Pax Caledonia Network

The Pax Caledonia network is a collaboration between the Risk Management Authority and CSTPV. The network provides a forum for knowledge exchange and creates opportunities for multi-sector collaboration. It has members from a wide range of contexts working on security in Scotland including academic researchers, policymakers and practitioners.

What to Expect from the Network

Whilst security is reserved to Westminster, Scottish agencies are responsible for responding to threats from terrorism and extremism. This ranges from counterterrorism policing to statutory obligations to prevent and counter extremism in the context of the PREVENT policy. Similarly, academics in Scotland are engaged in a range of research on counter-terrorism and counter-extremism.

The Pax Caledonia network provides a forum for knowledge exchange and translation; enhanced opportunities for cooperation and collaboration; and creates a sustainable multidisciplinary, multi-sector community focused on security issues in Scotland able to produce insights relevant for the United Kingdom and beyond.

As the nature of security threats evolves amidst a rapidly changing national and geopolitical landscape, now is a good time to initiate a multi-sector network of those engaged with counterterrorism and counter-extremism research, policy, and practice in Scotland. The Pax Caledonia network seeks to meet this ambition through the following activities:

• Bringing together academics, policymakers and practitioners working on counterterrorism and counter-extremism in Scotland to create the Pax Caledonia network.
• Mapping the main agencies, organisations, and policy spaces relevant to counterterrorism and counter-extremism in Scotland.
• Identifying the synergies between research being undertaken in Scotland with current and future policy and practitioner priorities.
• Consolidating an understanding of the aims and needs a multi-sector network might meet through an in-person workshop, with learning captured through a workshop report.
• Providing opportunities for St Andrews’ students and early career researchers to engage with policy, practitioner, and wider academic communities.

Activities

The Pax Caledonia Network will run an annual program of activities to publicise the latest research in counterterrorism (CT) and countering violent extremism (CVE) and to promote researcher-practitioner knowledge sharing in three ways:

Bi-annual Meetings: Meetings will be held online bi- annually. The focus of the meetings will be to:

• Share new CT/CVE knowledge and outcomes.
• Disseminate and utilise evidence-based CT/CVE research to inform policy and practice.
• Provide a space to discuss recent research in a concise summary format with references provided to enable further reading.
• Encourage collaboration between researchers and practitioners working in CVE/CT.
• Better understand the priorities of practitioners to inform CVE research.
• Broadly discuss how CVE research can be incorporate

Bi-annual newsletter: The Pax Caledonia Network newsletter will include the latest news and research/practice updates with both a local and global focus on CT/CVE research and practice.

Webinars/Seminars: Throughout the year leading experts in CT/ CVE will present on evidence-based research and practice in response to the needs and interests of its members.