After being contacted by the US Government’s Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC) and the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum (GCTF) to present on my work using social media to cross divides in conflict zones at an intergovernmental seminar recently in Abu Dhabi, it was a pleasure to return to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in June, this time to take part in a small expert working group convened by the International Center for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT-The Hague) and the Hedayah Center to discuss elaborating and implementing effective frameworks for countering violent extremist narratives.
Though the initial focus was to be on Al-Qaeda, the dramatic emergence of ISIS as well as far-right and neo-Nazi groups was also a focus. Among those attending were senior officials from the OSCE, the FBI’s Counterterrorism Bureau, US Homeland Security, and representatives of civil society and the media, such as myself. I also led a session on the media and alternative and counter-narratives. It was especially encouraging to discover that my work on the same in the context of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict was known to many. Sadly, however, no other NGOs engaged in Track II activities in that area has understood the task at hand.
Anyway, the meeting was very productive and the meeting notes have now been published. Three months later, and ironically because it was my work on Nagorno Karabakh that attracted the attention of various governmental and intergovernmental agencies, I am convinced that such frameworks are also necessary in traditional conflict resolution settings too. Needless to say, the parallels and many overlaps in ultranationalist and violent extremist narratives are uncanny and actually unsettling at times. Both spheres can and should learn from each other.
The introduction to the meeting notes is reproduced below, as is the link to the full report.
On 18 and 19 June, ICCT and Hedayah convened a roundtable expert meeting to examine the components for a counter-narrative framework that could effectively refute the narratives communicated by violent extremist actors such as al Qaeda. The workshop gathered 25 of the leading experts from around the world at the Hedayah Centre in Abu Dhabi and used the recently-published Research Paper by ICCT Research Fellow Dr. Alex P. Schmid as a starting point for discussions.
The meeting identified various challenges encountered by existing governmental and non-governmental counter-narrative initiatives. Participants discussed various elements relevant in the context of counter-narratives such as the type of narrative, the target audience, the messenger, the substance of the message and the medium used to deliver the most effective counter-narrative. Specifically, the experts analysed these different elements to identify best practices and recommendations for effective counter-narrative strategies. For example, clearly defining the goal of a counter-narrative for all actors involved in advance of any communicative action is pivotal in ensuring effectiveness. To do so, actors must have a profound understanding of the target audience and a good perception of the multi-layered messaging and narrative of violent actors. Here, knowledge and information sharing with other actors such as those in development-related sectors is crucial. However, past experience has shown that the involvement of certain other actors such as former violent extremists, victims and religious voices in counter-narrative activities can carry great risks to the effectiveness of the counter-narrative and the persons involved, and should therefore be carefully evaluated. The role of governments was also examined and there was consensus that governmental bodies are a more relevant and credible actor than sometimes assumed; therefore governments need to communicate strategically and consider that absence of communication also sends a message.
During the final session, using examples of current and potential future projects that may close the knowledge gap and assist in the development of counter-narratives, a list of promising projects that could be considered by governments and other donors was developed.
Read the full meeting report including recommendations.
You can also download the PDF from my website here.
