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The Quest for Significance Model of Radicalization: Implications for the Management of Terrorist Detainees
Abstract
Radicalization and its culmination in terrorism represent a grave threat to the security and stability of the world. A related challenge is effective management of extremists who are detained in prison facilities. The major aim of this article is to review the significance quest model of radicalization and its implications for management of terrorist detainees. First, we review the significance quest model, which elaborates on the roles of motivation, ideology, and social processes in radicalization. Secondly, we explore the implications of the model in relation to the risks of prison radicalization. Finally, we analyze the model's implications for deradicalization strategies and review preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of a rehabilitation program targeting components of the significance quest. Based on this evidence, we argue that the psychology of radicalization provides compelling reason for the inclusion of deradicalization efforts as an essential component of the management of terrorist detainees. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
... At the tertiary level of prevention, Dugas and Kruglanski (2014) warn that correctional practices may reinforce the very radicalization they are meant to counter. According to the authors, by the time their manuscript was published, the handling of terrorist detainees in the United States was based on isolation, and strict monitoring of inmates' communications and behaviours (including the interdiction of collective prayer). ...
... They stress how such treatment can give rise to a growing sense of humiliation and uncertainty, leading therefore to a stronger sense of loss of significance, ultimately reinforcing detainees' radicalization. To tackle this, Dugas and Kruglanski (2014) suggest that deradicalization programs focus on restoring detainees' significance by calling them beneficiaries rather than "prisoners" or "detainees". ...
... Specifically on the tertiary level of prevention, Dugas and Kruglanski (2014) mentioned deradicalization programs in Muslim countries 3 focusing on convincing terrorist inmates that violence is not an acceptable means to reach significance. Their argument is based on the fact that violence against unarmed civilians is prohibited by the Qur'an and aims to open an avenue for the acceptance of alternative (and nonviolent) means to restore significance. ...
Radicalization leading to violence is a major societal issue all over the globe. In order to prevent its increase and expansion, measures need to be taken at different instances and levels. In the present narrative review, to inform evidence-based practices, we bring together numerous applied recommendations made by scholars studying the psychological underpinnings of radicalization within the framework of the Significance Quest Theory and its 3N model. The applied recommendations target at least one of the three elements of the 3N model (i.e., need, narrative, and network) in at least one of the three levels of prevention (i.e., primary, secondary, and tertiary). In the discussion, we highlight which of these are still lacking empirical evaluation, which might be problematic and why, and how policymakers, practitioners, and researchers can work together to provide an integrative model of intervention addressing both the need for significance and the influence of radical narratives and groups. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.
... The determinants of radical commitment are multiple (8) and include individual, micro-environmental, relational and social vulnerability factors combined with international geopolitical factors (7,8). At the individual level, frequently described psychological vulnerability factors (9) are early experiences of abandonment (10), perceived injustice, experiences of stigmatization (7), personal uncertainty, dynamics of rebellion, violence and/or delinquency (3,9), behavioral disorders (11) 1 Maison Des Adolescents: french reception and care structures for adolescents aged 11-25 and their families to provide a response to the suffering associated with adolescence. ...
... The determinants of radical commitment are multiple (8) and include individual, micro-environmental, relational and social vulnerability factors combined with international geopolitical factors (7,8). At the individual level, frequently described psychological vulnerability factors (9) are early experiences of abandonment (10), perceived injustice, experiences of stigmatization (7), personal uncertainty, dynamics of rebellion, violence and/or delinquency (3,9), behavioral disorders (11) 1 Maison Des Adolescents: french reception and care structures for adolescents aged 11-25 and their families to provide a response to the suffering associated with adolescence. ...
... With regard to young people involved in violent extremism, Simi's work suggests that these young people constitute a heterogeneous population of "ordinary offenders" with a history of exposure to violence (physical and/or sexual assault) (3,10,11). Concerning adolescents, Oppetit's work with 70 radicalized adolescents (81.4% female) shows 87.1% history of neglect or psychological abuse, 30.7% history of physical or sexual assault and 44.3% history of scarification in this population (8). Furthermore, among the 130 young people (67% female) followed since 2015 by the VIRAGE network, 55% have a post-traumatic history, 90% of which concerns repeated traumatic exposure (10). ...
Introduction
Since 2014, the profiles of radicalized individuals have changed with the appearance of radical groups composed of a large proportion of adolescents. Various individual, relational, and social vulnerabilities have been identified as being involved in the radicalization process of adolescents. Among these factors, it appears that early and repeated history of personal and/or family psychotraumatism may constitute factors of vulnerability to violent radicalization.
Material and Methods
The clinical situation of a 17-year-old woman convicted of “links with a terrorist group (DAECH)” was recruited from the 130 radicalized young people followed by the teams of the Maison des Adolescents and the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Service of the University Hospitals of Strasbourg since May 2015. Based on the analysis of this clinical case, we present the hypothesis that post-traumatic antecedents can constitute vulnerability factors to violent radicalization, and that post-traumatic symptoms can be “used” by recruiters of radical movements at different moments of the radicalization process by reactivating post-traumatic psychic mechanisms, but also, for a smaller number of subjects, by the induction of the trauma (viewing of propaganda videos).
Results
We show a possible link between violent radicalization and complex psycho-traumatism with an impact of the reactivation of post-traumatic mechanisms such as (i) the activation of the autonomic nervous system and emotional dysregulation on violent acts, (ii) the activation of dissociation mechanisms (psychic sideration and post-traumatic amnesia) on indoctrination and violent acts, (iii) the activation of control mechanisms on the search for a strict framework of life and a radical ideology and (iv) relational avoidance on the processes of relational rupture and radical socialization. Thus, we highlight that the radicalization process can respond to the needs and psychic functioning of psycho-traumatized individuals (channeling tensions, being recognized and active in one's life).
Discussion
We discuss the central role of propaganda videos in the activation of the ANS and dissociation, and the self-perpetuating process between these two posttraumatic mechanisms. We also discuss clinical and therapeutic perspectives (therapies targeting complex psychotrauma).
Conclusion
Psychotrauma can promote radicalization due to vulnerability mechanisms. Treatments targeting psychotrauma may be one of the ways to get these young people out of violent radicalization.
... Cottee and Hayward (2011) identify three "existential motivations": the desire for excitement, the desire for ultimate meaning and the desire for glory, the latter two of which are identical to the components of significance seeking. Dugas and Kruglanski (2014) propose the "Quest for Significance Model", in which a desire for personal significance and glory is the central driving force behind radicalization. This desire to enhance status and self-image (Doosje et al. 2016;Dugas and Kruglanski 2014;Venhaus 2010;Webber and Kruglanski 2018) differs from the need for transcendent existential meaning (Kruglanski et al. 2009). ...
... Dugas and Kruglanski (2014) propose the "Quest for Significance Model", in which a desire for personal significance and glory is the central driving force behind radicalization. This desire to enhance status and self-image (Doosje et al. 2016;Dugas and Kruglanski 2014;Venhaus 2010;Webber and Kruglanski 2018) differs from the need for transcendent existential meaning (Kruglanski et al. 2009). The significance seeking type is thus a compound of the constructs need for existential meaning and need for status, which motivate an attraction to ideological systems and figures that offer a clear worldview and a set of rules and behaviours aimed at enhancing social status, public image and self-worth stemming from the opinions of others. ...
... Overall, the importance of these motives in our data is in line with previous radicalization literature, which has highlighted the central role of uncertainty and the quest for significance and definition as a motivator (van den Bos 2018, Dugas and Kruglanski 2014), as well as the role of the need to belong as a central motive in human behaviour in a broader sense (Baumeister et al. 2007, Baumeister andLeary 1995). The frequent coincidence of need to belong and personal uncertainty, indicative of attempts to gain security and define one's identity through association with a social group, is also in keeping with social identity theory (Tajfel and Turner [1979] 2004a, Tajfel and Turner [1986] 2004b). ...
People can be attracted to radical ideas for different reasons. In the present study, we propose four types of people attracted to such ideas due to different motives: the identity seeker, the significance seeker, the sensation seeker, and the justice seeker. To investigate this model, we conducted five narrative interviews with individuals who had disengaged during the early stages of radicalization (Study 1) and seven semi-structured expert interviews with staff of German deradicalization programmes (Study 2). Data were analyzed using a coding reliability approach to thematic analyses. The proposed typology was not supported in full, but the individual motivations making up the types were all reflected in the data, the most important being the need to belong, personal uncertainty, and need for status. This study’s key finding is that rather than generalizing types of radicalization or types of ideology, it is productive to analyze individuals on the basis of their personal combination of psychological needs and the saliency thereof. We relate this to past research and discuss practical implications.
