of-center views on a variety of issues. This does not mean, however, that the Tea Party movement is about immigration policy or social issues like abortion, any more than the gun-rights movement is about any other beliefs that may be held by a majority of gun-rights advocates. Instead, the Tea Party movement is about two big subjects: first, the undeniable recent surge in national government spending and debt, and second, what Tea Partiers perceive as a federal government …

Against Flexibility, David A. Super

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Contemporary legal thinking is in the thrall of a cult of flexibility. We obsess about avoiding decisions without all possible relevant information while ignoring the costs of postponing decisions until that information becomes available. We valorize procrastination and condemn investments of decisional resources in early decisions.

Both public and private law should be understood as a productive activity converting information, norms, and decisional and enforcement capacity into outputs of social value. Optimal timing depends on changes in these inputs’ scarcity and in the value of the decision they produce. Our legal culture tends to overestmate the value of information that …

Innovative Financing Through Pay-For-Performance For Providers To Improve Quality Of Care In Bangladesh: Transforming Research Into Action, Md. Noorunnabi Talukder, Ubaidur Rob, Laila Rahman, Ismat Ara Hena

Reproductive Health

To improve access to and use of facility-based obstetric and newborn care, the Government of Bangladesh is implementing two innovative performance-based financing programs, namely demand-side financing (DSF) and pay-for-performance (P4P). With the purpose of identifying the lessons learned, limitations of the P4P and DSF models, and scopes for cross learning, a two-day workshop was organized in Dhaka. This workshop report, prepared by the Population Council, resulted in several recommendations to modify DSF and P4P schemes. In Bangladesh, the need for continuing performance-based financing programs to meet MDGs and other health indicators is beyond argument, but it is urgently required to …

Using Evidence To Improve Primary Health Care In Thai Nguyen Province, Population Council

Reproductive Health

In partnership with a number of local stakeholders, the Population Council Viet Nam is working to improve the evidence base available to health authorities and to use that evidence to improve health in Thai Nguyen Province. Building on cooperation between the Population Council and the Thai Nguyen Health Department, the project detailed in this report has three main elements: 1) developing a computerized information system to generate regular reports; 2) supporting research in the province to better understand health problems, health-seeking behavior, and health services; and 3) increasing the capability of managers and providers to better use the evidence generated. …

Increasing Access To Safe Abortion In Rural Maharashtra: Outcomes Of A Comprehensive Abortion Care Model, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy, A.J. Francis Zavier, Rajib Acharya, Shveta Kalyanwala

Reproductive Health

This assessment of a Comprehensive Abortion Care (CAC) model was conducted by the Population Council on behalf of the Consortium for Safe Abortions in India. The goal of the Consortium is to increase access to legal, safe, and comprehensive abortion services, including post-abortion family planning, in the public health system, and especially among the rural poor. This report describes the CAC model implemented in Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, and examines the extent to which the model improved (a) the availability and quality of abortion services in public sector facilities, and (b) women’s awareness and experiences with regard to abortion services. It …

Expanding Access To Safe Abortion And Post-Abortion Care: Recommendations Of A South Asia Regional Consultation, Population Council

Reproductive Health

A South Asia Regional Consultation, organized by the Population Council with representation from governments and key stakeholders of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, was held in New Delhi, to discuss ways of expanding women’s access to safe abortion services. The Consultation deliberated on ways of expanding the provider base for safe induced abortion so as to overcome inadequate and inequitable access to safe abortion. They also looked to expand access to services for the management of incomplete abortion and complications of unsafe abortion that persist in the region and, thereby, to reduce morbidity and mortality resulting from unsafe abortion. In …

Introduction Of Medical Abortion In Ghana, Emmanuel Kuffour, Selina F. Esantsi, Placide Tapsoba, Gloria Quansah Asare, Ian Askew

Reproductive Health

To significantly expand women’s access to modern family planning and comprehensive abortion care services a provisional license was awarded to Marie Stopes International-Ghana by the Ghana Food and Drugs Board for the introduction and provision of the first medical abortion regimen (mifepristone and misoprostol) in Ghana. The Population Council conducted this study to document the introduction process; findings from the study will provide much needed evidence to inform policy decisionmaking and the scale-up phase. Overall the study has shown that medical abortion is a viable option for Ghanaian women--an overwhelming number of those who have benefitted from the procedure are …

Scaling Up The Provision Of Family Planning Messages In Antenatal And Postpartum Services In Upper Egypt, Nahla G. Abdel-Tawab, Sally Saher

Reproductive Health

An operations research study by the Population Council’s FRONTIERS program in 20 facilities in Upper Egypt showed that integration of birth spacing messages into antenatal and postpartum care was feasible, acceptable to women and their husbands, and was associated with increased postpartum contraception. This report describes the initial and scale-up phases, their outcomes, challenges, and recommendations for improvement. In addition to successfully scaling up the program, the main achievement was securing the support and investment of senior MoHP officials at the central level, as well as the support and commitment of managers and supervisors at governorate and district levels. The …

