Preventing violent extremism in the Netherlands: overview of its broad approach

Abstract

Since the Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was murdered in 2004 by Mohammed Bouyeri, a young extremist of Moroccan descent, the Dutch authorities have been confronted with the question of how to prevent repetition of such an event. Accordingly, costly comprehensive programmes for preventing violent extremism (PVE) have been planned, implemented, discussed, assessed, and revised. In this regard, the article offers an overview of the broad approach taken in the Netherlands over the past 20 years with a twofold objective: a) to give an account of the most significant elements, and b) to further the discussion of two essential aspects of the Dutch PVE policy, these being community engagement and the phasing model which provides a framework for the development of PVE programmes that could be useful for policymakers and practitioners. Finally, some possible lessons are drawn from this broad approach.

Keywords

• the netherlands
• preventing violent extremism (pve)
• broad approach
• radicalisation