The INTERRAD research project aims to contribute to the challenge of Security, Protection and Defense by addressing cooperation in the prevention of violent jihadist radicalization within the framework of the European Union (EU) through an interdisciplinary perspective.

From the discipline of International Relations, it will analyze the process of internationalization that the prevention of violent radicalization is undergoing, despite being a phenomenon whose treatment has traditionally been carried out in the field of public policies of the Member States. In addition, it will examine the design of this cooperation process at the European level, identifying the weaknesses and strengths of its mechanisms and instruments, as well as the characteristics of the participating public-private actors. From the perspective of Social Psychology, the common elements of the violent jihadist radicalization processes in various Member States and the mechanisms that intervene in the internationalization processes will be identified. Also, the preventive instruments that have been designed at European level will be evaluated to propose improvements. INTERRAD intends to involve the actors participating in this cooperation to offer them indicators and useful tools for decision-making, and to enrich cooperation in prevention, combating jihadism from its roots in the EU.

INTERRAD proposes three general objectives:

1) characterize jihadism as a global phenomenon by examining the political, religious, social and psychological factors that promote jihadist radicalization;

2) evaluate the internationalization of the prevention of jihadist radicalization and the cooperation between different public-private entities in the Member States;

3) analyze the main instruments that have been created within the EU to articulate a European cooperation in the matter of prevention of radicalization and review their effectiveness taking into account the local scope of their application.