ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 19th Jun, 2018) Hedayah, the International Centre of Excellence for Countering Violent Extremism, CVE, led a discussion with the public on 'Realigning the Crime-Terror Nexus' that took place at the sixth edition of Debating Security Plus, convened by Friends of Europe.
The recurring phenomenon shows clear interactions between violent extremist groups and organised criminal groups in illicit activities. From a CVE perspective, drivers of radicalisation are gradually conflating with drivers of organised crime. Recent data shows that, in Europe, individuals are increasingly drawn towards violent extremism due to the "sense of empowerment," "sense of identity," or "economic opportunities," motives that are common with individuals pushed towards criminal gangs.
Maqsoud Kruse, Executive Director of Hedayah, emphasised during his opening remarks at Debating Security Plus, that "What we are seeing here is this very interesting and bizarre phenomena where the forces of evil are uniting, where they are collaborating and where they borrow tactics and strategies from each other".
Discussions on the topic highlighted important implications on prevention and the issue of "exceptionality" of terrorism amongst other criminal behaviours. These implications suggest adopting a holistic approach to prevention and identifying key overlaps with crime and utilising similar tools to address terrorism.
Hedayah has been partnering with Friends of Europe for the third year at Debating Security Plus, which aims to yield concrete recommendations on some of the world’s most pressing security challenges. Addressing six different themes, the brainstorm will bring together senior international participants from the military, national governments, international organisations, along with voices from NGOs and civil society, business, the media, think-tanks, and academia. Last year the brainstorm counted almost 2,000 participants from all over the world.
