Intelligence-led counter-terrorism and mobilising societal responses more effectively
Despite the various revisions to Prevent that have taken place, particularly since 2011, a number of challenges remain. Prevent and the associated Counter Extremism agenda continue to attract very high levels of criticism, notably in relation to the shift to a more expansive focus on countering non-violent extremism, the imposition of Prevent as a statutory duty across the public sector, and the implications of Prevent and Counter Extremism for Muslim community and civic engagement. In this paper I consider recent developments to, and current challenges for, the evolving Prevent strategy and Counter Extremism agenda, and argue that government should 1) establish an independent review of Prevent and the Counter Extremism agenda, with a particular focus on the definition of extremism that underpins these policies; 2) address the centralisation of Prevent by developing more locally driven approaches that enable local actors to shape, rather than simply implement, policy responses to radicalisation; and 3) develop more robust mechanisms for state engagement with Muslim communities at national and local levels, and with a wide range of (including critical) groups and voices.