With recent changes in social and political landscapes around the world the focus of preventive counter-terrorism has shifted in many places from government to civil society.
The contributors analyze the different approaches of Civil Society Organizations in preventing and countering violent extremism in various countries in South and Southeast Asia. The cases examined include, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The key emphasis is on understanding the context within which each example was initiated, and the factors that determined their relative success or failure. The evidence from these cases suggests that much can be achieved through empowering communities to engage in aiding both the indoctrinated and those who pose the greatest risk of radicalization.
A valuable contribution to the literature on preventing and countering violent extremism.
Author Biography:
Rohan Gunaratna is Professor of Security Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technology University, and founder of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR), Singapore. He received his Masters from the University of Notre Dame in the US where he was Hesburgh Scholar and his doctorate from the University of St Andrews in the UK where he was British Chevening Scholar. A former Senior Fellow at the Combating Terrorism Centre at the United States Military Academy at West Point and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Gunaratna was invited to testify on the structure of al Qaeda before the 9/11 Commission. The author of 17 books including "Inside al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror" (University of Columbia Press), Gunaratna edits the Insurgency and Terrorism Series of the Imperial College Press, London. A trainer for national security agencies, law enforcement authorities, and military counter-terrorism units, he interviewed terrorists and insurgents in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Saudi Arabia and other conflict zones. For advancing international security cooperation, Gunaratna received the Major General Ralph H. Van Deman Award in June 2014.
Mohd Mizan Aslam is Professor of Security Studies at the Naif Arab University for Security Studies (NAUSS), Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Mizan also a senior academician at Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), and founder & first director of Malaysian Research Institute of Strategic Studies (MyRISS). Mizan was conferred Honorary Major by Malaysian Armed Forces in 2016 due to his contribution in security and CVE initiatives. He is also a national expert panel in rehabilitation programs to terrorist inmates nationwide. He is a writer for numerous books, conference papers, journals, proceedings, newspapers, magazines, keynote speakers, and t.v & news columnist. Mizan actively involves in fellowship abroad as Executive Council of Benevolent Fund for Outstanding Students (BFOS), Hadramowt, Govt of Yemen and Executive Advisor QATAR Guest Centre, Doha Qatar. Mizan held a position as Adjunct Professor at School of Arts & Humanities, Universitas Ubudiyah Indonesia (UUI), Acheh, Indonesia. Mizan also appointed as Visiting Professor at the Centre for Civilization & Peace Study, Ibnu Haldun University, Besheksehir, Istanbul, Turkey in 2017. Mizan involved in developing a National Action Plan on CVE with Home Ministry of Malaysia and also appointed as Senior Fellow at Islamic and Strategic Studies Institute (ISSI-CONCAVE).
