Researchers work with former right-wing extremists to prevent and counter recruitment into violent organizations

Empathy, respect and support are needed for those who may be tempted to join hate groups, or are trying to leave them, study finds. As groups like The Base aspire to ever-more violent acts, Canadian law enforcement authorities are treating right-wing extremism as a mounting threat to the country’s security.

Fear of What? Violent Extremism in Québec and the Media Landscape

Radicalisation does not necessarily lead to violent extremism. Extremists who commit violent crimes are usually characterized by tough personal backgrounds. For example, either themselves directly or the group towards which they feel they belong to might have been victims of discrimination, whether real or perceived.

The UNESCO-PREV Chair Welcomes Méi-Ra St-Laurent, Ph. D.

Officially launched on February 23rd, 2018, the UNESCO-PREV Chair has seen two very busy years in Québec, in Canada and  internationally. In the last twelve months, the Chair’s team aimed to strengthen and structure its network on the national level and, more importantly, on the international level.

Expertise Sharing with a Burkina Faso University

In January 2020, the University of Sherbrooke welcomed Justine Coulidiati, an education professor and researcher from the University Ouaga II in Burkina Faso. She specializes in the prevention against violent extremism.

New Article on Violent Extremism and Former Extremists

“Converging Patterns in Pathways in and out of Violent Extremism: Insights from Former Canadian Right-Wing Extremists” is a new article by Maxime Bérubé, Ryan Scrivens, Vivek Venkatesh, and Tiana Gaudette, published in Perspectives on Terrorism (Volume 13, Issue 6).

“Death and Fanatisms”: A Special Issue from Frontières Journal Coordinated by CEFIR’s Team

The latest issue released by Frontières, a scientific journal focused on the study of death, spotlights the Centre d’expertise et de formation sur les intégrismes religieux, les idéologies politiques et la radicalisation (CEFIR) and represents the culmination of research work begun in 2017. Coordinated by Martin Geoffroy, Director of CEFIR, and Ali Dizboni, Co-Researcher (affiliated with the Collège militaire royal de Kingston), this issue is themed Death and Fanatisms, which was also the subject of a conference organized by CEFIR at Cégep Édouard-Montpetit back in November 2017.

The Role of Youth and Women in the Prevention of Radicalization

Officially launched on February 23rd, 2018, the UNESCO-PREV Chair has seen two very busy years in Québec, in Canada and  internationally. In the last twelve months, the Chair’s team aimed to strengthen and structure its network on the national level and, more importantly, on the international level.