Preventing ideological radicalization
Mapping review
|Updated
Identification of studies that investigated effects of and experiences with interventions that aimed at preventing radicalization, primarily among youth.
Key message
The National Police Directorate and the Directorate of Integration and Diversity commissioned a systematic search from The Social Research Unit at the Norwegian Knowledge Centre for the Health Services. The aim was to identify studies that investigated effects of and experiences with interventions that aimed at preventing radicalization, primarily among youth.
Methods
We conducted a systematic search for empirical studies, employing any kind of study design, on effect of or experiences with interventions aimed at preventing radicalisation. We searched in medical and social science databases. The search was conducted in March 2014.
Results
- We identified 13511 references in total. Among these, we considered 18 to be relevant according to the inclusion criteria.
- We identified two potentially relevant systematic reviews about religious radicalisation.
- We identified two controlled studies (one RCT and one non-randomised controlled study). These studies investigated the effect of an educational intervention designed to improve inter-group relations, and the effect of a program designed to increase sensitivity to victims and promote respect for human rights.
- We identified eight qualitative studies that explored experiences with different preventive interventions against radicalism.
- The other studies were a case-study, had mixed methods design or had unclear designs.
As we identified only two small controlled studies that measured the effect of two different interventions, there is at present no empirical fundament to make a systematic review about effect of such interventions.