Resilience, Peacebuilding, and Preventing Violent Extremism

Cedric de Coning is a Research Professor with the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), based in Oslo, Norway. He is also a Senior Advisor for the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) in South Africa.Rui Saraiva is an Associate Professor at the School of International Liberal Arts, Miyazaki International University (Japan), and a Visiting Fellow at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development. His current research focuses on conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and preventing violent extremism in Africa.Ako Muto is a Specially Appointed Research Fellow at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development and Specially Appointed Professor at Rikkyo University, based in Tokyo. She has been involved in research for peacebuilding, humanitarian crises, and human security, bridging aid practices and academics.

“To build future stability and security in a polarised and a fragmented world, we need not only warfighters but peacemakers. At the heart of effective governance is educating and training far reaching leaders to harness smart power, the integration of hard and soft power. To secure nations, this invaluable and timely book calls governments and partners to invest in social harmony, political stability, and economic prosperity.” Rohan Gunaratna, Chairman, Global Peace Institute UK“In an age where the focus is on great power rivalries and geopolitics, this book serves as an excellent reminder that there are other tools and remedies to conflicts than militarization and military interventions, studying how local resilience and conflict-specific strategies can be an alternative to outright violence, this is a very important book!” Stig Jarle Hansen, International Environment and Development Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences“In a world that is increasingly afflicted by the scourge of violent extremism this is a timely and relevant book that interrogates the complexity of the phenomenon, and contributes significantly to enhancing our understanding of the transformative role of peacebuilding process in deeply divided societies.”Tim Murithi, Institute for Justice and Reconciliation and University of Cape Town, author of The Ethics of Peacebuilding“Violent extremism continues to spread amongst fragile polities in a fractured world. Traditional counter-terrorism efforts are too narrow, to effectively respond to the challenge. Theoretically anchored, empirically sound, this compelling book makes the case for a more comprehensive approach towards violent extremism. Given the multiple factors fuelling extremism, this is much needed. The chapters reflect this comprehensive approach covering such diverse topics as gender, climate change and social cohesion. A must read for academics and policy makers as they seek to respond to extremism.” Hussein Solomon, Senior Professor at the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies, University of the Free State, South Africa

• 1 Introduction: Linking Resilience, Peacebuilding, and Preventing Violent Extremism 2 Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism by Strengthening Social Cohesion and Resilience: An Adaptive Peacebuilding Approach 3 Building Resilience amid Fear: From State to Community-Embedded Prevention in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique 4 Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism in the Complex Context of the Syrian Conflict 5 Reconciliation and Social Cohesion in the Prevention of Violent Extremism in Complex Systems: Iraq as a Case Study 6 Intersecting Gender in Community Resilience to Violent Extremism: Local Actors’ Perspectives in Niger 7 “When There Are Many Saying the Same Thing That I Am Saying, I Feel Less Afraid to Speak Up”: Emotions, Resilience, and Peacebuilding in Sri Lanka 8 The Role of Development Agencies in Fostering Resilience to Violent Extremism: The Case of Mindanao, the Philippines 9 Climate Change, Environmental Peacebuilding and Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism 10 Conclusion: Preventing Violent Extremism Requires Community-orientated, Holistic, Comprehensive and Adaptive Solutions