Former UNDP Director Khalid Malik Exposes Roots of Violent Extremism

Commentary | January 30, 2015

As part of its Speaker Series on January 28, EWI’s New York office featured Khalid Malik, who spoke on the sources of violent extremism, in light of the rise of ISIS in Iraq and the attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris earlier this month. 

Malik is the former director of the Human Development Report Office at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). His professional experience in development economics and implementing related programs brought a unique perspective to his presentation, which was followed by a lively question-and-answer session.

Utilizing development data and anecdotes from his time at the UNDP, Malik described how economic inequality, social stratification and uneven access to services drive otherwise peaceful people to ideological extremism and violence.

According to Malik, three important and interrelated forces that push people towards violent extremism are “exclusion, climate change and job insecurity.”

The international community needs to be more “inclusive of other perspectives and increase understanding, in order to implement more effective development policies,” said Malik. Not doing so, he said, has led to inefficient allocation of aid and pushed many in Iraq and Afghanistan, for example, toward violent extremism.

When discussing the impact of climate change on religious extremism, Malik pointed to the Syrian conflict and a drought that began in 2002 that precipitated massive job shortage, ultimately serving as a trigger for the current conflict. Malik also tied climate change issues to conflicts in Mali, Niger and even the rise of Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Malik pointed out that 98 percent of the damage wrought by violent extremism occurs in developing countries. He also highlighted a study which found that 70 percent of young Taliban fighters had joined the group because it offered a rare steady job. Malik was careful to point out that job insecurity does not always lead to a rise in violent extremism, but is often a common feature of regions experiencing it.

When asked whether there were policies that do work to increase access to services and decrease inequality and stratification, Malik displayed some optimism.

“If we stop the flow of illicit money, educate the people and invest in job creation programs, we can see tremendous positive change.”