Towards a Mixed Scanning Approach to Countering Violent Extremism: Emerging Media and Youth Radicalisation in Kenya´s Garissa and Tana River Counties

Summary

Digital communication technologies have become vital tools for violent extremist groups, enabling recruitment, ideological dissemination, and covert coordination. This study investigates how localised experiences and socio-political marginalisation intersect with emerging media use in Garissa and Tana River counties, Kenya. Employing a mixed-methods design informed by diffusion of innovations and constructivist theories, the research analyses survey data from 277 at-risk youth, interviews with community leaders, and focus group discussions. Findings show that extremist actors strategically exploit encrypted and interactive platforms to circulate narratives of exclusion and identity-based grievances. Simultaneously, state-led counter-violent extremism (CVE) strategies lag in integrating media-responsive frameworks. The study advocates a mixed scanning approach that decentralises CVE communication, leverages clan structures, and engages youth on preferred digital platforms. By foregrounding media’s dual role as both vector and counterforce to radicalisation, the research offers policy-relevant insights for adaptive and locally grounded CVE programming.

Keywords

violent extremism, emerging media, youth radicalisation, counter-violent extremism; Kenya, Garissa, Tana River, mixed scanning

Preview