... Push Factors refer to the environmental, contextual, or familial factors that lead youth to seek out radicalized groups (Horgan, 2008). These include, but are not limited to: (1) ongoing exposure to conflict and community violence (Ozerdem & Podder, 2011); (2) alienation from greater society (Doosje, Loseman, & Van den Bos, 2013); (3) perceived discrimination (e.g., employment, poverty, access to healthcare) (Bhui, Hicks, Lashley, & Jones, 2012;Victoroff, Adelman, & Matthews, 2012); (4) identity confusion or conflict (Feddes, Mann, & Doosje, 2015); (5) influences from radicalized peers (Pauwels & De Waele, 2015); (6) desire for recognition or significance (Dugas & Kruglanski, 2014;Kruglanski et al., 2009); (7) political grievance or a moral justification in the face of injustice (Blair, 2009;Brown & Smith, 2009;Krueger, 2007;Dugas & Kruglanski, 2014). ...
... Push Factors refer to the environmental, contextual, or familial factors that lead youth to seek out radicalized groups (Horgan, 2008). These include, but are not limited to: (1) ongoing exposure to conflict and community violence (Ozerdem & Podder, 2011); (2) alienation from greater society (Doosje, Loseman, & Van den Bos, 2013); (3) perceived discrimination (e.g., employment, poverty, access to healthcare) (Bhui, Hicks, Lashley, & Jones, 2012;Victoroff, Adelman, & Matthews, 2012); (4) identity confusion or conflict (Feddes, Mann, & Doosje, 2015); (5) influences from radicalized peers (Pauwels & De Waele, 2015); (6) desire for recognition or significance (Dugas & Kruglanski, 2014;Kruglanski et al., 2009); (7) political grievance or a moral justification in the face of injustice (Blair, 2009;Brown & Smith, 2009;Krueger, 2007;Dugas & Kruglanski, 2014). ...
The international rise of radicalization, particularly prevalent among young adults, is now considered to be a serious and growing security threat to the world. Radicalization is understood to be a precursor to engaging in terrorism-related actions, and intervention is vital. This chapter reviews the various pathways for youth radicalization, followed by a presentation of several theoretical explanations as to why youth may become radicalized. We adopt a trauma-informed perspective for examining the various risk factors for youth radicalization and suggest prevention and intervention programs to counteract this radicalization. This chapter focuses on specific systemic arenas that can be impacted by radicalization-the family, school, prison, community, Internet, and government-and suggests specific means for future interventions in each domain with youth at-risk for radicalization. Examining these arenas can provide insight into why combating radicalization remains a daunting task, and into the critical importance of coordinating activities across the various ecological circles in order to effectively counter radicalization.
... The military instills a warrior identity to ensure unit cohesion. The development of a collective warrior/protector identity, time spent, and sacrifices made while in the service may be considered sunk-costs for which service members feel compelled to maintain even after their exit (Mullins & Dolnik, 2010), leading to a collectivist shift that drives individuals to form their identities around an ingroup to regain significance (Dugas & Kruglanski, 2014). Far-right groups actively seek to recruit veterans or members of the military experiencing this collectivist shift following their service, hoping that these recruits will train civilian members in the weapons, intelligence, and tactics used by the armed forces to target their perceived enemies (Koehler, 2022). ...
This paper uses a mixed methods approach to assess the vulnerability of the armed forces to RMVE ideologies and the possibility of individual self-radicalization or deliberate targeted recruitment by extremist movements. We contrast radicalization and pre-attack behaviors by a variety of groups, identifying the societal, economic, and political environments that may increase the likelihood of violence, and highlighting how people move from radical beliefs to radical actions within the context of the US military. The role of certain psychological conditions, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), in contributing to targeted recruitment of veterans by RMVE groups, is discussed.
... Indeed, families and peers are among the most important social groups for adolescents (Jahnke et al., 2023). According to Social Control Theory, supportive families increase the likelihood that youth accept societal values and institutions (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990) whereas the Significance Quest Theory argues that a lack of meaningful and important relationships can put an individual at risk of engaging in political violence in search of personal significance (Dugas & Kruglanski, 2014;Jasko et al., 2017). Empirically, a recent meta-analysis showed that perceived social support from family was associated with lower support for violent radicalization, whereas evidence was mixed for perceived social support from peers (probably depending on the charactersistics and orientation of peers) (Jahnke et al., 2023). ...
Although support for violent and non-violent radicalization can co-occur, only a few adolescents who support non-violent radicalization also support or engage in violent acts. Yet, little is known about what factors are associated with adolescents’ paths towards or away from violent and/or non-violent radicalization. Within a socio-ecological and positive youth development framework, this study investigates profiles of support for violent and non-violent radicalization among adolescents attending high schools in Quebec (Canada) and whether such profiles are differently associated with experiences of social adversity, school-, family- and peer-related factors and psychological distress. Adolescents (N = 1911; Mage = 15.7; SDage = 0.98; 48.7% girls) completed an online survey during school hours. A Latent Profile Analysis on scores of support for violent and non-violent radicalization was conducted. A multinomial logistic regression was used to explore the associations between profiles and variables of interest. We identified six profiles of adolescents. The heterogeneity of profiles suggested multiple and complex combinations of support for violent and non-violent radicalization as well as their co-existence in some but not all profiles. Adolescents who reported less discrimination, more positive school experiences and more family support were less likely to belong to profiles that supported violence. Primary prevention efforts in the field of support for violent radicalization must adopt a socio-ecological and social justice approach and consider the diversity of adolescents’ profiles, attitudes and experiences.
... It is also useful to explore how dreams could be strategically used to ensure the success of radicalization, which involves changing an individual's mindset to accept radical and extreme viewpoints, including the use of violence (Bott et al. 2009;McCauley and Moskalenko 2008). One popular psychological theory of radicalization is from Kruglanski's line of research on the quest for significance as a major underlying motivation of violent extremist engagement (Dugas and Kruglanski 2014;Jasko et al. 2017;Kruglanski et al. 2014aKruglanski et al. , 2014bKruglanski et al. , 2017Kruglanski et al. , 2019. The radicalization process involves activating the quest through actual or anticipated loss of significance and perceived opportunity for significance gain (Kruglanski et al. 2019). ...
... This loss can be directly connected with intergroup conflicts in which one's group is involved and impacts his own group on his sense of significance. Alternatively, significance loss can happen due to personal failures and misfortune unrelated with conflict (Dugas and Kruglanski, 2014). ...
The aim of this study was to analyse quest for significance of adults according to their demographic features and to determine predictive relations between quest for significance and social media addiction of adults. The data of the study were collected from a total of 556 participants, 188 men and 368 women aged 18 and over. Participants were recruited by utilizing convenience sampling technique, and correlational survey method of quantitative research models was adopted within this study. Quest for Significance Scale, Social Media Addiction Scale and Personal Information Form were used as data collection tools. The data from assessment tools were analysed using the T-test, and multi-group comparisons were made using ANOVA (one-way analysis of variance). The relation between the points acquired from assessment tools was calculated using Pearson's Moments Multiplication Correlation Coefficient. Predictive relations between quest for significance and social media addiction was analysed using simple linear regression model. Significant difference was determined in quest for significance of adults as a result of the study considering age level, marital status, time spent on social media, the reason for using social media and whether using social media has any impact on sleeping pattern. On the other hand, no significant difference was determined in quest for significance of adults in terms of gender, income and educational background. A moderate positive correlation between quest for significance and social media addiction of adults was determined.
... Need for significance describes the personal desire for having a purpose in life and being of importance to the world and others. 106 In each of the five studies, the need for significance was operationalized differently: as the extent to which participants value having a high status, express megalomania, and view their existence as meaningful (reversed), as well as the combined measure of having a meaningful existence (reversed), the need to belong, a sense of self-esteem (reversed) and control (reversed), as well as experiencing humiliation, shame, hopelessness and anger. ...
... Psychological theories have attempted to understand the factors at play in an individual's process of violence related to radicalization by studying lone wolves trajectories or by capturing their subjective experience with individual interviews (Reid Meloy & Yakeley, 2014;Jaccard & Tiscini, 2021;O'Malley et al., 2022;Mastors & Siers, 2014;Ozer & Bertelsen, 2020;Webber et al., 2018;Dugas & Kruglanski, 2014;Gelfand et al., 2013;Silke, 2008). Among others, loss and search for meaning, certain personality traits, threats to identity, developmental crises, response to humiliation or moral disengagement with victimization and dehumanization of the other, marginalization and alienation were identified as critical psychological factors in the radicalization process and potential use of violence. ...
In response to the increase in ideological and non‐ideological mass killings, mental health professionals are beginning to invest in prevention and intervention in violent radicalization situations. The psychological and psychiatric literature proposes multiple psychological theories describing the individual factors at play in the process of violent radicalization: loss of meaning, responses to humiliation, dehumanization of the other as well as serious identity problems are often mentioned, but little is known about the self‐representation of individuals attracted or involved in violent radicalization. This qualitative study aims at giving a sense of the complexity and texture of the experience of radicalized youth (18–30 years old), followed by a specialized clinic in Quebec (Canada). Ten patients, 18–30 years old, a significant age group for identity formation, were recruited for the study. An art‐based method (self‐portrait with a collage) and a projective testing method (the Thematic Apperception Test) were used to elicit the psychic representations of the patient about their identity and document their time perception. The results show that idealization and devaluation processes are central to these patients' self‐representation and are associated with adverse childhood experiences. Regarding time perception, many participants were spontaneously drawn toward a nostalgic past, manifesting significant difficulties in anchoring themselves in the present and imagining a future. These results confirm the vulnerability of this clientele and show that the projective art‐based methods are perceived as more soothing than threatening. Clinical implications, tools and approaches to help evaluate and intervene with radicalized youth are discussed.
