Fellows
© Andrew Testa/Panos for the Open Society Institute
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Arun Kundnani is a British writer and human rights activist who will examine the shortcomings of the “hearts-and-minds” approach to militancy among Muslims in the United States and the United Kingdom.
To varying degrees, law-enforcement agencies in both countries have concluded that supporting “moderate” Muslim voices is an effective means of countering Islamic radicalism. With an apparent increase in “home-grown” terrorism in the United States, Kundnani believes that such policies will become a favored tactic for politicians pressured to take action against Muslim radicals. His project will look at how these approaches are likely to affect civil, political, and cultural rights in target communities.
Kundnani is the editor of Race and Class, published by the Institute of Race Relations in London. In 2009, he wrote a controversial and influential report titled Spooked: How Not to Prevent Violent Extremism, which explored the effects of the Prevent program, the British counter-radicalism policy aimed at Muslim communities.
Kundnani expects that his research will provide human rights advocates with a deeper understanding of the potential pitfalls of “hearts-and-minds” policies. His work will be of particular value to the Open Society Institute National Security and Human Rights campaign, as well as the organization’s initiatives on migration, the rule of law, and minority rights.
