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Giving Compass' Take:
• Jessica Trisko Darden analyzes how U.S. counterterrorism can be augmented by effective development assistance that works to stop the spread of violent extremism.
• Darden takes a structural approach to counter terrorism by addressing the development needs of areas affected by extremism. How can this type of structural thinking be implemented in other areas of giving?
• Read about fighting terrorism with social innovation.
Terrorism remains a persistent challenge driven by ideology and unstable political and economic environments. US counterterrorism policy must draw on all available tools—including foreign assistance— to succeed.
Extremist violence often creates or exacerbates an unstable economic environment—discouraging foreign investment, degrading infrastructure, and disrupting governments’ ability to provide services. According to the Institute for Economics and Peace’s Global Terrorism Index, terrorism cost the world roughly $52 billion and more than 18,800 lives in 2017 alone.
Foreign assistance for terrorism prevention programs can complement military tools by funding civilian efforts to (1) disrupt the recruitment and radicalization of individuals and (2) reduce local support for violent extremist groups and political violence more generally.
Foreign development assistance can be a versatile counterterrorism tool if guided by four core pillars.
- Physical Security: The US government should assist partners in ensuring physical security through the use of military support and security-sector assistance
- Respond to Need: Humanitarian response is an integral part of efforts to prevent the spread of violent extremism and limit the power terrorist groups have over vulnerable populations. The US government should maintain its significant soft-power advantage as the world’s leading provider of humanitarian assistance, especially in fragile states and conflict-prone areas where violent extremism flourishes.
- Improve Governance: Improved governance is essential in reducing many of the local grievances that contribute to support for violent extremism, including government tyranny, human rights abuses, and political disenfranchisement. Building partners’ capacity for effective governance and service delivery will expand the reach of the state to marginalized populations and limit stateless areas where armed groups thrive.
- Targeted and Tailored Programs: Targeted interventions for at-risk populations should replace current broad-based efforts. Informed by local knowledge, terrorism prevention programs should be evidence-based and directly engage those most vulnerable to radicalization and recruitment.
Partner with local governments and civil society actors to expand services to marginalized populations while working to ensure that governments are accountable to their citizens. In many parts of the world, mistrust of government, human rights abuses, and elite impunity contribute to support for political violence. Development programs should deliver on their rhetoric and develop the capacity of local actors—in government and civil society—to address governance challenges in a sustainable way.