... The transformation from radicalisation to violence is a sophisticated socio-psychological process through which individuals come to hold a variety of radical ideologies, attitudes, and beliefs that legitimise violence (Borum, 2011). Violent radicalisation harms social groups and society, especially given its connection to terrorism (Dugas & Kruglanski, 2014). One of the communities confronting the most significant dangers in the twenty-first century is terrorism (Zych & Nasaescu, 2022). ...
There is an increasing phenomenon of violent radicalisation, extremism and nationalism across Europe, with a need for a new approach that will help to prevent young people from engaging in these violent activities. As part of RJ4All’s wider programme on Preventing & Addressing Violent Radicalisation and Extremism, we set up the Restorative Dialogue Against Violent Radicalisation (RDaVR). This was carried out with support from Erasmus+ in six countries: the UK, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Ireland and Romania.
This ebook brings together the findings from RDaVR through national chapters as well as a comparative analysis. A longer version is also available, which includes the project findings in Turkish, Italian, Spanish and Romanian. The ebook is particularly useful to criminal justice professionals and volunteers (e.g. prison officers, probation staff, police and community based practitioners) working with offenders, ex-offenders or individuals who are at risk of being groomed into violent radicalisation and/ or group offending.
Our programme is based on Gavrielides’ restorative justice model, which is a psychosocial intervention aiming to increase resilience and prevent anti-social behaviour. Prof. Gavrielides has been piloting this model through various pilots in the community, schools, prisons, universities and online.
Instead of “managing” people as “risks” (Risk Need Responsivity), Gavrielides’ model focuses on promoting talents and strengths and through this approach help develop positive identities. This is captured as the Good Lives Model (GLM) articulated through the values and practices of restorative justice including power sharing, dialogue, fairness, equality and autonomy.
... In this way, radicalization reflects a high-level commitment to the ideological goal and violence as a means to achieve it, along with a reduced commitment to alternative goals and values (Schumpe, Bélanger, Giacomantonio, Nisa, & Brizi, 2018). Based on this conceptualization, the reduction of radicalization would consist of a reduced commitment to the core ideological goal or to the means of achieving it (violence and terrorism) (Dugas & Kruglanski, 2014;Webber et al., 2018). Therefore, reducing radicalization should focus on intervening in these three forces (Bélanger et al., 2015). ...
Preventive approaches have gained weight with regard to violent extremism. However, although the number of interventions aimed at prevention has increased, many of them do not have a solid theoretical basis and very few have been evaluated, so we do not know the real impact of these interventions. Based on these limitations, a sport-based intervention program was designed to prevent violent extremism. Using the 3N model of radicalization as a theoretical reference, the program was designed and implemented trying to influence the needs, narratives, and social networks of the participants. Thus, the objective of the present research was to evaluate the impact of the program, for which two studies were designed. The first study used a quantitative approach using questionnaires that were answered by the participants and by a control group. The second study used a qualitative approach that included open-ended questionnaires that were completed by the participants’ referents. Both studies assessed the needs, narratives, and social networks of the participants. Overall, the results showed an improvement in social networks and differences in the effects on needs and narratives depending on the study. We conclude by highlighting the role of sports-based interventions in generating a sense of belonging and improving social support as preventive factors.
... Radicalization to violence is a complex socio-psychological process through which people acquire a series of extreme beliefs, attitudes, and ideologies, justifying the use of violence to achieve their goals and promote these ideologies (Borum, 2012;Doosje et al., 2016). Radicalization to violence is harmful to social groups and the society as a whole, in particular because of its association with terrorism (Dugas & Kruglanski, 2014). Terrorism is one of the most important threats faced by the 21st century societies. ...
Background
Family‐related risk and protective factors are crucial for different antisocial behaviors, but their role in radicalization requires synthesis. Radicalization is likely to have a negative impact on families, and well‐designed and implemented family‐focused intervention programs have the potential to decrease radicalization.
Objectives
Research questions were: (1) What are the family‐related risk and protective factors for radicalization? (2) What is the impact of radicalization on families? (3) Are family‐based interventions against radicalization effective?
Search Methods
Searches included 25 databases and hand searches of gray literature from April to July 2021. Leading researchers in the field were asked to provide published and unpublished studies on the topic. Reference lists of the included studies and previously published systematic reviews on risk and protective factors for radicalization were scanned.
Selection Criteria
Published and unpublished quantitative studies on family‐related risk and protective factors for radicalization, the impact of radicalization on families, and family‐focused interventions were eligible with no restrictions regarding the study year, location, or any demographic characteristic. Studies were included if they measured the relation between a family‐related factor and radicalization or if they included a family‐focused intervention against radicalization. For family‐related risk and protective factors, radicalized individuals needed to be compared to general population. Studies were included if they defined radicalization as support or commission of violence to defend a cause, including support for radical groups.
Data Collection and Analysis
The systematic search identified 86,591 studies. After screening, 33 studies focused on family‐related risk and protective factors were included, with 89 primary effect sizes and 48 variables grouped in 14 factors. For the factors that included two or more studies, meta‐analyses with random effects were conducted. When possible, moderator analyses were performed together with sensitivity and publication bias analyses. No studies on the impact of radicalization on families or family‐focused interventions were included.
Results
The current systematic review based on studies with 148,081 adults and adolescents from diverse geographic locations showed that parental ethnic socialization (z = 0.27), having extremist family members (z = 0.26), and family conflict (z = 0.11) were related to more radicalization, whereas high family socioeconomic status (z = −0.03), bigger family size (z = −0.05), and high family commitment (z = −0.06) were related to less radicalization. Separate analyses described family‐factors for behavioral versus cognitive radicalization, and different radical ideologies including Islamist, right‐wing and left‐wing. It was not possible to distinguish risk and protective factors from correlates and the level of overall bias was mostly high. No results regarding the impact of radicalization on families or family‐focused interventions were included.
Authors' Conclusions
Although causal relations between family‐related risk and protective factors could not be established, it is reasonable to suggest that policies and practice should aim at decreasing family‐related risks and increasing protective factors for radicalization. Tailored interventions including these factors should be urgently designed, implemented and evaluated. Studies focused on the impact of radicalization on families and family‐focused interventions are urgently needed together with longitudinal studies on family‐related risk and protective factors.
... Zum Zweiten nimmt die Suche nach einem sinnstiftenden und respektierten Platz in der Welt eine wichtige Rolle im Radikalisierungsprozess ein . Der in radikalen Ideologien verankerte Anspruch, für eine übergeordnete Sache zu kämpfen, kann Gefühle der Sinnhaftigkeit und persönlicher Bedeutsamkeit stiften, die selbst über den eigenen Tod hinaus Beständigkeit behalten (Dugas & Kruglanski, 2014 ...
Was treibt Menschen dazu, im Namen einer Ideologie auf extreme Mittel wie Gewalt zurückzugreifen? Vielfach legen theoretische Radikalisierungsmodelle wie auch die Lebensläufe Radikalisierter soziale Exklusion als einen Faktor nahe, der Menschen vulnerabel gegenüber radikalen Ideologien und deren Gruppen macht. Obwohl soziale Exklusion immer wieder als möglicher Risikofaktor der Radikalisierung identifiziert (?) wurde, fehlte dieser Annahme lange eine empirisch belastbare Grundlage, insbesondere im Hinblick auf experimentelle Untersuchungen, die einen Ursache-Wirkungs-Schluss ermöglichen. Der vorliegende Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über die Rolle sozialer Exklusion im Radikalisierungsprozess und setzt dabei einen besonderen Fokus auf die aktuell bestehenden experimentellen Forschungsbefunde. Es zeigt sich, dass soziale Exklusion über deprivierte individuelle Bedürfnisse und eine höhere Ansprechbarkeit gegenüber Gruppenprozessen zu Radikalisierungstendenzen beitragen kann. Hieraus ergeben sich Implikationen für die Radikalisierungsprävention, die sich nicht nur auf einer politischen und gesamtgesellschaftlichen, sondern auch auf einer individuellen Ebene umsetzen lassen.
... Q. Wiktorowicz's research (Wiktorowicz: 2005) combines the individual and social factors underlying the subject's susceptibility to new ideas and perceptions of the world and highlights the role that social influences play in moving a person towards a radicalized group, establishing the state of crisis in which the subject is to be receptive to it. A.W. Kruglanski's model (Kruglanski: 2014) focuses on the search for meaning (conceptualized as the fundamental desire to gain respect or "count for something" and "be someone"), which increases the likelihood of adopting extreme behavior. F. Glovacz (2019), having conducted a psychological and criminological analysis of criminalized minors, proposed a model illustrating the articulation of various components and the activation of radicalization through intermediaries who advocate for an imposed ideology (which, in particular, can be transmitted through social networks) and group dynamics leading to the adherence and commitment of young people to the ideology and actions of terrorist organizations. ...
