Leave no one behind, even those who were in a violent extremist group

By Yosuke Nagai

Despite impressive improvements in global governance’s quality and reach, violent extremism has continued to persist worldwide, with certain conflicts seeing little to no progress towards ending due to flaws in the mechanisms necessary for peace. Furthermore, conventional methods of counter-extremism, including corrective measures such as a unilateral religious re-education have shown little promise in establishing sustainable solutions. The factors that motivate individuals to pursue extremism or other criminal activities are highly sensitive and diverse, and collaborative approaches built by stakeholders must be mindful of this reality. Having spent considerable time amongst communities embedded in conflict hotspots worldwide, Accept International has developed the “Re-define, Prepare, Action” (RPA) model in a new approach towards counter-extremism especially for de-radicalization and reintegration of ex-violent extremists in a penal institution.

The RPA model has been implemented in response to mistakes in extremism-related global governance, where overly correctional methods would often see little change, or even a worsening in the de-radicalization and reintegration of people formerly involved with extremist groups. It operates on the belief that despite their past, everyone has a…