EUI - Global Security, Gender, Politics and the Countering of Violent Extremism (CVE)

In 2015, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2242, which called for concrete action by states to integrate their agendas on women, peace and security with counterterrorism and countering violent extremism policies. The counterterrorism regime, and in particular national Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) policies, have been highly criticised for its securitised foundations. This project investigates the national implementation of this resolution by drawing on theories of feminist institutionalism and decentred security governance in Norway and Canada. The aim is to understand how gender shapes P/CVE policies in these countries and how gender is understood and implemented within national and local P/CVE initiatives. This research project aims to contribute to both academic work and practice in three key areas: 1. The emerging academic debates; (1) concerning women as violent perpetrators of terrorism; (2) and as key actors in CVE efforts; which also adds to (3) academic feminist scholars' work on gender and political agency. 2. Mainstreaming of gender as an international and national strategy. 3. Scholarly and policy debates on pre-emptive security strategies.

Prosjektet bidrar til flere akademiske forskningsfelt, i tillegg kan det ha praktisk nytteverdi for de som - på ulike måter - jobber med forebygging av voldelig ekstremisme i Norge og Canada. Samfunnsnytten kan derfor være stor, fordi økt forståelse for hvordan forebygging skjer i praksis, og hvordan kjønnsperspektiv blir forstått i denne sammenhengen, forhåpentligvis bidrar til å bedre både Norge og Canadas tiltak og praksis rundt forebygging av voldelig ekstremisme. Akademisk bidrar prosjektet til forskning på Kvinner, Fred og Sikkerhet, forebygging av ekstremisme, og internasjonale relasjoner. Det bidrar til å forstå prosesser av politikkutforming og politikkutøving (governance). Dette gjøres ved å fokusere både på top-down strategier og aktører, og deres forståelse av kjønn og kjønnsperspektiv, i tillegg til å forstå praktikere og deres utøvelse og forståelse av disse policyene (bottom-up).

Since the attacks of 11 September 2001, terrorism has become one of the most pressing global challenges. The attacks transformed international and national laws and policies, which now embrace a pre-emptive security approach. Most countering violent extremism (CVE) measures – which seek to address the conditions conducive to terrorism – however, target men. The key objectives of this project are to critically investigate how policies and local initiatives aimed at countering violent extremism impact women and how global security norms are operationalised in Norway and the United Kingdom. This project will be conducted through a multi-level analysis following a socio-legal qualitative methodology, and evaluates how these measures undermine or enhance women's human rights protection. Studying women as violent perpetrators of terrorism challenge the prevailing gender stereotypes, and if we can look past them, we can also improve our understandings of the phenomenon that is terrorism.