The EuroMeSCo Annual Conference “Confronting Violent Extremism in the Euro-Mediterranean” gathered over 150 researchers and practitioners from 22 countries to debate the scope of the threat of violent extremism in the Euro-Mediterranean region, its manifestations, drivers, impact and what responses could be developed to confront it.

The Plenary Sessions explored how the region was affected by violent extremism, the specificities of violent extremism today and possible strategies to counter the phenomenon, the complex drivers and root causes motivating the radicalisation of individuals across the Euro-Mediterranean, as well as the interactions between violent extremism and other phenomena such as populism, islamophobia and authoritarianism.

Three “working sessions” offered an opportunity to discuss in smaller format specific angles of the phenomenon of violent extremism, including the link between violent extremism and geopolitics (with a focus on Libya and Sinai), the complex nexus between violent extremism and populist, nationalist and islamophobic trends in EU countries on the one hand and authoritarian trends on the other, as well as concrete examples of policies and initiatives in the fields of preventing and countering radicalisation.