No national plans. Tackling radicalisation and discrimination with the effort of civil society in Greece and Romania

ABSTRACT

This paper looks at the two case studies of Greece and Romania where national policies and strategies for Prevention and Countering of Violent Extremism (P/CVE) are non-existent or suffer from a deficiency in implementation. The analysis begins with a diagnosis of each country’s history and reaction to different types of violent extremism and attempts to highlight the ways in which each of them has dealt with this phenomenon. Both in Greece and Romania, the task has fallen into the hands of civil society to lead and develop local, regional, and national P/CVE programs. This is examined in this article, followed by an in-depth analysis of local action against radicalisation and VE in two cities in Greece and Romania. The paper also takes the perspective of education and social cohesion in analysing the issues at hand. The results of the analysis showcase that both countries lag in realising effective P/CVE strategies, with Greece having the institutional infrastructure – relevant agencies and local actors – albeit remaining inactive, and Romania still struggling to recognise the potential threat of radicalisation and violent extremism in the country – exemplified by the lack of open conversation at the level of government and public information.

KEYWORDS:

• P/CVE
• Greece
• Romania
• national policies
• legislation
• prisons

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Markar Shangoyan

Markar Shangoyan is a researcher at KMOP. His research interest focuses on matters connected with international relations and regional studies. At KMOP, Markar Shangoyan focuses on topics and projects in the fields of prevention/countering of violent extremism (P/CVE), combatting disinformation, youth education and migration.

Christiana Aposkiti

Christiana Aposkiti studied History and Philosophy of Science (BSc) at the National Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and holds two master's degrees: one in European and International Studies (NKUA) and the other in Criminology from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. Since 2021, she has been employed as an associate researcher at the Centre for Security Studies (KEMEA). Before that, she gained experience working for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and European Organizations in Athens, Nairobi, Paris and Brussels as a researcher and policy specialist, focusing on the prevention of radicalization, terrorism and serious crime.

Isabella Pirlogea

Isabella Pirlogea is a researcher and Project manager at PATRIR. Her research looks at cross-ideological radicalisation factors, intersectional analysis of extremism groups and technology-driven terrorism. She is an expert pool for the European Commission's Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) with a focus on AI and counterterrorism, Exit Programs and young people and counter-extremism. She is the author of several, publications, including a co-author of a book looking at understanding far-right, far-left, separatist and religious extremism.

Norina Herki

Norina Herki is a researcher, project officer and education lead at PATRIR. Her research focuses on prevention and combating polarization, violent radicalization and extremism, including through formal and non-formal education. She is also a Ph.D. candidate at the Faculty of European Studies, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, in the field of Political Science. Her doctoral research addresses the political representation and participation of the Roma minority in post-communist Romania. Her work experience includes coordinating international programmes and projects on equal access to (quality) education, antidiscrimination and inclusion, democracy and participation.