Countering Violent Extremism by Winning Hearts and Minds

Dr. Adib Farhadi is an Assistant Professor of Peace & Conflict and Faculty Director of Executive Education at University of South Florida. He is a recognized global leader in fragile and post-conflict states with more than 20 years of experience in stabilization, reconstruction, counterinsurgency and economic development.Dr. Farhadi teaches courses related to peace and conflict, countering violent extremism and international political economy.  His research has focused on countering violent extremism, computational analytical modelling of conflict & regional economic integration, and peace & reconciliation in Afghanistan and the wider region. Dr. Adib Farhadi previously served as the Deputy Minister of Commerce and Executive Director of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) for the Afghan Government.  He also has extensively advised the U.S. Government, World Bank and served as the Head of Secretariat of United Nation’s Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB) in Afghanistan. Drawing from his extensive experience in government, international organizations, and the private sector, Dr. Farhadi brings a unique policy-practitioner’s perspective to the study of peace & conflict, security studies and political economy.Dr. Farhadi earned a B.S. from East Carolina University, an M.A. from New York University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Canberra. He has been a visiting scholar in the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Canberra, Institute for Governance & Policy Analysis. He also directs University of South Florida’s Executive Education Program, where he teaches courses on topics such as executive leadership, strategic negotiations, conflict resolution, countering violent extremism, conflict resolution and cross-cultural communication.

• Introduction.-The Invisible Rise of Al Qaeda.- A War of Narratives.- Compounding Violent Extremism.- The Faces of Islamophobia.- Consequences of Islamophobia.