Preventing violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism

Preventing violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (P/CVERLT) is a central part of the OSCE’s counter-terrorism activities. The Transnational Threats Department works with government officials, first-line practitioners, researchers and civil society organizations to support the development and implementation of impactful policies and programmes to tackle this issue while upholding human rights, gender equality and the rule of law. It has developed a wide range of regionally tailored resources in this field, which includes technical guidebooks, curricula and policy briefs.

In 2023, the Department launched the project INFORMED: Information and Media Literacy in Preventing Violent Extremism – Human rights-based and gender-sensitive approaches to addressing the digital information disorder. The project promotes media and information literacy as part of the Department’s efforts under the P/CVERLT agenda to build multi-stakeholder trust and resilience to violent extremist content online. This type of content, which can include recruitment and propaganda, is often linked to the spread of misinformation, disinformation and malicious information. 

In a parallel effort, a report on Strengthening Media and Information Literacy in the Context of Preventing Violent Extremism and Radicalization that Lead to Terrorism: A Focus on South-Eastern Europe was released in September 2024. 

The influence of gender stereotypes and violent misogyny

The Transnational Threats Department also places emphasis on raising awareness of how research shows that gender stereotypes and violent misogyny play an important role in the process of radicalization to violence, as well as on understanding how power relations, generally, and violent misogyny, specifically, play a role in the radicalization to violence across the ideological spectrum of violent extremism.

With technology rapidly evolving, the OSCE’s P/CVERLT activities remain adaptable, with activities also looking at such topics such as the emerging role of AI and its potential ethical use in combatting violent extremism and the misuse of gaming platforms for radicalization to violence.