CVEK

Youth and extremism. Factors influencing the radicalisation of young people and their perception of its manifestations

The publication Youth and Extremism is published within the framework of the project Radicalisation Prevention Mechanism – Police and Youth Together. It aims to contribute to effective youth radicalisation prevention policies.

As we consider it important that young people’s voices are heard in the processes of developing various prevention policies, we decided to involve them in the whole process of developing the prevention mechanism. We want to build on their views, needs and respond to the current problems of young people that can potentially lead to support for extremist groups or radicalisation.

The research consisted of two parts – quantitative questionnaire research and focus groups. The representative questionnaire research focused on different areas and factors that may underlie extremism and radicalisation. The research respondents were 1,005 young people aged 16-25, with the sample being representative in terms of gender, regional distribution, the size of the settlement where the young people live and other socio-demographic characteristics.

Based on initial findings from the quantitative research, we conducted seven focus groups with young people from different regions and backgrounds in early 2022. The sample included active young people involved in various participatory processes, as well as young people attending various low-threshold facilities. There were students from high schools, but also from vocational high schools and a university, in order to cover as diverse a range of young people’s views and needs as possible. In total, 43 young people participated in the focus groups.

Both quantitative and qualitative research focused on different areas of inquiry: young people’s perceptions of diversity in society, social capital and social problems, trust in institutions, trust in different sources of information, and perceptions of extremism and its various manifestations.

 

 

 

This publication is published as part of the project ‚Mechanism for Preventing Radicalisation and Extremism-Police and Youth Together‘, which is supported by the ACF-Slovakia programme, funded by the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014-2021. The programme is administered by the Ekopolis Foundation in partnership with the Open Society Foundation Bratislava and the Carpathian Foundation.

Kategória: Nezaradené