Community Health Workers Can Effectively Provide Information And Referrals To People Living With Hiv In Their Communities, Population Council

Reproductive Health

A number of studies reported high levels of sexually transmitted infections among people living with HIV (PLHIV). Unfortunately, prevention interventions targeting PLHIV in the community are not common in Kenya, and most PLHIV who are not on ART have limited access to prevention information and risk-reduction counseling. The Population Council’s APHIA II Operations Research Project conducted a research project to address these gaps. This study was conducted in 2010 in collaboration with the International Center for Reproductive Health and the National AIDS and STI Control Programme. The findings show that the intervention had a number of positive outcomes and concludes …

A Pay-For-Performance Innovation Integrating The Quantity And Quality Of Care In Maternal, Newborn And Child Health Services In Bangladesh, Laila Rahman, Ubaidur Rob, Riad Mahmud, Azizul Alim, Ismat Ara Hena, Md. Noorunnabi Talukder, Md. Hafizur Rahman

Reproductive Health

The Population Council explored the possibilities of introducing a Pay-for-Performance (P4P) scheme in Bangladesh to improve maternal, newborn and child healthcare (MNCH) services. Based on the consultation and with guidance from the Government of Bangladesh, the Population Council and UNICEF provided technical assistance to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to test two P4P strategies for MNCH service providers to improve service volume and quality of care, and for poor clients to receive services subsidized through vouchers or coupons. The first strategy is a combination of pay-for-performance for providers and subsidized coupons for poor pregnant women, newborns, and under-five …

Making Hiv Services More Responsive To Young Children And Infants In Nyanza, Monica Wanjiru

Reproductive Health

Health workers in Kenya often miss opportunities to discuss pediatric HIV with clients and to track exposed children in order to initiate treatment. To address this problem, the Population Council’s APHIA II Operations Research Project collaborated with the Christian Health Association of Kenya, Catholic Relief Services, and the Kendu Adventist Hospital to improve HIV testing and treatment services for children at the hospital. The project recommended that pediatric HIV services be strengthened and included as an essential service at all levels of healthcare facilities in order to reach more children, including as one of the roles of the community health …

Service Improvements And Community Education Lead To Increase In Uptake Of Hiv Services For Infants And Young Children, Population Council

Reproductive Health

The Population Council’s APHIA II Operations Research Project in Kenya collaborated with Kendu Adventist Hospital and the Christian Health Association to launch a study to examine the effect of improved services and awareness-creation on the uptake of HIV testing and treatment services for children and infants exposed to HIV. The study showed that community education and improvements in individual case tracking can increase the proportion of infants exposed to HIV who are tested for HIV and put on appropriate treatment. The policy brief recommends that health facilities streamline services to ensure that as many exposed infants as possible are identified …

Unmas 2010 Annual Report, Unmas

Global CWD Repository

Our work in helping to protect and empower local communities contributes to wider humanitarian, peace and development dividends, and delivers concrete and measurable results. Our success stories are the product of the generous support provided by UN Member States’ funds allocated by the UN General Assembly for the mine action components in seven peacekeeping operations, and by donors’ considerable extra-budgetary funding support. Despite challenges, 16 donor governments, the European Union (EU), the Common Humanitarian Trust Fund for Sudan (CHF) and students from Pace University in New York contributed to the Voluntary Trust Fund for Assistance in Mine Action (VTF). The …

Geneva International Centre For Humanitarian Demining 2010 Annual Report, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

Annual report on the work of the GICHD for 2010.

Apopo Annual Report 2011, Apopo

Global CWD Repository

A landmine survivor recently said of APOPO’s work in Mozambique: “There is happiness our land has been returned to us, freedom of grazing for livestock, no restrictions on where we walk. The mines have been a serious problem but we have already seen a reduction in people losing their lives. We are very happy.”

This, in a nutshell, is why we do the work we do. Hearing the feedback of villagers in affected regions – whose lives have changed for the better as a result of our humanitarian actions – verifies how immensely important our mission is.

The success of …

Census Data Show Regional Disparities In Educational Attainment, Michael Burnham, Jason R. Jurjevich, Neba Noyan, Charles Rynerson

Publications, Reports and Presentations

We live in the Silicon Forest, but the landscape of educational attainment in the Portland region varies greatly from east to west and north to south.

Norwegian People's Aid Annual Report 2011, Npa

Global CWD Repository

Collaboration with old and new supporters in 2011 was very productive for Norwegian People’s Aid. t has not only brought in important income for our work both at home and abroad but has also given our work greater impact and weight. We look forward to continued collaboration with our supporters in the time to come.