Countering Extremism: Now What?

The Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS) led by its Radicalisation Studies Programme held a Workshop on “Countering Extremism: Now What?” from 10-11 September 2018. The CENS Workshop was intended to: a) enhance our understanding of radicalisation from a multi-disciplinary perspective; (b) learn how countries and organisations around the world are confronting extremism; and (c) explore new methods to counter extremism.

The Workshop consisted of six panels. The first panel looked at the current state of violent extremism. It was followed by a panel looking at Indonesia’s current countering violent extremism (CVE) challenges. The third panel looked at Denmark’s Aarhus model, which employs mentorship to dissuade vulnerable individuals from extremism. The fourth panel talked about current CVE initiatives in Indonesia. The fifth panel examined the aftermath of the Battle for Marawi, specifically how to prevent the resurgence of groups linked to Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the Philippines. The last panel discussed the distinct nature of managing extremists in detention.

Twenty (20) speakers from institutions in Australia, Denmark, France, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States shared their experiences on dealing with the challenges of CVE. Workshop participants included members of the Singapore civil service, the private sector, and academia involved in examining radicalisation, countering violent extremism, terrorism, and national security topics.

This report summarises key points from the panel speakers’ presentations. Key takeaways made by participants during the syndicate discussions and by CENS staff are included at the end of each panel section.