Violent Extremism Research Articles

Terrorism & Radicalization; an overview

Since terrorism has been a predominant news item it has been interchangeably linked with Islam in most cases. Terrorism itself and the processes involved that lead to terrorism is referred to as radicalization. These are complex and do not fit with a standard profile nor group. A large group of variables in a person’s life makes it possible for any person to go through a radicalization process that can eventually lead to terrorism or violent extremism. Although terrorism has been around for some time, its increasingly predominant position in this century has been fueled by globalization and technology. The lack of a universal definition in international law makes terrorism and the process of radicalization a field that will divide the world for decades to come.

Understanding evil: a psychoanalytic perspective on the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023

This paper examines the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023, through the lens of several theories of evil. It applies frameworks from Christopher Bollas, Ruth Stein, Sue Grand, Robert J. Lifton, and Aner Govrin to explore the psychological underpinnings of this act of terror. The study employs an interpretative approach to analyze the attacks, considering the perpetrators’ backgrounds and the sociopolitical context. Key concepts explored include Bollas’s ‘killed self’, Stein’s analysis of religious justification for violence, Grand’s ‘malignant dissociative contagion’, Lifton’s theory of totalism, and Govrin’s prototype of evil perception. The paper discusses how these theories illuminate the role of trauma, ideology, and psychological distortion in fostering extreme violence. It also considers the ethical implications of applying psychoanalytic theories to large-scale events and acknowledges the limitations of this approach. The analysis reveals common threads across theories, including the impact of psychological damage, disconnection from empathy, and the interplay of love and hate in acts of evil. The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of recognizing suffering on all sides of the conflict while maintaining a clear moral stance against acts of terror. It calls for further interdisciplinary research to inform strategies for conflict resolution and prevention of future atrocities.

Critical Perspectives on Anti-Government Extremism: A Research Note

While the Global North is still facing the challenge of traditional forms of violent extremism (e.g. right-wing, left-wing, and militant Islamism), intelligence services and scholars alike have highlighted potential threats from novel extremist orientations that have (re) emerged over the past decade. One such variant is captured by the notion of anti-government extremism, which in its most simple form describes extremist attitudes or actions that oppose government and institutions of authority. In this research note, we offer critical perspectives on anti-government extremism as an analytical construct. Specifically, we raise questions concerning the extent to which the current definition of anti-government extremism always captures attitudes and/or actions that are indeed i) extremist, and ii) anti-governmental. We then discuss the implications and potential negative constitutive effects these unanswered conceptual issues may raise in relation to preventing and countering violent extremism (P/ CVE), and conclude with a call for further debate and research on the theoretical and analytical merits of anti-government extremism.

Foreign and Familiar: Recruitment Pathways of Young People Engaged with Extremism in Australia

It has been established by leaders of the Australian national security community, such as the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the Australian Federal Police, that young people are being increasingly recruited into extremism. To date, few Australian studies have examined this issue using primary source data. This article seeks to understand the conditions which may make vulnerable young Australians more susceptible to recruitment, recruitment pathways, and forms of recruitment. To address this, primary sources were consulted, and frontline countering violent extremism (CVE) practitioners were interviewed. It was found that there is no typical pathway for young Australians to be recruited to extremism and that recruitment can be both foreign (informed by transnational networks and organisations) and/or familiar (within the immediate domestic environment of the young person). We identified the continued significance of online vectors, but further established the ongoing relevance and power of offline engagement for the recruitment of young people. Finally, we suggest that multiple intersecting vulnerabilities render young people more susceptible to recruitment, with data that suggests they may be naïve to their being recruited in the first place.

