Sfax University
Sfax University (USF) is a Tunisian public institution founded in 1986. It now counts 32,985 students who are enrolled in its 20 faculties and institutes. Ranked first nationwide Sfax University hosts 120 research structures that have been operational for many years, promoting scientific research and improving the quality of its graduation output. In addition to that, Sfax University has undertaken national and international partnerships contracting with European consortia. The USF research team in PAVE belongs to the Research Unit ECUMUS (State, Culture and Social Changes). The team is mainly composed of sociologists and anthropologists. It has been studying the phenomenon of radicalization and violent extremism for years and has conducted field studies throughout Tunisia thus acquiring a specific experience in this area.
USF will be leading the fieldwork in Tunisia, with the assistance of FUNDEA, concentrating on interactions between states and religious institutions (WP4) and online and offline (de)radicalization (WP5). Having for long conducted research on these topics, USF will also play an important role in the development of the concept, methodology and baseline studies in PAVE. It will also convene stakeholder and policy workshops throughout the project.