The article is devoted to the consideration of youth and youth policy as factors of terrorism in the 21st century. The authors have identified factors that increase the effectiveness of recruiters of terrorist organizations in attracting young people, as well as formulated and justified the principles of improving the effectiveness of youth policy in the framework of anti-terrorist activities of the authorities. According to the authors, an important factor in the radicalization of young people is the low level of education in the country. The authors draw attention to the fact that the low level of education does not create opportunities for the development of young people. This, in turn, leads to a radicalization of the relationship between the authorities and students. If graduates are unable to find jobs that meet their expectations, then the risk of radicalization of young people increases. A good education not only allows the state to train qualified specialists, which effectively affects the social and economic development of society. Specialists in demand do not belong to social groups prone to violent and radical actions in relation to other citizens, both within the country and abroad. Therefore, it is necessary, on the one hand, to develop educational programs that allow college and university graduates to be in demand in the labor market, constantly improve their skills, and increase the level of knowledge. On the other hand, it is necessary to develop students' skills, such as critical thinking, creativity, respect for the institutions of society, and skills in solving social and professional problems.
... These results are overall in line with radicalization literature highlighting the central role of uncertainty and the quest for significance and definition as a motivator (e.g., Dugas & Kruglanski, 2014;van den Bos, 2018), as well as with early findings on the central role of the need to belong as a general psychological motive (e.g., Baumeister et al., 2007Baumeister & Leary, 1995. The combination of need to belong and personal uncertainty in the "constructing facets of social identity" them is also in line with Social Identity Theory (cf., Tajfel & Turner, 1979, 1986. ...
We analyzed five narrative interviews with individuals who disengaged from Islamist extremist and Salafist ideologies in an early stage of radicalization (Study 1) and seven semistructured expert interviews with employees of German deradicalization programs (Study 2) to explore which root factors are common to both radicalization and deradicalization and how they manifest. Employing a coding-reliability approach to Thematic Analyses, we constructed five themes central in radicalization and deradicalization, respectively. Parallels between radicalization and deradicalization (themes: social surroundings, exclusion vs. acceptance, social status, self-definition, and structure/sense of purpose) as well as the specifics of our particular sample—female explorers of religious extremism—and implications for future research are discussed.
... These results are overall in line with radicalization literature highlighting the central role of uncertainty and the quest for significance and definition as a motivator (e.g. Van den Bos, 2018;Dugas & Kruglanski, 2014), as well as with early findings on the central role of the need to belong as a motive (e.g. Baumeister et al., 2007;Baumeister & Leary, 1995). ...
We analysed five narrative interviews with individuals who disengaged from Islamist extremist and Salafist ideologies in an early stage of radicalization (Study 1) and seven semi-structured expert interviews with employees of German deradicalization-programmes (Study 2) to explore which root factors are common to both radicaliza-tion and deradicalization and how they manifest. Employing a coding-reliability ap-proach to Thematic Analyses, we constructed five themes central in radicalization and deradicalization, respectively. Parallels between radicalization and deradicaliza-tion (themes: social surroundings, exclusion vs. acceptance, social status, self-definition, structure / sense of purpose) as well as the specifics of our particular sample – female explorers of religious extremism – and implications for future re-search are discussed.
... ise gruba yönelik boyuttaki intikama örnek olarak verilebilir. Kriminal psikoloji ekseninde terörizmin temel faktörü olarak intikamın iki boyutunun optimal düzeydeki kombinasyonu terör faaliyetlerinin etkililiği ile doğru orantı göstermektedir (Dugas & Kruglanski, 2014;Pyszczynski, Rothschild & Abdollahi, 2008). ...
ÖZET
Kriminal psikoloji, ceza-adalet sistemi içerisinde suç olgusunu klinik psikoloji ve adli psikoloji ile kriminolojinin kümülatif ve bütünsel bir sentezi olarak klinik adli psikoloji ekseninde araştıran psikolojinin bir alt alanıdır. Ulusal ve uluslararası bilimsel platformlarda terörizm; psikoloji, hukuk, ekonomi, sosyoloji ve kriminoloji gibi birçok disiplin tarafından çalışılmaktadır. Kriminal psikoloji açısından terörizmin; ideoloji, bağ kurma, intikam, ahlaki mantığa bürüme ve füzyone kimlik unsurları olmak üzere beş temel bileşeni bulunmaktadır. Kriminal psikoloji, terörizmin ilk bileşeni olan ideolojiyi, aşırılık ve militanlık özelliklerinin kombinasyonuyla bir dizi inanç ve değerlere yoğun bir gayret göstererek kuvvetle bağlanma olarak tanımlamaktadır. Terörizmin ikinci bileşeni olan bağ kurmada, bireylerin ilişki içinde olduğu kişilere ne kadar yakın hissettiği ile onlara dair tutum ve inançları esas alınmaktadır. Terörizmin üçüncü bileşenini olan intikam, bir bireyin başkalarıyla aynı faile karşı öfke duyması ve onlarla iş birliği çabasında bulunması olarak fonksiyon görmektedir. Terörizmin dördüncü bileşeni, “ahlaki mantığa bürüme veya mantıklaştırma” sürecidir. Terörizmle ilişkili herhangi bir olay hakkındaki sezgisel tepkileri desteklemek için kanıt arama süreci olarak ifade edilen ahlaki muhakeme, ahlaki mantığa bürüme ile birlikte değerlendirilmektedir. Kriminal psikoloji açısından son bileşen olan füzyone kimlik ise; grup içi ve grup dışı kimliklerin içi içe geçmiş olması ve bu kimliklerin kendi karakteristiklerini belirli oranda kaybetmeleri ile karakterizedir. Terörizmin temel bileşenlerinin kriminal psikoloji ekseninde değerlendirildiği akademik çalışmalar, terörle mücadeleye yönelik uygulanabilir ve etkili stratejilerin geliştirilmesine önemli katkılar sağlamaktadır.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Kriminal psikoloji; terörizm; terörizmle mücadele
ABSTRACT
Criminal psychology is a sub-field of psychology that investigates the crime phenomenon within the criminal-justice system as a cumulative and holistic synthesis of clinical psychology, forensic psychology and criminology on the axis of clinical forensic psychology. Terrorism in national and international platforms; it is studied by many disciplines such as psychology, law, economics, sociology and criminology. In terms of criminal psychology, terrorism; it has five basic components: ideology, bonding, revenge, moral rationalization and superficial identity elements. Criminal psychology defines ideology, the first component of terrorism, as an intense commitment to a set of beliefs and values with a combination of extremism and militancy. The second component of terrorism, bonding, is based on how close individuals feel to the people they are in contact with and their attitudes and beliefs about them. Revenge, which is the third component of terrorism, is expressed as an individuals anger towards the same perpetrator and the effort to cooperate with them. The fourth component or terrorism is the process of "moral rationalization". Moral reasoning which can be interpreted as the process in which we search for evidence to support our initial intuitive reaction on any incident related to terrorism should be taken into consideration along with moral rationalization. The fused identity, which is the last component in terms of criminal psychology; It is characterized by the fact that in-group and out-group identities are intertwined and these identities lose their characteristics to a certain extent. Academic studies, in which the basic components of terrorism are evaluated on the axis of criminal psychology, make significant contributions to the development of applicable and effective strategies for combating terrorism.
Keywords: Criminal psychology; terrorism; counter terrorism
... (Jones, 2014;Silke and Veldhuis, 2017). Secondly, by questioning the prison administration's ability to adapt and provide solutions to this growing and specific form of crime (Dugas and Kruglanski, 2014;Silke, 2014): "How should the prison identify, manage and treat 'radicalized' prisoners in order to prevent proselytism, attacks being committed on French soil and the strengthening of violent ideologies in connection with 'radicalized Islam'?" For the prison administration, these two questions quickly posed a concrete problem of how to manage the individuals and groups concerned (Jones and Morales, 2012). ...
This article is based on a sociological research, combining qualitative interviews and ethnographic observations, undertaken in “radicalization assessment units” (RAU) in French prisons. The RAUs are units that hold, for a fixed period of time, a dozen prisoners described as “Islamic terrorists” or “suspected radicalization” so that a multidisciplinary team can evaluate their degree of radicalization. In the first section we will show how the climate of terrorist attacks during the period prior to opening of the RAUs not only engendered a warlike rhetoric that would overdetermine the decline of trust in detention. It also engendered institutional improvisation whereby these special units were set up one after another without much preparation. Secondly, we will detail the RAU’s security organization and the warlike relationship that grew between the guards and prisoners, between radical defiance and criminology of the Other. In the third section we will return to the evaluation work itself. During this evaluation work in the RAU, although each professional makes efforts to refine the prisoners’ profiles, the job is deeply biased by an obsession to fight against the “ taqîya” and against “dissimulators”. Lastly, at the end of the evaluation, the evaluation summary and recommendations for final orientation are overdetermined by the imperative to avoid professional risks.
