24^th May 2022 - Neoliberal Terror's Primary Investigator, Professor Heath-Kelly, will travel to Portcullis House in Westminster to brief representatives of the Council of Europe's Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination. Professor Heath-Kelly will share findings from the project to assist the Committee with their report on Raising Awareness of and Countering Islamophobia in Europe. 

A new article entitled "What Drives Counter-Extremism? The Extent of P/CVE Policies in the West and Their Structural Correlates"Link opens in a new window by Sadi Shanaah and Charlotte Heath-Kelly has been accepted for publication in Terrorism and Political Violence on May 17, 2022. In the paper, the authors construct an index of the intensity of P/CVE policies deployment in 38 Western countries and investigate the correlation between the index and the threat of terrorism (measured as the number of past attacks/victims), the size of Muslim minorities (Muslim communities have been ‘securitised’ as potential threats in the post 9/11 period), and the neoliberal governance (drawing on Criminological literature that connects neoliberalism to anticipatory crime control).

The study finds a positive and significant correlation in the first two factors (terrorism threat and size of Muslim minority population), while a negative and significant correlation for the last factor (neoliberal governance). Among other things, the findings provide some empirical evidence for the claim that Muslim minorities in the West have been racialised and securitized, since their population size positively correlates with the deployment of P/CVE policies (but not to the number of terrorist attacks and victims).

We would like to welcome Dr. Tom Pettinger who joined the team on 1st May as a Postdoctoral Reseacher. Tom has previously worked on the RIPPLES project in PAIS. Tom completed his PhD thesis on the UK's prevent strategy and the legacy of conflict in Northern Ireland. The thesis will be published by Manchester University Press in 2023.

On 19th November 2021, Professor Heath-Kelly presented findings from the Medact/Neoliberal Terror study (on integrating mental health professionals within P/CVE) to European policymakers. The event was organised by the European Commission, through the Radicalisation Awareness Network, and focused on mental health within EXIT programs.

Professor Heath-Kelly has produced a working paper on the implications of the PCSC Bill for mental health, civil liberties, and the securitisation of those deemed 'risky' potential terrorists. The paper considers the dubious category of the 'terrorist risk offender', who has never committed a terrorism offence, yet will have stringent licensing conditions applied to them in the community. The paper also considers the involvement of MI5 and counterterrorism police on MAPPA panels, and the extended reach of the security services into psychiatric hospitals. Working Paper on MAPPA reform and the PCSC 2021 Bill

On 14th September 2021, Professor Heath-Kelly gave evidence to the People's Review of Prevent as an expert speaker on Prevent and Safeguarding. The People's Review of Prevent has been organised as a parallel review of the Prevent Strategy, after concerns about the impartiality and remit of the Government review.