The DRIVE project explores the role of social exclusion in the context of radicalisation in Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and the UK. The Danish team consists of Mark Sedgwick, professor of Arab and Islamic Studies, and Sara Jul Jacobsen, postdoc.

The project is led by Professor Tahir Abbas at Leiden University and is based on the observation that many young people are deeply dissatisfied with the societies in which they live, and that this frustration can lead to anger, resentment, and disconnection. Some are drawn or turn to violent actions and these actions have polarising effects on society. DRIVE will offer practical advice to policymakers on how to take into account social inclusion and social determinants of public mental health in policies to tackle radicalisation and to avoid the pitfalls of further alienating and marginalising communities. For further information, see https://www.driveproject.eu.

Sara Jul Jacobsen has a Ph.D. in women and militant Islam and extensive experience in researching radicalisation and extremism within Islamic milieus in Europe, particularly in Denmark. Her work mainly draws on online fieldwork and open-source studies to examine the outreach, push and pull factors and the instrumental use of gender in Islamic propaganda on social media. She focuses her research interests on gender, religious violence, and research methods. She worked and published on counter-radicalisation issues focusing on the matter of gender and need for female specific PCVE-initiatives.