HSPI Policy & Research Forum hosts a discussion on:
“Extremist Rehabilitation in Saudi Arabia”
Featuring:
Dr. Christopher Boucek
Associate, Middle East Program
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Moderated by: Frank Cilluffo
Director, Homeland Security Policy Institute
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008
Dr. Boucek's presentation
Saudi Arabia’s “Soft” Counterterrorism Strategy: Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Aftercare by Dr. Boucek (September 2008)
Congressional Quarterly article on event
Much attention has been focused by policymakers and scholars on how people become radicalized and why they join terror groups. However, little effort has been given to deciphering why they leave these organizations and counter-radicalize. Effective rehabilitation services are emerging as an important tool to countering terrorism particularly in the Arabian Peninsula, a hotbed of extremism. Dr. Christopher Boucek presented his latest research on Saudi Arabia’s efforts to reintegrate its citizens involved in extremism into everyday society. The discussion included an examination of the motivations and philosophies behind these programs, as well as their effectiveness and potential for exportation to other countries vulnerable to radicalization.
Christopher Boucek is the author most recently of Saudi Arabia’s “Soft” Counterterrorism Strategy: Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Aftercare, and “The Counseling Program: Extremist Rehabilitation in Saudi Arabia,” in Leaving Terrorism Behind: Disengagement from Political Violence. Before joining the Carnegie Endowment, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University and lecturer in Politics at the Woodrow Wilson School. He is also an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies. From 2003 to 2005, he was a security editor with Jane’s Information Group. Dr. Boucek has written widely on the Middle East, Central Asia, and terrorism for a variety of publications including the Washington Post, CTC Sentinel, Jane’s Intelligence Review, Strategic Insights, and Terrorism Monitor.
The Homeland Security Policy Institute seeks to provide innovative leaders in the fields of national and homeland security with a forum to discuss current and future counterterrorism and counterinsurgency efforts on a regional or country-specific basis.
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