The Radicalisation Awareness Network RAN: the operational part of EU Counter-terrorism

This article analyses the expansion of European Union cooperation on counter-terrorism and applying it specifically to the under-researched dimension – the Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN). This article specifically focuses on RAN as an example of operational cooperation in EU counter-terrorism, its collaboration model, its origins, and its overall contribution. It offers a new framework and multi-disciplinary perspective for the EU policy actors to tackle counter-terrorism challenges. This article's core argument is that the RAN has been successful in achieving its central aim of establishing an overarching and responsive pan-European network of practitioners and civil society actors. This however, has come at the cost of the RAN not being able to augment its efficacy through academic rigour and evaluation of its practices thus far.