... Le modèle de l'escalier de Moghaddam (2005) détermine comme amorce du processus de radicalisation la perception d'injustice et l'absence d'options légales pour lutter contre ces injustices ; celui de Wiktorowicz (2005), inspiré de la théorie des mouvements sociaux, intègre les facteurs individuels et sociaux sous-tendant la réceptivité du sujet (ouverture cognitive) à de nouvelles idées et visions du monde et met en avant le rôle joué par les influences sociales dans le cheminement d'une personne vers un groupe radicalisé en établissant l'état de crise dans lequel le sujet se trouve pour y être réceptif. Le modèle de Kruglanski (2014), quant à lui, s'est intéressé à la quête de sens (conceptualisée comme un désir fondamental de gagner le respect, ou plus collectivement, de « compter » et « d'être quelqu'un »), qui augmenterait la probabilité d'adopter un comportement extrême. La récente étude de Glowacz (2019), basée sur l'analyse psychologique et criminologique de mineurs judiciarisés, a proposé un modèle illustrant l'articulation de ces différentes composantes et l'activation du processus de radicalisation par la rencontre de médiateurs de radicalisation prônant l'idéologie (pouvant transiter notamment par les réseaux sociaux) et des dynamiques groupales conduisant à l'affiliation et l'adhésion du jeune à l'idéologie et aux actions de l'EI. ...
Terrorist attacks in several European countries have led to increased interest in understanding deradicalization and disengagement as a way to increase the effectiveness of future interventions. Desistance has been less studied, even though it provides an interesting frame of reference. We analyzed the desistance narratives of three young people who, after having been convicted of acts of terrorism, now see themselves as having abandoned radicalism and pro-terrorist affiliations and were able to identify the elements and interventions they felt supported their desistance, disengagement, and de-radicalization. These features are consistent with those that form
the basis of assisted desistance.
... Subtle expressions are to be expected in societies that normatively decry violence against unarmed civilians. Perhaps the same process that predicts sympathizers also predicts committed supporters, those who might express the strongest denial, but such individuals may be comparatively rare (8,54). Future research can determine the conditions in which a biased hate crime perception indicates entry-level radicalization and when it simply indicates the everyday self-regulation of a cherished social identity or value system. ...
Significance
Some mass shooters openly express intent to target ethnic and racial minorities, but members of the public still do not agree on whether the gunman was indeed motivated by prejudice and/or hatred. The present research finds that members of a dominant majority often express uncertainty about hate crimes when they privately sympathize with the perpetrator’s cause; specifically, aggrieved members of a dominant majority do not want to acknowledge the victimhood of minority groups. The tendency to deemphasize hate crimes can be traced back to each individual’s own frustrations with society and resentment of other groups. Ultimately, the same general process that explains support for violent extremism, around the world, may also explain supremacist sympathies in modern Western democracies.
... Related to this is the process of depersonalization whereby committed group members in salient group contexts perceive themselves less as individuals and more as interchangeable exemplars of the relevant group (Hogg and Turner, 1987;Rosenberg, 1987). Kruglanski et al. (2009Kruglanski et al. ( , 2014 and Dugas and Kruglanski (2014) work on radicalization emphasizes how such a mechanism plays an important role in 'quests for significance.' They describe how individuals undergoing a search for meaning within a group context involves a collectivist shift in which there is a "transition from one's individual identity to one's social identity as the member of some group" which offers "a sense of empowerment. . . ...
A growing body of evidence suggests that two distinct forms of group alignment are possible: identification and fusion (the former asserts that group and personal identity are distinct, while the latter asserts group and personal identities are functionally equivalent and mutually reinforcing). Among highly fused individuals, group identity taps directly into personal agency and so any attack on the group is perceived as a personal attack and motivates a willingness to fight and possibly even die as a defensive response. As such, identity fusion is relevant in explaining violent extremism, including suicidal terrorist attacks. Identity fusion is theorized to arise as a result from experiences which are (1) perceived as shared and (2) transformative, however evidence for this relationship remains limited. Here, we present a pre-registered study in which we examine the role of transformativeness and perceived sharedness of group-defining events in generating identity fusion. We find that both of these factors are predictive of identity fusion but that the relationship with transformativeness was more consistent than perceived sharedness across analyses in a sample of Indonesian Muslims.
... Echoing the definitions cited above, ideology, the authors argued, was thus "inextricably social", consisting of a shared reality adopted by members of a collectivity and spread via the formation of social bonds. [46] Dugas and Kruglanski's approach reflects early contributions from sociology on the key components of ideology, as well as the literature on ways in which social movements seek to mobilize constituents, which helps us understand their agency in relation to terrorism. ...
An enduring bugbear in the study of terrorism is conceptualizing the role ideology plays for individuals involved in such activities. Explanations range from presenting ideology as a key determinant to those who argue that it is often barely relevant at all. In this article we seek to reconcile competing notions of ideology in the emergence of terrorism by making the case for a non-binary conceptualization of ideology. Our approach here emphasizes interpretations of social identity over depictions of the doctrinal. We divide key concerns about ideology in individual processes to terrorism into three related arguments: 'cognition', 'causation' and 'exposure' and explore how these can be reconciled. This more nuanced conceptual understanding of ideology in processes leading to terrorism, we suggest, will aid our analysis of terrorism and the way in which we may approach ideological variables in its context.
... For example, the ventral path is related to sexuality (see below). [58] Published research data [59] and new research data to be published by the current author support the thesis that EA influences the ventral path in a more complex way-rather than only in one direction. Decreased activity in the ventral hypothalamic pathway could, for example, indicate hyposexuality while increased activity could indicate hypersexuality. ...
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/binaries/content/assets/customsites/perspectives-on-terrorism/2020/issue-1/wendelberg.pdf
... Il met en avant le rôle joué par les influences sociales dans le cheminement d'une personne vers un groupe radicalisé en identifiant l'état de crise dans lequel le sujet se trouve pour y être réceptif. Trois processus clés sont identifiés augmentant la plausibilité qu'une personne soit attirée par ces groupes: Certains des mécanismes des deux premiers modèles se retrouvent dans les travaux de Kruglanski (Kruglanski et al., 2009Jasko et al., 2019) qui se sont intéressés à la quête de sens qui augmenterait la probabilité d'adopter un comportement extrême (Dugas et Kruglanski, 2014). La quête de sens à donner à sa vie chez le sujet est conceptualisée comme un désir fondamental de gagner le respect, ou plus collectivement, de «compter» et «d'être quelqu'un». ...
Résumé
Les recherches sur le terrorisme se sont centrées sur les processus de radicalisation
violente afin de comprendre comment des individus, le plus souvent de jeune âge,
s’engagent dans ces voies de violences. Notre étude porte sur l’analyse des trajectoires
de radicalisation de jeunes judiciarisés pour des faits qualifiés de participation
aux activités d’un groupe terroriste. L’analyse des récits des mineurs a mis en avant
des dynamiques et des facteurs aux différentes phases du processus de radicalisation
qui seront présentés dans un modèle intégratif. Tout en tenant compte de l’environnement
social au sein duquel le jeune évolue et la proximité avec le phénomène
de la radicalisation, il se centre sur les pertes et les besoins psycho-sociaux susceptibles
de favoriser une réceptivité du jeune par rapport à l’offre djihadiste. Les dynamiques
groupales et le cadrage idéologique soutiennent la légitimation du recours à
la violence, le désengagement moral et la neutralisation de l’empathie par rapport aux
victimes. Ces différents facteurs peuvent être pris en compte pour les interventions à
mener.
Research on terrorism has focused on the processes of violent radicalization processes
in order to understand how individuals, most often young, engage in these
forms of violence. Our study focuses on the analysis of the trajectories of radicalization
of juveniles convicted of act of terrorism. The analysis of the stories of young
people shows dynamics and factors at different stages of the process of radicalization
that will be presented in an integrative model. While taking into account the social
environment in which the young person is evolving and the proximity to the phenomenon
of radicalization, the model focuses on the losses and the psycho-social
needs likely to foster a receptivity of the young compared to the jihadist offer. But also
the processes of socialization and group dynamics supporting the ideological framework,
legitimization of the use of violence, moral disengagement and neutralization of
the empathy toward the victims. These different components should be included in
the interventions.
... Their distinction between states and manifestations reflects arguments in the terrorism literature relating to deradicalization and disengagement (see above). Another proposed metric is the "quest for significance" measure developed by Kruglanski, Jasko, Chernikova, Dugas, and Webber (2017) (see also Dugas & Kruglanski, 2014;Webber et al., 2018). This is one of the few measures that have been tested in the field and used to evaluate the impact of an intervention targeting detained terrorists in Sri Lanka (see Webber et al., 2018). ...
