Despite Sewall’s efforts to proliferate the PVE branding beyond her office, it’s had difficulty penetrating elsewhere in the building, according to multiple State Department officials. “If you ask people in Sewall’s office, they’ll be able to tell you what the difference is between PVE and CVE, but it’s a bit unclear to everyone else,” said one official.

The battle of the acronyms has also been seen as a proxy fight between Sewall’s office and the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, which previously took the lead on counter-extremism efforts.