Sentencing Outcomes for Extremist Actors in the United Kingdom, 2001-2022

Few studies have examined the sentencing outcomes of individuals convicted of terrorism or violent extremism-related offences in the United Kingdom (UK). Home Office data can tell us the number of persons arrested for terrorist-related activity and subsequent outcomes, such as charges and convictions by legislation, but this data does not provide a complete picture of the prosecution landscape for extremist actors in the UK. This is due in part to the existence of three distinct legal jurisdictions (England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland) and also to differences in the types of data collected and counting practices in operation. Moreover, the official data available publicly are only summary statistics, with no separate data for Scotland. This article addresses this research gap in our knowledge of the prosecution landscape for extremist actors in the UK by utilising data from an original dataset compiled by the research team from open sources on the sentencing outcomes of individuals (n=809) convicted of terrorism, terrorism-related, and violent extremism offences over a 21- year period (April 2001-March 2022). The analysis of this dataset has allowed us to test a range of hypotheses in relation to not only motivation but also offence type, gender, age, co-defendants and having multiple counts (i.e. facing multiple charges). Limitations of the study are also discussed

The Importance of Prevention in School Safety Planning and Response.

School violence is a significant public health concern. Most perpetrators exhibit psychosocial and behavioral warning signals which are often inadequately addressed. While policy and funding typically reinforce politically popular target hardening and threat assessment strategies, these are not most supported by research or requested by education faculty and administration. The most common threats to school safety are ubiquitous events causing students to feel disconnected, alienated, isolated, and unsafe in school. Theoretical and empirical research indicates that focusing on rare but extreme school violence is less productive than preventative approaches including universal socio-emotional programs, mental health supports, and climate and culture building to produce effective strategies for safe school environments. Comprehensive school safety plans should include three essential preventative components: (1) targeted, student-centered approaches addressing social, emotional, and behavioral wellbeing; (2) equity-focused institutional culture and climate approaches aligned with appropriate disciplinary strategies; and (3) well-defined target hardening, threat assessment and reporting measures. Increasing evidence suggests that keeping schools safe requires coordinated approaches to school safety including student-centered psycho-social behavioral initiatives, systematic attention to equitable culture and climate, and meaningful, racially sensitive target hardening coordinated among and between service professionals.

From a jihadist into an agent against violent extremism: a case study of self-transformation

ABSTRACT This paper explores the self-transformation of a former terrorist in Indonesia who is building a role as an activist against violent extremism. This case study focuses on the former extremist’s process of self-change. The participant is a 42-year-old male who was a member of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), and who was captured in 2014 and imprisoned. The paper draws on in-depth interviews conducted with this individual and his wife. The findings explore how he became involved in JI, arising from a sense of solidarity with the global jihadist movement and the need for self-significance. The process of self-change is explored, relating to the impact of encounters in prison and an increasing awareness of the burden his actions had on his family and the way terrorism framed Islam and Muslims in a negative light. This transition led this former extremist to become a member of an NGO campaigning against violent extremism. This study provides insight into the role of self-transformation in the disengagement and reintegration process.

Limitations of Community-Led Initiatives for Violence Reduction in Cases of Extreme Community Polarization in India

In situations of extreme community polarization and violence, either along ethnic or political lines, the possibility of using community-led initiatives to reduce violence is severely constrained. In this paper, two such cases are identified for study. The first is the case of Manipur in Northeast India, and the second is North Malabar in Kerala, South India. The paper introduces the concept of agonistic reconciliation as a helpful way forward. The paper concludes by saying that in such scenarios, while intervention from locally grounded third parties may help achieve negative peace, more substantive change can come if there is a rethinking and transformative re-imagination within each community.

“Africa’s transformation into “Glocal Terrorist Hub”: 3D Jihad between narco-terror, maritime piracy and sexual slavery”

Transnational terrorism with a jihadist matrix has constantly fed on endogenous and exogenous factors so that the regional subsidiaries of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in Africa adapt to local realities, with repercussions that extend well beyond national geographical borders. In so doing, Africa has become a hub for terrorism, undergoing a process of trans-nationalization between the local and the global, with implications for regional security. It is against this backdrop that the study is framed, with a dual ‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’ analysis, examining the modus operandi of terrorist groups and their doctrinal underpinnings, which form a three-dimensional jihad involving narco-terrorism, maritime piracy, sexual slavery, and gender-based violence as a strategy of terror. Therefore, counter-terrorism policies in Africa, already based on hard measures, need to focus increasingly on soft mechanisms to prevent and counter radicalization and violent extremism, strengthened on the one hand by sustainable security architectures and on the other by integrated approaches to anti-terrorism cooperation at national, regional, and international levels.

