Extremism, Radicalization, and Terrorism Across Contexts

This brief addresses the urgent global challenge of politically, religiously, ethnically, and other ideologically motivated extremism and violent radicalization. It critically examines the effectiveness of existing psychosocial prevention strategies and provides insights into resilience against extremism. Drawing on research from 31 countries and the evaluation of l prevention programs, the book offers a comprehensive look at how psychosocial programs can reduce radicalization. The volume delves into key concepts, theoretical explanations, methodological challenges, and developmental risks Its own empirical research includes a unique survey of practical prevention projects and a systematic review and meta-analysis of outcome evaluations. The volume highlights positive outcomes, especially in primary prevention for youth and tertiary interventions for exiting radical trajectories. However, it also underscores the need for more methodologically sound, controlled evaluations of long-term behavioral changes. By offering empirical evidence on diverse approaches, this book provides a robust foundation for a more informed and less divisive societal discussion on extremism. It is an essential resource for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers engaged in counter-extremism, social work, and criminology.

This book is a translation of an original German edition. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation.