Security through aid Countering violent extremism and terrorism with Australia’s aid program

CVE Counter-Terrorism VE

Countering violent extremism (CVE) and counterterrorism (CT) are both national security and development issues: they are both increasingly relevant to poverty reduction. Most measures of development now include freedom from physical threat, freedom of religion and freedom of expression, so it’s not just through economics that terrorism impacts on development occur—it’s direct. Until recently there was a line between aid and CVE work. AusAID was a separate agency focused on development goals. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), on the other hand, has long been the coordinator of Australia’s international CT efforts.