Military Regimes In The Sahel As Recruitment Sergeants For Rebel Governance

The recent cases of the de-democratisation of Sahelian states, such as Mali and Burkina Faso, driven by the emergence of military regimes, have been presented as responses to severe security crises occasioned by the activities of transnational violent extremist organisations. Nevertheless, the existence of such regimes has not corresponded with drastic improvements in security outcomes, as evidenced by the rapidly escalating incidents of violence and human insecurity that have particularly rocked Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. In this paper, using a multiple case study design, we outline the argument that the proliferation of these regimes hastens the ascent of these states to “state failure-hood” as they legitimise “rebel governance” exemplified by violent extremist organisations such as the Sahelian franchises of transnational terrorist organisations such as the Islamic State and Al Qaeda through the “securitisation of peace” through the use of techniques that further affect already poor “state-civil society” relations. We clarify our arguments using qualitative data drawn from the triangulation of secondary data sources and analyses using thematic content analysis.

Defying Guantánamo: Resistance to indefinite detention and torture in a prison camp

How can we conceptualize resistance within contexts of detention and extreme asymmetrical violence such as torture prisons? Based on autobiographical accounts of and interviews with former Guantánamo prisoners, this article reconstructs how prisoners dealt with indefinite detention and torture. Based on a dialogue between existing theories of resistance and empirical accounts from Guantánamo, a framework of resistance is developed that operates on three conceptual axes: (1) By looking into the perceptual structure of the detainees’ practices, four modes of resistance are identified: confrontational resistance, concealed resistance, disguised resistance, and internal resistance. These modes vary with respect to whether they can be observed by the camp administration and whether they can be recognized as acts of resistance. (2) By analyzing the situational dynamic of acts of resistance, different degrees of radicalness can be distinguished within each mode. While circular acts seek to alleviate the harmful effects of the environment, transgressive acts seek to end imprisonment. (3) Finally, because circular acts of resistance mitigate specific violations, it is instructive to identify the dimensions of vulnerability that these acts primarily address (corporality, sociality, meaning). Analyzing Guantánamo in such a way does not only open an instructive perspective on detention, torture, and the logics of resistance in the camp but also reveals more general implications for the comparative study of resistance in camps and prisons.

Risk of What and Why? Disaggregating Pathways to Extremist Behaviours in Individuals Susceptible to Violent Extremism

ABSTRACTBest practice in violent extremist risk assessment and management recommends adopting a Structured Professional Judgement (SPJ) approach. The SPJ approach identifies relevant, evidence‐based risk and protective factors and requires experts to articulate hypotheses about a) what the person might do (risk of what), and b) how they've come to engage in the concerning behaviour (and why) (Logan 2021) to inform who, needs to do what, and when. Whilst the field continues to move towards adopting an SPJ approach, there remains a gap between what is known empirically and what is needed in practice. We apply psychometric network modelling to a sample of 485 individuals entered into Channel, the UK's preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) program. We model the system of interactions from which susceptibility to violent extremism emerges, providing data driven evidence which speaks to risk of what and why. Our research highlights a way to generate evidence which captures the multifactorial nature of susceptibility to violent extremism, to support professional decision making in the context of an SPJ approach.

Unravelling emotional dynamics in violent extremism: injustice, loyalty and solidarity in (dis)engagement trajectories

ABSTRACT In terrorism and radicalisation studies, the emotional dimension has predominantly focused on the fear caused by terrorist violence on society and victims. The psychological impact of terrorist violence is widely recognized in terrorism studies. However, its subtle emotional dimensions are often overlooked. This paradox emerges from a dominant focus on individual motivations and short-term risk management in counterterrorism policies. Drawing on approaches that emphasise the importance of understanding the feelings and the emotional dynamics underpinning violent extremism, this article analyses the emotional dynamics which play a significant role in terrorist trajectories of engagement and disengagement, highlighting complex interactions in terms of attachment to family, relatives and groups. Based on data from two research projects, it examines psychosocial feelings of injustice, solidarity and loyalty in three situations involving former violent extremists. The study emphasises the importance of considering the emotional dimension for re-establishing bonds between former extremists and society, and advocates for long-term counter-terrorism policies that address these emotional complexities in the process of disengagement and social reintegration.

