Drivers to Violent Extremism in South Eastern Europe – the North Macedonian Context

Abstract

The Balkans are usually unjustly overlooked when discussing terrorism and violent extremism in the world today. Although not a region where many terrorist incidents occur, the Balkans are the main ‘suppliers’ of Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTF-s) who fight in the Middle East. International statistics rank Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania as the biggest sources of FTF-s as per capita of state population. North Macedonia is a part of this reality. 

This article aims to analyse the drivers to violent extremism in this region. It will try to establish that weak state institutions as well as failure to deal with hate crimes, marginalization and discrimination contribute decisively in the rates of FTF-s coming from this region. It will correlate with the poverty, lack of perspective for the youth, and poor educational systems as a separate category of drivers, as well as try to explain the importance of the conflict history as a very important driver to violent extremism. Most of the Balkan countries updated their legislation criminalizing any kind of involvement with foreign armies; however, not all of them have developed comprehensive and transparent strategies for implementation of Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) and Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) policies. The article will provide recommendations for developing such strategies.

Keywords

• Violent extremism,Drivers,South Eastern Europe,Macedonia

Güney Doğu Avrupa’da Şiddet İçeren Aşırılığa İten Güçler – Kuzey Makedonya Bağlamı

Abstract

Bugün dünyada terörizm ve şiddet içeren radikalizm tartışılırken Balkanlar genellikle hakettiği ilgiyi görememektedir. Pek çok terör olayının yaşandığı bir yer olmasa da, Balkanlar Orta Doğu’da savaşan Yabancı Terörist Savaşçılarının (FTF) geldikleri bölge itibariyle önemli konumunda bulunmaktadır. İstatistiklere göre uluslararası sıralamada, Kosova, Bosna-Hersek ve Arnavutluk’u kişi başına düşen en büyük FTF kaynağı olarak yer almaktadırlar. Kuzey Makedonya Cumhuriyeti de bu gerçeğin dışında değildir.

Bu makale, bölgedeki şiddet içeren radikalizme neden olan itici güçleri incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Devlet kurumlarının etkisizleşmesinin yanı sıra nefret suçlarıyla başa çıkmama, ötekileştirme ve ayrımcılığın bu bölgeden gelen FTF’lerin oranlarıyla alakalı olduğunu ve belirleyici bir katkıda bulunduğunu öngörmekteyim. Bunun yanında şiddet içeren radikalizm yoksulluk, genç nüfusun gelecekten ümitli olmayışı, ve ayrı bir kategori olarak başarısız eğitim sistemleriyle ilgili olduğunu ve şiddet içeren çatışma tarihinin radikalleşme için çok önemli bir itici güç olduğunu açıklamaya çalışacağım. Balkan ülkelerinin çoğu, vatandaşlarının yabancı devletlerin ordusuna katılımının her türlüsünü suç olarak niteleyenyasal düzenlemeyi güncelledi ancak, şiddet içeren radikalizmle mücadele ve radikalizmi önleme politikalarının uygulanması için kapsamlı ve şeffaf stratejileri henüz geliştirmedi. Makale, bu tür stratejilerin geliştirilmesi için öneriler sunmayı amaçlamaktadır.

Keywords

• Şiddet aşırılıkçılık-radikalleşme,İtici güçler,Güneydoğu Avrupa,Makedonya

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