The evaluation of interventions aimed at countering violent extremism (CVE) remains an underdeveloped field. While various evaluation frameworks and metrics have been proposed in the literature, few have been tested against actual program data. The same observation applies to theories of disengagement, which can provide guidance on the types of changes CVE program evaluations should aim to measure. In this paper, we use one theory of extremist disengagement – Barrelle’s pro-integration model (PIM) – to examine outcomes for clients who have participated in an Australian intervention targeting convicted terrorists and prison inmates identified as at risk of radicalization, the Proactive Integrated Support Model (PRISM) intervention. PRISM has been operated by Corrective Services New South Wales since 2016. The PIM looks at extremist disengagement across five domains – “Social Relations”, “Coping”, “Identity”, “Ideology” and “Action Orientation” – with each constituted by a series of sub-domains. We undertake an exploratory case study across three PRISM clients and code different data sources for observations related to these five PIM domains. The aim is to inform CVE evaluation design and decisions about the types of metrics that can be used to assess programs targeting individuals at risk of radicalization or convicted of terrorism. We acknowledge limitations in the study’s design.
Purpose
Since 2011, the Extremism Risk Guidance (ERG 22+) has been the primary risk assessment framework used for terrorist and violent extremist offenders in England and Wales. The aim of this study was to conduct a rapid evidence assessment to examine the research literature on the ERG22+ factors and to identify possible significant new and emerging knowledge around potential new factors.
Design/methodology/approach
Searches were conducted of the Google Scholar database to identify relevant literature published between 2012 and 2020. In total, 29 documents were identified, which examined new radicalisation models and frameworks, 339 were identified, which explored to some extent one or more of the current ERG factors, and a further 138 articles were identified, which focused on potentially relevant additional issues/factors.
Findings
Most of the ERG factors were the focus of substantial research activity between 2012 and 2020. Six factors, however, received very little research attention. Potential implications of these trends are considered. Ten research themes were identified with the potential to either form new factors or which could play a significant role in the updating or revision of some existing factors.
Originality/value
This paper is the first rapid evidence assessment on the ERG22+ risk factors. It provides an important picture of the published scientific research of potential relevance in this area and helps to inform the review process for the ERG22+.
The conference presentation explored the link between offender court experiences, therapeutic judicial officer contributions, measuring these contributions, and finding novel ways to reduce recidivism and tackle endemic social problems in France, including the problem of endemic radicalisation.
This paper investigates the susceptibility of the Romani minority in the Balkans to radicalization, focusing on the Salafi community in a Serbian city. It provides insights into the experiences of a marginalized group that is often overlooked in research on radicalization. Despite the community’s commitment to nonviolence, stigmatization and exclusion incentivize individuals to seek alternative forms of belonging. However, adopting Salafism at the cost of abandoning their culture can increase their vulnerability to radicalization. We present a preliminary model of the marginalized identity transformation to illustrate this identity shift. The article uses ethnography and narrative analysis to investigate the phenomenon.
Although terrorist disengagement is a dynamic process, this study proposes the likelihood of a continuity in the prevailing factors influencing exit from terrorism and the prevailing dimensions which initially influenced violent radicalization. Through the analysis of two contrasting cases featuring third-generation Muslims formerly involved in jihadist activities in Spain, we assess a connection between the prevailing push and pull factors which sparked individuals to cease their terrorist engagement and the predominant dimensions that earlier prompted the radicalization which led them to terrorist involvement. Drawing from in-depth interviews with the two former jihadists, Hassan and Omar, conducted while they were serving prison sentences for terrorism offences, we suggest that the significance of ideology and network in, respectively, their journeys from Islamic fundamentalism towards jihadism is similarly reflected in their accounts of ending jihadist involvement, even in the presence of secondary factors that also play a role in such a complex process.
The aim of this study is to analyse and embody Significance Quest Theory and notions of it. Significance quest is a human-specific motivation and can be the cause of good or misdeeds, shame or pride. The primary factor driving one to quest for significance is personal or collective significance loss as a result of exclusion or humiliation of self or one’s group. Any threat of significance loss apart from the suffered significance loss is also drive one to quest for significance. Opportunities for gaining significance also motivate one to quest for significance. “Mercedes mon Amour” movie directed by Tunç Okan was analysed in terms of different notions of the significance quest. The document analysis method of qualitative research designs was adopted within this study. Notions of significance quest, significance loss, threat of significance loss, opportunity for significance gain, personal and collective significance loss were tried to be embodied by analysing some specified scenes of the movie based on the incidents of them.
Purpose
Researchers have usually relied on importation and deprivation theories to explain prison violence, but some scholars suggest that a broad array of criminological theories may be needed to explain the complex motivations of prisoners who commit violent acts. The current study seeks out prisoners who murdered child sex abusers inside correctional facilities to ask them directly what their motivations were.
Methods
Potential subjects were identified through news reports that listed the conviction offenses of homicide victims in jails and prisons. Twenty individuals convicted of murdering prisoners who were convicted of child sex abuse crimes were identified, and eight perpetrators of these homicides responded to questions about their crimes. Open-ended questions allowed these prisoners to share their uncensored motivations.
Results
Four of these prisoners denied having a “vigilante” motive for killing sex offenders, but the other four gave detailed motivations relating to their desire for revenge against sex offenders, their belief that their actions were justified, and their allegations that prison staff facilitated their crimes.
Conclusions
These interviews revealed complex circumstances for each crime and suggest that detailed qualitative studies can be useful in exploring these subjects beyond the importation/deprivation method of inquiry. Policy implications and future research directions are discussed.
This paper seeks to examine the mechanisms of the 3 N model (need, narrative, and network) by testing a serial mediation model of group identity and ideology. We propose two rival hypotheses: need for significance predicts violent extremism, and its relationship is serially mediated by (1) group identity and ideology (Model 1); (2) ideology and group identity (Model 2). To test the hypotheses, we conducted a survey of 137 terrorism detainees from prisons across Indonesia. The results revealed that Model 1 had a better fit than Model 2, suggesting the important role of group processes in developing violent extremism’s ideology.
Se analiza el concepto de resocialización manejado por la jurisprudencia en el marco del mandato constitucional del artículo 25.2, descubriendo un doble discurso, que se conforma con la previsión de mecanismos destinados a evitar la desocialización cuando se trata de examinar la legitimidad de una ley o de una decisión administrativa, pero exige una asunción de la ilicitud y la dañosidad del hecho, e incluso a veces el arrepentimiento u otros cambios de actitud para afirmar la resocialización cuando se trata de examinar el progreso de un recluso para decidir su evolución penitenciaria o la conveniencia de algún beneficio. Se confronta esta jurisprudencia con la teoría de la pena de la que se parte para hacer algunas críticas, observaciones y recomendaciones.
Numerous studies argue that perceived group deprivation is a risk factor for radicalization and violent extremism. Yet, the vast majority of individuals, who experience such circumstances do not become radicalized. By utilizing models with several interacting risk and protective factors, the present analysis specifies this relationship more concretely. In a large United Kingdom nationally representative survey (n = 1,500), we examine the effects of group-based relative deprivation on violent extremist attitudes and violent extremist intentions, and we test whether this relationship is contingent upon several individual differences in personality. The results show that stronger group-based injustices lead to increased support for and intentions to engage in violent extremism. However, some of the effects are much stronger for individuals who exhibit a stronger need for uniqueness and for status and who demonstrate higher levels of trait entitlement. Conversely, several effects are lessened for those individuals high in trait forgiveness, demonstrating a strong capacity for self-control and for those who are exerting critical as well as open-minded thinking styles, thus constituting buffering protective factors, which dampen the adverse effects of perceived group injustice on violent extremism. The results highlight the importance of considering (a) the interaction between individual dispositions and perceptions of contextual factors (b) the conditional and cumulative effects of various risk and protective factors and (c) the functional role of protective factors when risk factors are present. Collectively, these findings bring us one step closer to understanding who might be more vulnerable to violent extremism as well as how. Overall, the study suggests that preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) programs must take account of the constellation of multiple factors that interact with (and sometimes enable or disable) one another and which can be targeted in preventions strategies.
This article analyzes and presents, in a psychoanalytic understanding, the individual and group psychic mechanisms involved in subscribing to a violent radical ideology in a young man that has now become deradicalized. The analysis is based on autobiographical documents and direct interviews. The analysis highlights how the radical group fulfills unconscious psychological functions serving to overcome prior personal weaknesses, especially narcissistic-identity suffering. The radical solution then makes it possible to reverse narcissistic and identity wandering, in particular by allowing participation in a grandiose group identity.
Following the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, DC, there has been an increasing interest among scholars, students, and the interested public to study and learn about the Islamist-oriented terrorist organizations called Jihadi Salafi Groups (JSGs). Considering that these organizations emerged in highly fragile states, S. Yaqub Ibrahimi asks: how and why is state fragility linked to the emergence of JSGs? Ibrahimi bases his study on three events: the establishment of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan in 1998, the rise of Islamic State in the post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, and the failed al-Qaeda effort to establish a base in Saudi Arabia in 2003. These case studies contain major aspects and features of the rise of JSGs and, together, explain the contribution of state fragility to the process of the formation and expansion of these terrorist organizations. International Security in a World of Fragile States stands out as a pivotal work on the interconnection between the root causes of JSGs and state fragility conditions and their amalgamated role in the formation and evolution of these organizations. It contributes to IR and international security debates by developing a comprehensive but readily understandable narrative of the rise of JSGs in Islamic countries, and examining them in an analytical framework in which their root causes are categorized on individual, group, and international levels.
The object of this research is modern youth, while the subjects is the spiritual intelligence of modern youth. The goal of this article lies in creating a mental model of the formation of spiritual intelligence of a young individual. The research methodology contains humanistic approach that allows giving priority attention to the problems life pursuits of a young individual; systemic holistic approach that allows substantiating the content of external factors that influence spiritual intelligence of a young individual. Focus on the systemic reflection of the object ant subject of research in the context of analysis of objective reality of the modern process of radicalization of youth reveals the correlation between spiritual intelligence of the young person and their behaviorism. The main results are as follows: 1) determination of the relevant in the XXI century groups of factors that negatively impact spiritual intelligence of the individual with immature worldview, and lead them towards entering the path of radicalization; 2) creation of the mental model that reveals dependence of the transformation of spiritual intelligence of the young individual, and thus, their behaviorism vector on the impact of external and internal factors; 3) formulation of the law of self-preservation of the young individual and establishment of correlation of its elements with the factors of external environment. The novelty of this work lies in the original approach towards creation of mental model of the development of spiritual intelligence of a young individual in the conditions of immediate impact of radical ideology, description of the process of its functioning via mathematical model, formulation of the law of self-preservation of a young individual, as well as disclosure of the role of the government youth policy in determining the vector of youth behaviorism. The acquired results can be valuable for the government and law enforcement agencies in preventing radicalization of youth, as well as building the system of youth policy adequate to democratic society.
Any intervention in the violent acts of terrorist groups requires accurate differentiation among the groups themselves, which has largely been overlooked in their study beyond qualitative work. To explore the notion of terrorist group differentiation, the online communication of six violent groups were collected: Al-Nusrah Front, al-Qa’ida Central, al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula, Hamas, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, and Taliban. All six groups embedded their ideology in digitised documents that were shared through multiple online social networks and media platforms in attempts to influence individuals to identify with their beliefs. The way these groups constructed social roles for their supporters in their ideology was proposed as a novel way to differentiate them and key term extraction was used to find important terms referenced in their communication. Experimental classification was devised to find the highest-ranking roles capable of prediction. Role terms produced high accuracy scores across experiments differentiating the groups (95%CI: 95–98%), with varying inter-group and intra-ideological differences emerging from authority-, religion-, closeness-, and conflict-based social roles. This suggests these constructs possess strong predictive potential to separate terrorist groups through nuanced expressions observed in their communication behaviour and advances our understanding of how these groups deploy harmful ideology.
This systematic review aims to answer the following research questions: (1) What are the family‐related risk and protective factors for radicalization? (2) What is the impact of radicalization on families? (3) To what extent are family‐based interventions against radicalization effective? The review will answer these research questions by systematically gathering and synthesizing published and unpublished scientific literature on family‐related risk and protective factors for radicalization, the impact of radicalization on family, and studies that evaluate the impact of family‐based interventions on radicalization. This review will also explore what components of family‐based interventions are most effective for countering radicalization. Thus, this systematic review will provide a global vision of scientific literature focused on family and radicalization including quantitative research.
The German prison system is currently confronted with the challenge of having to deal with persons classified as radicalised Islamists who have either returned from the territory of the so-called “Islamic State” or have otherwise been convicted in the context of Islamist-motivated offences. There is also a recurring debate as to whether or how the specific conditions in prisons contribute to radicalisation. At the same time, many correctional facilities lack concepts on how to manage persons posing a threat to public security, sympathisers, and “at-risk” individuals. Extremism and the Prison System. A Handbook for Practitioners – Countering Islamist Radicalisation aims to contribute to an improved understanding of prevention measures, to analyse the impact of individual interventions, and to embed them in a holistic approach. Its objective is to explore possible forms of de-radicalisation work in prisons and the extent to which detention centres and the conditions prevailing there are to be evaluated as (de-)radicalisation factors. In addition to the theoretical part, the handbook includes an interactive component. It provides a guideline for practitioners on the assessment of initial suspicions, the preparation of individual action plans, and the selection of appropriate interventions.
Der deutsche Justizvollzug steht aktuell vor der Heraus-forderung, mit als islamistisch radikalisiert eingestuften Perso-nen umgehen zu müssen, die aus dem Gebiet des sog. „Islamis-chen Staates“ zurückkehren oder sonst im Zusammenhang mit islamistisch motivierten Straftaten verurteilt wurden. Zudem wird immer wieder diskutiert, ob bzw. wie die spezifischen Bedin-gungen im Gefängnis zu Radikalisierung beitragen. Gleichzeitig liegen bei weitem nicht in allen Haftanstalten Konzepte vor, wie mit Gefährdern, Sympathisanten und Gefährdeten umzugehen ist. Das Praxishandbuch Extremismus und Justizvollzug – islamis-tischer Radikalisierung begegnen zielt darauf ab, zu einem verbes-serten Verständnis von Präventionsmaßnahmen beizutragen, die Wirkung einzelner Interventionen zu analysieren und in einen ganzheitlichen Ansatz einzubetten. Es soll sich der Frage genähert werden, wie Deradikalisierungsarbeit im Gefängnis konkret aussehen kann und inwieweit Haftanstalten und die dort vorherrschenden Bedingungen als (De-)Radikalisierungs-faktoren zu bewerten sind. Zusätzlich zum theoretischen Teil beinhaltet das Handbuch eine interaktive Komponente. Praktik-erinnen und Praktiker werden vom Überprüfen des Anfangsver-dachts, über das Erstellen eines individuellen Handlungsplans, bis hin zur Auswahl geeigneter Maßnahmen angeleitet.
There is a paucity of research comparing gang members and domestic extremists and extant studies find few explicit linkages. Despite this, there remains a great deal of interest in possible similarities between these criminal groups. Driving this interest is the possibility of adapting policies and practices aimed at preventing entry into criminal groups. A critical first step to determining compatibility is to examine the circumstances of the individuals who enter these organizations and better describe the entry processes. This study provides a unique comparison of entry into these groups by drawing on four broad empirically-derived mechanisms of group entry using 45 in-person interviews of U.S. gang members and 38 life history narratives of individuals who radicalized in the United States. Our results reveal that each of the four conceptual categories appeared to influence initial involvement; however, no single mechanism described involvement in criminal groups or differentiated involvement across the gangs and extremist groups.
The terrorist attacks of November 2019 and February 2020 in London, perpetrated by individuals who had previously been incarcerated on terrorism charges, reinforces the complexity of the challenges that prisons around the world manifest in relation to terrorist offenders. Frequently articulated through descriptions of prisons as ‘hotbeds for radicalisation’, concerns are undoubtedly reinforced by the tales of notorious terrorists such as Ayman al-Zawahiri. If prisons do pose a risk of radicalising individuals, or of further radicalising violent extremist offenders, informed policy decisions relating to the management of incarcerated terrorists are essential. Focusing on the Australian context, this paper analyses three prisoner management methods currently implemented around the world. In recognising the complexity of incarcerating terrorist offenders, benefits and challenges relating to the concentration, dispersal and the seldom-used tier method are identified and discussed. The paper examines the risks and management of radicalised prisoners post-release. Finally, an Australian initiative is introduced, which legislates supervision or detention of those proven to be an unacceptable risk of committing a serious terrorism offence, as a potential way to mitigate those risks. The paper concludes that if concentration is to be utilised, greater emphasis must be placed on rehabilitation and monitoring upon release.
In some schools of thought of radicalisation research there is a tacit assumption that individuals become gradually radicalised in their ideas, attitudes, political preferences and worldview, and then motivated by this subsequently radicalise their actions to commit an act of terrorism. This article supports those who question this linear model and I argue that these two processes, which are here labelled as ideological and behavioural radicalisation, must be differentiated. Drawing on ideas from radicalisation in genocide studies, this article contributes to the social movement theory approaches to terrorism. As such, the article differentiates between ideological and behavioural radicalisation processes and argues that these two types of radicalisation can be sequenced with either first. This article posits that it is possible for individuals to engage in radical actions without having extreme preferences, just as it is equally possible for other individuals to have radical ideologies without acting on them, supporting more social movement theory approaches to radicalisation. The article provides a plausibility probe for this sequencing, demonstrating its empirical utility for participation in genocidal violence.