Adaptation and validation of the Extremism and Pro-violence and illegal acts Scales for adolescents in Spain

Introduction. Extremism and justifying of violent and illegal acts among young people is one of the major concerns of democratic societies. We found no instrument measuring violent extremism among youth in Spain. The purpose of this study is to validate and assess the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the scales of extremism and the use of violence and illegal acts (Ozer & Bertelsen, 2018). Method. A sample of 1135 secondary school students was used to validate both scales. Subsequently, a Social Extremism Index and a Justification of Violence and Illegality Index were developed to identify patterns of violent extremism risk. Results. The construct validity of the two scales was tested by means of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA): Extremism Scale (CFI: .934, TLI: .919, NFI: .918, RMSEA: .050) and Pro-violence, and Illegal Acts in Relation to Extremism Scale (CFI: .990, TLI: .985, NFI: .990, RMSEA: .050). The scale of pro-violence and illegal acts in relation to extremism has been changed. After verifying the good fit of the revised scales (CFA, reliability analysis, and factorial invariance analysis), social extremism index and justification of violent illegal acts were calculated based on their direct and centile scores. The usefulness of the scales was confirmed by the characterization of the sample analyzed, which revealed that 15.59% (177) of the participants exhibited high or very high levels of violent extremism. Discussion and conclusion. The Spanish adaptation of the scale proposed by Ozer and Bertelson (2018) is useful for identifying the risk profile of social-extremism and the degree of justification of violent-illegal acts among young Spanish secondary school students.

Review of: “Family and Jihadism: A Socio-Anthropological Approach to the French Experience” edited by Jerôme Ferret and Farhad Khoroskhovar

The edited volume Family and Jihadism. A Socio-Anthropological Approach to the French Experience by Jerôme Ferret and Farhad Khosrokhovar touches an important topic: the impact of the family and family ties in terms of jihadist radicalization. This anthology is a timely and important work based on interdisciplinary contributions related to the jihadist radicalization of young European adults with ties to North Africa. Its insights are useful for both governmental and non-governmental approaches related to the prevention of violent extremism (PVE) within Europe and beyond.

Challenges and Issues Hindering Internal Peace in Pakistan

The social fabric of Pakistan is being destroyed due to intolerance and violent extremism. This intolerance is rooted back in the historical realities of monarchy, colonialism, dictatorship and fascism. Today, Pakistan is rated very low on the peace index and listed high in conflict and violence. The article identifies the factors contributing to the current issues and conflicts. Through desktop analysis of legal frameworks, international human rights treaties, and the status of marginalized groups, including children, women, minorities, and persons with disabilities, two online focus group discussions involving university faculty members across the country. This is part of a more extensive study to develop a peace education course. This analysis revealed how Pakistan's internal peace challenges are characterized by unequal power distribution and a persistent prioritization of security concerns over social development and radicalism's social, economic, and cultural aspects. The thematic analysis highlighted critical issues, including geopolitical tensions, the dominance of security state apparatus, impacts of historical dictatorships, unsustainable population growth, economic and social warfare, environmental degradation, problematic social behaviours, and educational deficiencies. A key finding is how low literacy rates and inadequate education systems perpetuate these challenges. The study suggests sustainable internal peace requires a holistic approach that addresses structural inequalities and social development needs while promoting inclusive governance and educational reform.

Locus of Control and Mental Health: Human Variation Complicates a Well-Established Research Finding.

