In the last few years, the concept of preventing violent extremism has been at the heart of discourses of governments, international organizations and non-state actors. The brutal attacks perpetrated throughout the world in recent years underline more than ever the need for a more convincing response to this phenomenon than the primarily repressive and military measures implemented as part of the ‘Global War on Terror’.
Is preventing violent extremism (PVE) a genuine paradigm shift or rather a semantic one? What needs to be taken into account to facilitate the implementation of this approach? What are its consequences for the roles assigned to young people and women in particular? Lastly, what measures and activities have already been implemented by Swiss governmental and non-governmental organizations? This issue of à propos, the last for 2016, provides some answers to these questions.
Marie Seidel, editor
