18/04/2016
KCSS Executive Director, Dr Florian Qehaja, on Tuesday, April 19 delivered a presentation on “Countering Violent Extremism in the Context of the Western Balkans" at START Headquarters, Maryland.
Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence headquartered at the University of Maryland, START (the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism—better known as START) supports the research efforts of leading social scientists at more than 50 academic and research institutions, each of whom is conducting original investigations into fundamental questions about terrorism.
The presentation of Mr. Qehaja, will be focused more on the doctrinal shift in fighting terrorism from hard security into soft (preventive) measures caught Western Balkans unprepared. There is a shared understanding among the academic and policy community that the preventive measures and locally driven initiatives are prerequisites for minimising the potential of violent extremism. The Western Balkans are geographically in Europe yet positioned strategically enough so to be directly affected by terrorist groups. The fragile states, poor economic condition and uncertain European perspective have been perfectly used by the recruiters having strong ties to DAESH or Jaber al Nustra. This presentation will share the recent figures of societal and state efforts in preventing further widespread of violent extremism in the Western Balkans. It will bring the latest figures of foreign terrorist fighters and the recent developments in de-radicalisation and disengagement.
