Compromising dignity? Preventing violent extremism (PVE) in the Sahel, Africa (British Academy/GCRF)

This proposal responds to the experience of policy-makers and practitioners working on ‘preventing violent extremism’ (PVE) who find policies developed and implemented under the rubric of PVE to be ambiguous and vague which can lead to dignity being compromised. This mixed-methods research in the G5 Sahel region will generate tools appropriate for use at multiple levels which i) enable stakeholders to think together about violence as it manifests itself in actual events and processes ii) bring into the open diverse conceptualisations of dignity and the way it is compromised by different PVE actors and iii) explore heritage as a source of symbolic and instrumental resources for the prevention of violence. Inspired by interdisciplinarity, this research moves beyond state-centric models of engaging with ‘extremism’, recognizes that states, themselves, can be the source of insecurity, rights abuses, and indignity, and uncovers the power of individuals and communities to change society and politics.