Deradicalisation and Rehabilitation of Violent Extremist Offenders in the Global South

Deradicalisation and Rehabilitation of Violent Extremist Offenders in the Global South: Lessons from Bangladesh offers a rigorous, evidence-based framework for understanding and responding to violent extremism in Bangladesh — with adaptable insights for other nations across the Global South. Structured around four interconnected outputs, the volume moves systematically from strategic diagnosis to operational implementation. Part I presents a comprehensive needs-mapping study, drawing on comparative analyses of international case studies from Indonesia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Colombia. It profiles 103 violent extremist offenders spanning faith-based militants, left-wing extremists, and ethno-nationalists, identifying socio-demographic patterns, psychological vulnerabilities, and radicalisation pathways that underpin the need for tailored interventions. Part II introduces the first operational training manual of its kind in South Asia, adopting a whole-of-society approach across four progressive stages: preparatory work, deradicalisation, rehabilitation, and policy reform. The manual outlines detailed counselling modules across religious, psychological, cultural, educational, and legal dimensions, with gender sensitivity and human rights compliance embedded throughout. Part III evaluates a pilot intervention conducted in Bangladesh between August and December 2023, assessing outcomes for 32 beneficiaries using a multidimensional framework that combines counsellor evaluations, self-assessments, and independent observations. Part IV presents a standardised Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) toolkit aligned with OECD-DAC principles, designed for scalability across prison, community, and counterterrorism settings. Collectively, the volume provides a transformative shift from fragmented, reactive approaches to a structured, rights-compliant, and institutionally sustainable architecture for deradicalisation and rehabilitation — offering a replicable model for Global South countries confronting the complex challenges of terrorism and violent extremism.