8400 Baltimore Ave., College Park, MD 20740
On Tuesday, April 19 from 12:30 to 1:30 pm, Fulbright Scholar and Director of the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies Florian Qehaja will give a lecture at START Headquarters titled "Countering Violent Extremism in the Context of the Western Balkans" (detailed description below). The event is free and open to the public, but RSVP's are appreciated.
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.