Publication

This publication examines the strategic shift of UN peacebuilding interventions toward preventing violent extremism (PVE) and the barriers these interventions face in protecting human rights, drawing on research conducted in Kyrgyzstan. It concludes that PVE approaches to peacebuilding are fundamentally ambiguous, which may be hindering promotion of human rights. These ambiguities lie both in the terminology and strategies of intervention and in the drivers of radicalization and violent extremism. By clarifying its approach to PVE, the UN could address the inherent contradiction in its dual role of being a critic and supporter of host states and reduce the possibility that its interventions could legitimize human rights violations.