One week on from a series of coordinated attacks in Paris for which the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility, a global debate is raging about how to respond.
Much discussion has focused on military intervention, and, in fact, France has launched airstrikes deep inside Syria. But since many of the terrorists involved in these attacks were French and Belgian citizens, there is growing interest in understanding and counteracting the root causes of violent extremism.
To get a different perspective for the global development community, I asked Dr. Khalid Koser, an expert on countering violent extremism, for his thoughts in the wake of this latest tragedy. A version of his responses, which have been edited for length, follows, but I want to point out a couple of key takeaways.
About the author
Raj Kumarraj_devex
Raj Kumar is the President and Editor-in-Chief at Devex, the media platform for the global development community. He is a media leader and former humanitarian council chair for the World Economic Forum and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. His work has led him to more than 50 countries, where he has had the honor to meet many of the aid workers and development professionals who make up the Devex community. He is the author of the book "The Business of Changing the World," a go-to primer on the ideas, people, and technology disrupting the aid industry.
