Risk Management Practices and the Performance of Anti-Violent Extremism Projects in Somalia Region, Ethiopia

The Horn of Africa has become a breeding ground for violent extremism. Anti-violent extremism efforts often fail due to inadequate stakeholder engagement. Despite much effort to eradicate Anti-violent extremism, the problem persists in Africa. This paper examines the influence of risk management practices and performance of Anti-Violent Extremism Projects in Somalia region, Ethiopia. The theory guiding the study was the theory of Moral Disengagement. The research is anchored on a descriptive research design. Two tools were used to collect data: questionnaires and an interview guide. The determination table of Krejcie & Morgan's (1970) helped in getting the sample size of 320 respondents from Fafan, Jarar, Afder, and Dhawa zones, including community members, representatives, religious groups, and state agencies involved in countering violent extremism. The study used proportionate random sampling for zone selection and purposive sampling for key informants. Results revealed that there were significant communication gaps hindering community participation in Anti-Violent Extremism projects. Risk management practices demonstrated a moderate positive correlation (r 2 = 0.357). Communication channels positively influenced performance by (r 2 = 0.252), which, however, remained inadequate. The recommendations are on enhancing communication strategies through staff training and involvement of local leaders, strengthening risk management by implementing comprehensive training programs, and community-involved assessments. Fostering active community engagement in the planning and implementation phases of projects to ensure they align with local needs and achieve sustainable impact. Future research should explore the qualitative dimensions of community participation to understand why quantitative measures of participation do not translate into improved project performance. Ethnographic studies could provide deeper insights into the cultural and social factors that influence the effectiveness of participatory approaches in different contexts. Keywords: Risk Management Practices, Community Participation, Performance, Anti-Violent Extremism