The Malaysian Embassy Helsinki participated in the CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation webinar which discussed the topic of “Can non-military means address violent extremism?”. The webinar examined the question in the Sahel region and in other parts of Sub-Saharan Africa as an ongoing case study.
3. Key takeaways from the webinar:-
(i) Neither purely military nor non-military means to address violent extremism work on their own. They are complementary, but one needs a deep understanding of the context to choose the right approaches.
(ii) There is an overemphasis on the military means to address violent extremism. Military strategies do not address the fundamental causes of violent extremism, such as weak governance, poverty, inequality and exclusion. Extremist groups take advantage of lack of development and people's mistrust of state authorities, and recruit young people with the promise of a better future.
(iv) There are several ways to address violent extremism through non-military means. The speakers highlighted some approaches such as the redeployment of state authority in affected regions, real investments in development in marginalised areas, dialogue and deradicalisation programmes.
(v) There is an increased understanding that dialogue must be used to counter the violence of extremist groups. The governments of affected countries, with the help of regional and international communities, should be ready to engage in dialogue with these groups to see how their grievances could be addressed
You can watch the webinar recording on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrQMHlyaUcg
Additional material from CMI’s website: https://cmi.fi/.../afghanistan-lessons-military-might.../