This report addresses the drivers of violent extremism (VE) in Egypt on the micro level. It is the third and final level of research conducted as part of the European Union (EU)-funded Horizon 2020 CONNEKT project. In addition to the previously conducted macro-level (Kassem, 2022) and meso-level research (Kassem, 2023), this final micro-level study has allowed us to gather substantial and varied data on an individual basis from Egypt’s youth, thus enabling us to construct a more in-depth analysis of CONNEKT’s seven pre-identified drivers of VE1 and the perception of Egypt’s youth.
The results acquired from the survey are significant on several levels. First, they provide a current insight into the degree to which each driver is perceived by the youth respondents and its personal significance on the individual. In addition, as the survey is quantitative in nature, a solid statistical analysis foundation is available, enabling researchers to gain relevant insights into the prevalence and importance of each driver in terms of the perceptions of youth. Moreover, the findings also serve the purpose of building focused prevention methods by gaining insights into the mechanisms potentially influencing radicalisation and VE by examining the susceptibility or vulnerability of young people.
Additionally, this research will further feed into the other goals of the CONNEKT project, including the formulation of intervention and prevention measures that can be developed based on the understanding of the impact of the different drivers on the target population and the gaps within the prevention field. By understanding the relationship of youth with the drivers of VE and the forces that fuel VE, policy-makers, practitioners and academics can create focused policy recommendations that address the specific vulnerabilities or risk factors identified.