Conference on Countering Violent Extremism for the Transatlantic Community

On April 20–21, 2015, the Kozmetsky Center hosted a conference with visiting international scholars to discuss the issue of violent extremism, its effect on the transatlantic community, and how the process of political and religious radicalization can be countered. The speakers traveled from Russia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Germany and the Czech Republic to participate in the event, and one speaker participated via direct video link between Ireland and St. Edward’s University. Each speaker presented on the various regional and theoretical challenges of violent extremism. At the conclusion of the conference, the Kozmetsky Center convened a working group to offer recommendations for the policy community for countering violent extremism. This set of recommendations was circulated to each participant’s network of domestic and transnational policymakers for consideration.

This conference was held on the St. Edward’s University campus with an attendance of more than 300 students, faculty, and members of the community. The event was co-sponsored and co-funded by the Center for European Studies and the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, supported through a joint federal National Resource Center grant.

The following panelists participated in this conference:

• Dr. Mustafa Aydin, President, Kadir Has University (Istanbul); President, International Affairs Council of Turkey

• Dr. Petra Weyland, Professor, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies

• Dr. Ekaterina Stepanova, Senior Research Scholar, Institute for World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences

• Dr. Adam Dolnik, Professor, University of Wollongong; Counterterrorism Negotiation Advisor, United States Federal Bureau of Investigation

• Dr. Anna Krasteva, Professor, New Bulgarian University

• Dr. Maura Conway, Professor, Dublin City University

• Dr. Ioannis Armakolas, Professor, New Macedonian University; Research Fellow, Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy