Preventing violent extremism: lessons from Africa

An analysis of projects in Central, East and West Africa highlights the need for longer-term funding.

Many efforts to prevent and counter violent extremism in Africa are being carried out by local and international organisations. Despite this work and considerable amounts of funding for these initiatives, practitioners still struggle to determine what effect their efforts are having, both negative and positive. Based on an analysis of many projects in Central, East and West Africa, this report considers questions of donor funding, the duration of funding, theories of change, and monitoring and evaluation.

About the author

Isel van Zyl is a Junior Researcher in the Transnational Threats and International Crime programme at the ISS in Pretoria. She has a Master’s degree in advanced European and international studies from the Centre international de formation européenne (CIFE) in Nice, France.

Picture: Adapted from Koang Puk – USAID in Africa/Flickr