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  "authors": [
    "Christopher Boucek"
  ],
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    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
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Source: Getty

In The Media

Counter-Terrorism from Within: Assessing Saudi Arabia’s Religious Rehabilitation and Disengagement Programme

Following a series of deadly domestic terrorist attacks in 2003, the government of Saudi Arabia began an ambitious and wide-ranging counterterrorism effort. In addition to traditional security and law enforcement efforts to kill and capture terrorists, a parallel strategy was launched to combat the ideological justifications for violent extremism within the kingdom.

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By Christopher Boucek
Published on Dec 19, 2008
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The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.

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Source: RUSI

Following a series of deadly domestic terrorist attacks in 2003, the government of Saudi Arabia began an ambitious and wide-ranging counterterrorism effort. In addition to traditional security and law enforcement efforts to kill and capture terrorists, a parallel strategy was launched to combat the ideological justifications for violent extremism within the kingdom. This ‘soft’ counter-terrorism strategy is made up of three components: prevention programmes to deter people from getting involved with violent extremism, rehabilitation programmes designed to encourage supporters and sympathisers to renounce violence, and aftercare programmes to prevent recidivism and to reintegrate people back into Saudi society.

About the Author

Christopher Boucek

Former Associate, Middle East Program

Boucek was an associate in the Carnegie Middle East Program where his research focused on security challenges in the Arabian Peninsula and Northern Africa.

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Christopher Boucek
Former Associate, Middle East Program
Christopher Boucek
Political ReformSecuritySaudi Arabia

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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