Academy's Associate Research Fellow Dr. Chiara Pierobon delivered a Public Lecture

On 2 October OSCE Academy's Associate Research Fellow and Research Scholar Dr. Chiara Pierobon delivered a Public Lecture on "EU Prevention of Violent Extremism and Radicalization in Central Asia: A Case Study on Civil Society Engagement in Kyrgyzstan". In the first part of the lecture, Dr. Pierobon briefly offered a critical overview of the phenomenon of violent extremism in Central Asia by reviewing the most relevant publications and recent statistics available on the topic. The second part of the presentation was devoted to the main findings on her fieldwork focused on two EU programs addressed to civil society: the “Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace” (IcSP) and the program “Strengthening Resilience to Violence and Extremism” (STRIVE). The analysis revealed different patterns of adaption, contestation and transformation characterizing the PVE engagement of the EU-funded CSOs in Kyrgyzstan. In addition, a typology of different functions that CSOs can fulfilled in this field was described. The lecture was followed by a very lively discussion during which the heterogenous audience composed by students, researchers and practitioners reflected on a variety of topics such as the interplay of push and pull factors of radicalization, the implications of the PVE agenda at the local level looking in particular at the sustainability of smaller organizations and on how to increase the effectiveness of PVE approaches and programs in the region.

Back to list