Episode 8: Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism Using Mentorship

Decoding Counterterrorism

Hosts Jessica White and Raffaello Pantucci are joined by Emily Winterbotham and Martine Zeuthen to discuss how and why mentorship efforts, often including a variety of supportive elements such as psycho-social or vocational mentorship, are one of the types of preventing and countering violent extremism approaches that maintain a positive track record for effectiveness and impact. The research evidence base and Martine’s practical implementation experience in Kenya suggest that interventions need to be kept small, tailored and targeted at those who are most at-risk of radicalisation or recruitment.

The mentor-mentee relationship is important, and careful consideration needs to be given not only to the selection of each of these groups, but also to how they are paired. It has often been found that mentors are most effective when they have similar backgrounds to their mentees and have struggled with the same challenges. So, what are the key elements to ensuring that your mentorship engagement to prevent violent extremism can be successful?