How Can Community-Led Initiatives Build Social Cohesion and Support Attempts to Prevent Violent Extremism in Aotearoa New Zealand?

Understanding relationships between social cohesion, community resilience and violent extremism has become a vital focus of Aotearoa, New Zealand’s policy inquiry since the Christchurch Mosque attacks in March 2019. Yet little is known about the role played by community-led initiatives in these processes and relationships. To address this gap, this research examines two Wellington-based community-led initiatives, Aroha Afternoons (AA) and Learn and Innovate with New Kiwis (LINK), to explore their roles in fostering social cohesion and reducing conditions conducive to extremism.

Aroha Afternoons gathered people from diverse backgrounds, including refugees, migrants, and host communities, to celebrate significant occasions and encourage meaningful dialogue. The second initiative, “Learn and Innovate with New Kiwis” (LINK), provided a platform for designing solutions that supported refugee resettlement in Aotearoa, New Zealand, while addressing the challenges that affected them.

The research addresses two objectives: first, to understand how those involved with these grassroots initiatives define and understand social cohesion and how they are affected by their involvement. Second, to consider how such understandings and effects may contribute to efforts to counter violent extremism.

Adopting a qualitative approach to research design, semi-structured interviews and focus groups were carried out with the founders, participants, and community stakeholders involved in both initiatives. Using thematic analysis of resulting transcripts, the thesis finds that Aroha Afternoon and Learn and Innovate with New Kiwis (LINK) fostered trust, intercultural dialogue, and inclusivity, creating environments where participants felt valued and connected across cultural divides.

Participants reported a strengthened sense of belonging, greater cultural awareness, and an increased commitment to community well-being. The inclusive spaces created by Aroha Afternoon and LINK contributed to resilience against extremism by reducing social isolation and encouraging constructive engagement within diverse communities. This finding aligns with the idea that cohesive communities, where individuals feel valued and empowered, are less vulnerable to the grievances that extremism often exploits.

These findings highlight how community initiatives can contribute to ‘social cohesion’ which, in the wake of the 2019 shootings, governments thought was a central element in countering violent extremism. This research provides examples of initiatives that perform the practical work of building key elements of social cohesion, such as fostering a sense of belonging and reducing social isolation. These initiatives naturally embody community-based efforts that align with official definitions of social cohesion, as they create inclusive spaces shaped by the lived experiences of participants.

The study concludes that community-led initiatives are not only effective in fostering social cohesion but also serve as viable models for community resilience that can be integrated into broader national strategies against extremism. To amplify their impact, it recommends further investment in such grassroots efforts and the inclusion of culturally informed approaches within New Zealand’s social cohesion policies. This research underscores the potential of community-led initiatives to create safer, more inclusive societies and suggests that similar models could enhance social cohesion and resilience against violent extremism in New Zealand’s increasingly multicultural context.