Methodology

PARTICIPATION holistic approach leads to consider vulnerable people as protagonists of the research processes and producers of knowledge by themselves, including the way and strategies for preventing extremism and radicalization.

This concept will permit both having more reliable data and to active empowerment processes combining mixed-method approach, action research approach and social lab approach in order to contrast extremism and radicalization.

PARTICIPATION research approach

can be represented in 4 main steps:

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Analysis of the drivers of extremism and radical ideologies.

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Building communicative and education countermeasures.

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Development of policies, methodological tools, set of early warnings, skills and knowledge to tackle radicalization.

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Sharing and validation of PARTICIPATION solutions with civil society actors, practitioners, decision-makers.

PARTICIPATION will develop the Social Lab approach to co-create findings, solutions, and tools toward the analysis and the intervention in the field of extremism, polarization and radicalisation within a bottom-up framework.

The Social Lab approach will be developed to:

  • diagnose the state of radicalization in different contexts;
  • adapt existing activities as well as create and test new agreed pilot actions to promote the uptake of measures to prevent, mitigate and reverse radicalization processes/factors;
  • raise awareness and provide information, (self) assessment, mutual exchange, and learning;
  • use the Social Lab as a training tool and provide suitable incentives to include practices of mutual learning and cooperation in radicalization studies;
  • develop and test in Social Labs actions and activities which will contribute to implementing measures and mechanisms that fully recognize the importance of social inclusion in addressing radicalization phenomena.

Social Labs will be central spaces for the analysis of existing experiences and the formulation of future actions and activities to promote the uptake of social inclusion as a key factor to address radicalization.

Innovation potential of PARTICIPATION

Understanding different extremism and radicalization pathways

Participative research approach and Delphy survey – involving experts, young people, religious communities and stakeholders – for the study of extremism, polarisation, and radicalization.

Policies and practices analysis

Participatory approach applied to case studies selected within different social realities (municipalities, prisons, school, and religious communities); comparative analysis of rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for radicalized people in prisons.

Tools and solutions

Development of a specific participatory analysis on the socio-psychological effects of urban ecology on extremism and radicalization, as well as polarization and alienation of youth in urban and peri-urban contexts; construction of counter-narrative campaigns involving young people; development of new methodological tools for early detection and situation analysis.