Locus of control (LoC) refers to one's expectation that life outcomes and (mis)fortune are driven largely by one's own actions or abilities (internal LoC) or by external factors (e.g., powerful others, chance; external LoC). There is a large literature demonstrating an association between internal LoC and positive mental health outcomes. However, this research is conducted mostly in high-income, Global North settings, with limited consideration of cross-cultural variability. This short report explores how LoC relates to mental health when considered in a less-studied context: in a setting of stark structural violence and in relation to supernatural agents. I conducted a community-based survey in rural Haiti (n = 322) that assessed sent spirit-related locus of control (LoC-S) and mental health. Among individuals experiencing higher levels of daily stressors, depressive and anxiety symptoms were high regardless of LoC-S. However, for individuals facing low-to-moderate daily stressors, external LoC-S (believing one does not have control in relation to sent spirits) was associated with lower depressive and anxiety symptoms, though this interaction did not hold for anxiety after controlling for covariates. Though initially a nonintuitive finding, I contextualize this outcome in relation to ethnographic work in Haiti, showing that the ability to explain misfortune via the supernatural world can serve as a form of blame displacement. In a context where extreme structural violence means that individuals realistically have little control over their lives, an external LoC better reflects lived experience, helping explain the association with better mental health outcomes.

Reluctant Spies: The Role of Neighbourhood Leaders in Indonesia’s PVE Strategy

ABSTRACT Despite a wealth of existing knowledge about intelligence gathering through community policing programs for preventing violent extremism (PVE) in Western countries, relatively little is known about how these initiatives are implemented in Muslim-majority countries: What kinds of community leaders are mobilised? What are they asked to do? How do they respond? This paper answers these questions by examining community policing initiatives for PVE in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. It focuses on the role of a ubiquitous network of neighbourhood leaders at the centre of Indonesia’s efforts to counter threats from pro-ISIS groups. Based on qualitative data collected in two of Indonesia’s largest cities, we find that a set of social, institutional, and political factors constrain neighbourhood leaders’ ability to monitor and report extremist activity to authorities. Several of these factors are similar to the barriers identified in cross-country reporting threshold studies. However, the responsibilisation of neighbourhood leaders for PVE, mixed with their reluctance to report, produces unique adverse effects in Indonesia by incentivising the use of extra-legal measures against suspects. Our findings emphasize the need to repair public trust in law enforcement agencies as a prerequisite for effective community policing and categorise information that communities can effectively provide.

Whose crime & whose punishment? Identity and retribution for extremist violence

ABSTRACT Domestic far-right groups, many of which are characterized by white supremacist aims, pose the most significant risk of ideological violence in the United States. Our ability to confront this security threat depends, in part, on the public’s willingness to punish perpetrators of such violence. Social Identity Theory suggests that societal responses to various behaviours will be shaped by ‘in-group’ identities and affiliations, with research from across disciplines finding that white and non-white offenders are treated differently. Considering the current national security threat posed by white supremacist violence, we expect that an effective response to this threat will face the twin obstacles of punishing perpetrators who are both white and American citizens. To evaluate the extent of these biases, we examine the public’s willingness to punish acts of violent extremism. Using a survey experiment, we find that ethnicity and citizenship powerfully influence the severity with which people punish extremist violence. White US citizens are punished the least severely compared to Muslim or non-citizen perpetrators for identical acts of violence. Our results indicate that America’s ability to confront the national security threat posed by white supremacy will depend in part on our ability to punish members of their racial and national ‘in-group’.

‘None-the-wiser’? Citizenship education in preventing radicalisation: contrasting European and Middle East perspectives

ABSTRACT Radicalisation towards violent extremism within educational settings has emerged as a high profile and critical issue in many contemporary societies. Debates around the appropriate role of educational institutions should play in this regard have attracted intense media and public debate both in the UK and internationally. This research involved face-to-face interviews with 51 education sector professionals in Europe and the Middle East to establish an evidence base regarding current practice regarding the understanding of radicalisation and building young people’s resilience to violent extremism through Citizenship Education (CE). The results highlighted a range of the limitations and shortfalls perceived by staff in CE provision and delivery including failings with how CE was delivered; the negative impact of limited time allocation on CE activity; and staff apprehension regarding their role and the role CE potentially plays in countering extremist behaviour. Some implications in terms of policy and practice in this area are identified.