Eurodiaconia is looking for a researcher/consultant to whom commission a paper to focus on the question of how to best prevent political radicalisation of young people in the EU.
While the issue of violent political extremism and radicalisation is still high up on the European political agenda and social cohesion of communities is continuously threatened by Populist rhetoric and far-right extremism.
The paper shall build on previous activities and findings like the mapping of Eurodiaconia members’ work in urban areas, an event in the European Parliament in 2017 or our recent Urban Partnership Seminar held in Düsseldorf, looking at radicalisation prevention from a social inclusion angle and how diaconal initiatives can counter radicalisation and foster social cohesion. Not focused on religious radicalisation but explicitly on political radicalisation and its prevention, the paper aims at evaluating counter-radicalisation approaches – both in terms of their efficiency and their broader social and political impact by showcasing best practice examples of Eurodiaconia members and building on a conception of radicalisation as a dynamic process of escalation.
Since more research is needed to understand the causes, processes and mechanisms of political radicalisation (e.g. the role of prisons and prison counselling) in order to be able to develop effective preventive and counter-measures on local, national and European level, the envisaged paper aims at making high-quality political radicalisation prevention work visible that is carried out by its member organizations in this field.
Further detailed information can be found in the call document.