Conducting Research to Combat Radicalisation in At-Risk Communities

Today, many countries continue to suffer threats from violent extremism organisations (VEO) and the influence of anti-state actors.

These threats can take many forms, from promoting alternatives to the rule of law to mobilising local communities against state forces.

International donors are keen to promote anti-VEO activities and messaging, but the impact of their work often suffers due to a lack of ground-level understanding of how these organisations muster support and how the community responds to them.

Accadian was commissioned to conduct qualitative research within at-risk communities in a country whose peace is fragile.

A team of anthropologists and ethnographers with links to these communities was deployed to informally interview citizens, opinion leaders, and even the radicalisers themselves.

The mapping of the narratives that they uncovered provided a robust baseline from which the international donor could both plan its communication strategy and track its effectiveness.