Preventing violent extremism in East Africa

This report examines the design and implementation of preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) projects in Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda. Based on data from 148 projects implemented by 117 organisations, the study finds that P/CVE work in East Africa often overlaps with general peacebuilding and developmental aid, with a heavy focus on youth, women, and community awareness. The report highlights significant challenges, including distrust between civil society and governments, a lack of standardised monitoring and evaluation (M&E) methods, and the impact of climate change on intercommunal violence.

• Respondents interpret violent extremism in East Africa broadly, encompassing not only Islamist groups like al-Shabaab and the Islamic State in East Africa, but also intercommunal violence driven by diminishing natural resources, interethnic and interreligious conflict, and criminal groups.
• Youth are the primary target group for P/CVE projects, viewed as both the most vulnerable to recruitment and the most likely to act as 'agents of change' if provided with education, skills development, and vocational training.
• The most common project objectives are awareness raising, capacity building and training, and the promotion of tolerance between different ethnic, religious, and community groups.
• There is a significant overlap between P/CVE and general peacebuilding or developmental work. Many organisations do not identify P/CVE as their primary focus and may have been performing similar activities for over a decade before the term became prominent.
• Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of P/CVE projects often rely on informal methods and observations. There is a noted confusion between output indicators (e.g., attendance numbers) and outcome indicators (actual impact on extremism).
• Project funding is frequently short-term, with 51 of the 148 projects funded for 12 months or less, raising concerns about whether such durations are sufficient to achieve a meaningful impact on violent extremism.
• In Tanzania, organisations often avoid using the label 'P/CVE' and instead use terms like 'peacebuilding' or 'conflict prevention' to avoid government retaliation or arrest by security forces.
• Distrust between civil society and governments hinders P/CVE efforts. Some respondents report that security forces are themselves perpetrators of violence and human rights abuses, which contributes to the drivers of extremism.
• Climate change and the resulting scarcity of natural resources are identified as key drivers of intercommunal violence, leading projects to focus on resource-sharing systems for grazing lands and watering holes.

APA

van Zyl, I., & Mahdi, M. (2019). Preventing violent extremism in East Africa. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ear-26.pdf

Chicago

van Zyl, Isel, and Maram Mahdi. Preventing violent extremism in East Africa. Institute for Security Studies, 2019. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ear-26.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=van Zyl |first1=Isel |last2=Mahdi |first2=Maram |title=Preventing violent extremism in East Africa |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=September 2019 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ear-26.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{vanzyl2019preventing, author = {van Zyl, Isel and Mahdi, Maram}, title = {{Preventing violent extremism in East Africa}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2019}, month = sep, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/ear-26.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }