From Policy to Practice: Findings and Lessons Learned From a Research-Based Pilot Countering Violent Extremism Programme in the Horn of Africa

The essay will take as its starting point the European Union (EU)-funded Strengthening Resilience to Violent Extremism (STRIVE) Horn of Africa programme. STRIVE is a pilot designed to test assumptions around what works in countering violent extremism (CVE) in the Horn of Africa, as well as to build the evidence base to support recommendations for future programming. This essay will outline the four core areas underpinning STRIVE – a) law enforcement and civil-society relations, b) the role of women, c) the role of diaspora, and d) youth marginalisation – and consider these in the context of a summary of recent findings from research and pilot activities around recruitment to violent groups and radicalisation in the region. The essay will emphasise research methodologies, considerations and challenges within an overall framework of moving from policy to practice. Finally, the essay will stress the fact that a narrow CVE focus is new in the Horn of Africa and that there is a significant need for more methodological innovation, creative programming and flexible donors, with many research gaps to be filled. STRIVE Horn of Africa (HoA) is the first in a series of global, EU funded research-based pilot programmes focusing on CVE.