Involving credible messengers in counter-terrorism
A dominant assumption in counter-terrorism practice has emphasised the importance of people with lived experience as credible messengers, specifically former extremists who have been identified as having a crucial role in violence prevention work. Dr Clubb’s research advances understanding of what conditions, structures and policies make a messenger more or less credible in counter-terrorism. This research has been integral to how international practitioners have understood the role of former extremists and former combatants in counter-terrorism work, impacting how organisations employ former extremists internationally.
Dr Clubb’s work on former extremists and credible messengers has shaped how the issue is understood in key policy doctrines and reports by organisations including the UK Home Office, the European Commission's EU Knowledge Hub’s policy recommendations, the OSCE, Peace Direct, the US Office of Justice Programs, the International Organization of Migration and Hedayah. Dr Clubb has shared his expertise on messenger credibility and best practices for working with former extremists with leading practitioners such as Life After Hate, Parents for Peace, Moonshot, Exit Hate UK, Fighters for Peace, the Organization for Prevention of Violence, Exit Germany, Resilience in Unity, the Institute for Security, Integration and Deradicalization, Christchurch Call and the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund at events including the Eradicate Hate Summit, the START-University of Maryland Former Extremists workshop, and the New York University Standards for Employing Formers workshop.
Dr Clubb’s work has also been instrumental in developing international standards on working with former extremists. While leading practitioners have long recognised the importance of standards there was little progress on standardisation before this work on the topic, which has led to increased recognition of standards, greater understanding and prioritisation of standards, and institutional changes focused on standardisation. This includes contributing to the creation of INDEX, a tertiary intervention professional association that is focused on greater standards within the sector. INDEX now has 100 members across the world. Dr Clubb’s development of sector-leading standards has been recognised and used various civil society organisations. The project has produced the Lived Experience Onboarding Toolkit, which includes practical tools to support the safe, ethical and effective involvement of people with lived experience in P/CVE.
This work has been funded by the ESRC and the University of Leeds. For more information, watch this video.
Key publications
“From Terrorists to Peacekeepers”: The IRA's Disengagement and the Role of Community Networks
The role of formers in countering violent extremism
Combating the terrorist stigma: communicating rehabilitation and reducing barriers to reintegration
Former Extremists: Preventing and Countering Violence
Standards for Employing Formers in P/CVE.