Countering Extremism Directive (CED)
What was once considered extremist sentiment found only at the fringes of society have reached the mainstream within the United States. To change hearts and minds, you first must learn to access them.
Countering Extremism Directive (CED)
The Countering Extremism Directive (CED) emerges in response to a concerning resurgence of terrorist attacks, particularly those driven by xenophobia, racism, and other forms of intolerance. A 2022 report by the Secretary-General highlights how Member States now perceive this brand of terrorism as the fastest-growing or most prominent domestic security threat. Notably, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has identified domestic violent extremism, often rooted in xenophobia and racial resentment, as a significant terrorism-related menace to the United States.
Recognizing the limitations of conventional methods such as policing and surveillance, the CED shifts focus towards psychological approaches. Its goals are twofold: firstly, to identify new, more effective approaches using psychological insight to disengage extremist sentiment, with a specific emphasis on Racially and Ethnically Motivated Forms of Violent Extremism (REMVE) within the United States. Secondly, the directive aims to develop methods to foster community resilience, thereby mitigating the further proliferation of extremist sentiment. Through these targeted efforts, the CED seeks to confront and address the growing threat posed by extremism in contemporary society.
Hate groups maintain an active presence within the state of Maine. According to the 2021 annual report issued by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), 4 known hate groups publicly practice within the state, 3 of which are active state-wide. However, a common misconception when thinking about growing extremism within the United States is that extremism or the promotion of extremist sentiments is due to a few “bad guys.”
This position conceptually isolates the presence of extremism to a select few individuals, negating the way in which extremist sentiment becomes diffused within our communities and avoiding responsibility for contending with this growing threat. What was once considered extremist sentiment found only at the fringes of society have reached the mainstream within the United States, including within the state of Maine.