De-Radicalisation and Integration Legal and Policy Framework

D.Rad- WP4 Comparative Report D 4.2 May 2022

Abstract

The countries considered in the D.Rad project are the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Finland, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Georgia and Austria. Therefore, the national frameworks taken into consideration are quite diverse from a number of points of view.
From a geographical point of view, the area considered spans from Western Europe to the Middle East and the Caucasus.
From a political point of view, the analysis concerns consolidated democracies, countries where the democratisation process has only recently begun and countries where democracy has been facing a backsliding in recent years. Furthermore, from a political standpoint, one should consider that the majority of the countries considered here are Member States of the European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe (CoE), as well as Contracting Parties to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
These factors are of key importance, as being members of the EU and the CoE and contracting parties to the ECHR implies that the States must respect and promote 
some core values, such as democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights.
From an economic point of view, the majority of the countries have developed market economies. Thus, decisions regarding what and how to produce and distribute are left to economic operators according to the law of supply and demand. States play a limited role in this regard. While in some cases the choice in favour of a market economy dates back at least to the end of World War II, in others this is something that happened in the Nineties and implied a transition from communist systems.
From a socio-cultural point of view, it is interesting to note that the countries selected represent different traditions of thought and religions.
These features explain why the comparative analysis of the legal systems involved in the D.Rad research shows quite a multifaceted picture¹, especially regarding tools and strategies to counter radicalism at the level of both preventive measures and de-radicalisation programmes.