Education and Security - a global literature review on the role of education in countering violent religious extremism

This review demonstrates that the impact of the worldwide proliferation of violent attacks motivated by religious extremism threatens both national and personal security irrespective of location or faith. Education has been particularly damaged by direct attacks on institutions, by the removal of educational opportunity, and by the use of education to indoctrinate and recruit young people. This review suggests that more young people today are being radicalized through soft power – extremist ideas, ideology, narratives and propaganda. It questions whether this can be met adequately by hard power responses, as these methods appeal directly to the psychological, intellectual and emotional states of young people.