According to social psychology, radicalization occurs for a variety of reasons reasons. They include a sense of exclusion, threatened identity, loss of meaning and significance, negative emotions and defensive identification with a group representing power and a clear-cut ideology. In the terms of the Dialogical Self Theory, radicalization implies atrophy of the internal polyphony and dialogical functions of the self. Two hypothetical models of the radicalized self are proposed. The first posits the creation of a powerful I-position that represents a “universal” truth that is not open to doubt. The second introduces twin I-positions, one representing a sense of insecurity and another depicting a redemptive idea. Both types imply lowered openness and reduction of social and internal dialogs, resulting in a dysfunctional, rigid organized self. The question discussed in this article is: How can such an internal organization of the self be changed? Thus it aims to describe and explain the process of de-radicalization, which is proposed to consist of three elements: (1) reorganization of the self-structure and stimulation of a promoter position, (2) restoration of security, which can awaken the polyphony and dialogicality of the self, and (3) supporting internal dialog, promoter functions and a meta-position by reference to values that are significant for the relevant I-positions and the system as a whole.
The affective, behavioral, and cognitive influence of sexual sin is investigated in this research. In Study 1, we demonstrated that religious people watching erotic (vs. neutral) images reported greater sexual guilt, which in turn increased their willingness to self-sacrifice for a cause. Extending these results, in Study 2 we demonstrated that when recalling a time when they had committed a sexual sin (vs. no sin), people with an intrinsic religious orientation believe in a more punishing view of God (akin to the Old Testament), which in turn predicts the extent to which they engaged in painful sacrificial behavior. Overall, these results suggest that sexual sins motivate self-sacrifice to repent, especially among those with an intrinsic (vs. extrinsic) religious orientation.
A fundamental aspect of being human is knowing that one day we will die. Efforts to contend with this knowledge are at the root of a great many social behaviors across a variety of domains, and include efforts to transcend the human body, aggression against enemies and the need for scapegoats, even extreme reactions such as terrorism and suicide, as well as the development of symbolic language and the creation of art and music.
In this thought-provoking addition to the Herzliya Series on Personality and Social Psychology, editors Phillip R. Shaver and Mario Mikulincer have gathered a varied group of international thinkers to investigate these existential concerns within a framework that is both philosophical and practical.
Theorists examine the nature of universal themes such as the importance of personal choice and human autonomy in an arbitrary world, and the vital roles of parenthood and religion in providing solace against the threat of meaninglessness. And clinicians discuss the use of various cognitive–behavioral therapies, emphasizing the mind's propensity to assign value in ways that can be either maladaptive or liberating.
The authors build upon insights from previous chapters, resulting in a cohesive and thoughtfully-prepared book filled with cutting-edge research.
This is an account of traveling through the West Bank and Gaza, into the prisons of Iraq, down the alleyways of the Casablanca slums, to Chechnya, into the radicalized neighborhoods of Belgium, the UK, France and the Netherlands, of sitting with the hostages of Beslan and Nord Ost, and of talking to terrorists. Dr. Speckhard gives us the inside story of what puts vulnerable individuals on the terrorist trajectory and what might take them back off of it. With more than four hundred interviews with terrorists and their friends, family members and hostages, Dr. Speckhard is one of the few experts to have such a breadth of experience. She visited, and even stayed overnight, in the intimate spaces of terrorists' homes, interviewed them in their stark prison cells, or met them in the streets of their cities and villages. Dr. Speckhard gives us a rare glimpse of terrorists within their own contexts. From the mouths of terrorists, their family members, comrades-and even their hostages, we learn of the manipulation of human weakness that can lead to violent acts. Through careful research of culture and religion and a genuine desire to understand the factors that motivate individuals to embrace terrorism, Dr. Speckhard deftly defines the lethal cocktail that leads to the creation of a terrorist. An internationally recognized expert on the psychological aspects of terrorism and an expert in the area of posttraumatic stress disorder, Dr. Speckhard's research also produces a knowledge of how to disengage, deradicalize, rehabilitate, and reverse the trajectory of a terrorist. Dr. Speckhard's studies spanning over a decade provide us with a deeper understanding of one of the most dangerous and violent phenomena of our times.
Would talking to terrorists be a good idea? And if we were to engage modern day terrorists
in a real dialogue what would we potentially learn about their agendas, motivations and the
possibility of negotiated peace? Is it possible to come to terms with Al Qaeda, Palestinian or
Chechen terror groups and what would the differences in how those terms are reached likely
be? If we took seriously the individual motivations for terrorism would we possibly find the
openings in how the terror networks might be undermined? This paper based on three years
of dialogues with terrorists – their families, close associates, those who have observed them
up close, the senders of human bombs and the individuals themselves who become bombs -
speculates on these very questions.
Martyrdom is defined as the psychological readiness to suffer and sacrifice one’s life for a cause. An integrative set of eight studies investigated the concept of martyrdom by creating a new tool to quantitatively assess individuals’ propensity toward self-sacrifice. Studies 1A-C consisted of psychometric work attesting to the scale’s unidimensionality, internal consistency and temporal stability while examining its nomological network. Studies 2A-B focused on the scale’s predictive validity, especially as it relates to extreme behaviors and suicidal terrorism. Studies 3-5 focused on the influence of self-sacrifice on automatic decision-making, costly and altruistic behaviors, and morality judgments. Results involving more than 2900 participants from different populations, including a terrorist sample, supported the proposed conceptualization of martyrdom and demonstrated its importance for a vast repertoire of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral phenomena. Implications and future directions for the psychology of terrorism are discussed.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau's concepts of self-love (amour propre) and love of self (amour de soi même) are applied to the psychology of terrorism. Self-love is concern with one's image in the eyes of respected others, members of one's group. It denotes one's feeling of personal significance, the sense that one's life has meaning in accordance with the values of one's society. Love of self, in contrast, is individualistic concern with self-preservation, comfort, safety, and the survival of self and loved ones. We suggest that self-love defines a motivational force that when awakened arouses the goal of a significance quest. When a group perceives itself in conflict with dangerous detractors, its ideology may prescribe violence and terrorism against the enemy as a means of significance gain that gratifies self-love concerns. This may involve sacrificing one's self-preservation goals, encapsulated in Rousseau's concept of love of self. The foregoing notions afford the integration of diverse quantitative and qualitative findings on individuals' road to terrorism and back. Understanding the significance quest and the conditions of its constructive fulfillment may be crucial to reversing the current tide of global terrorism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).
Religious fundamentalism has been shown to be associated with higher levels of prejudice, ethnocentrism, and militarism, in spite of the compassionate values promoted by the religious faiths that most fundamentalists believe in. Based on terror management theory, we hypothesized that priming these compassionate values would encourage a shift toward less support for violent solutions to the current Middle Eastern conflict, especially when they are combined with reminders of one's mortality. Study 1 demonstrated that among Americans, religious fundamentalism was associated with greater support for extreme military interventions, except when participants were reminded of their mortality and primed with compassionate religious values. The combination of mortality salience and compassionate religious values led to significant decreases in support for such interventions among high but not low fundamentalists. Study 2 replicated this finding and showed that it depends on the association of the compassionate values with an authoritative religious source; presentation of these values in a secular context had no effect on fundamentalists. Study 3 replicated these effects in a sample of Iranian Shiite Muslims: although a reminder of death increased anti-Western attitudes among participants primed with secular compassionate values, it decreased anti-Western attitudes among those primed with compassionate values from the Koran.
Using an intergroup version of the trolley problem, we explored participants' willingness to sacrifice their lives for their group. In Study 1, Spaniards whose personal identities were fused with their group identity endorsed saving fellow Spaniards by jumping to their deaths in front of a runaway trolley. Studies 2 and 3 showed that the self-sacrificial behaviors of fused Spaniards generalized to saving members of an extended in-group (Europeans) but not members of an out-group (Americans). In Study 4, fused participants endorsed pushing aside a fellow Spaniard who was poised to jump to his death and initiate a chain of events that would lead to the deaths of several terrorists, so that they could commit this act themselves. In all four studies, nonfused participants expressed reluctance to sacrifice themselves, and identification with the group predicted nothing. The nature of identity fusion and its relationship to related constructs are discussed.
Six studies explore the role of goal shielding in self-regulation by examining how the activation of focal goals to which the individual is committed inhibits the accessibility of alternative goals. Consistent evidence was found for such goal shielding, and a number of its moderators were identified: Individuals' level of commitment to the focal goal, their degree of anxiety and depression, their need for cognitive closure, and differences in their goal-related tenacity. Moreover, inhibition of alternative goals was found to be more pronounced when they serve the same overarching purpose as the focal goal, but lessened when the alternative goals facilitate focal goal attainment. Finally, goal shielding was shown to have beneficial consequences for goal pursuit and attainment.
Six studies explore the role of goal shielding in self-regulation:by examining how the activation of focal goals to which the individual is committed inhibits the accessibility, of alternative goals. Consistent evidence was found for such goal shielding, and a number of its moderators were identified: Individuals' level of commitment to the focal goal, their degree of anxiety and depression, their need for cognitive closure, and differences in their goal-related tenacity. Moreover, inhibition of alternative goals was found to be, more pronounced when they serve the same overarching purpose as the focal goal, but lessened when the alternative goals facilitate focal goal attainment. Finally; goal shielding was shown to have beneficial consequences for goal pursuit and attainment.
In the post-September 11 world, Al Qaeda is no longer the central organizing force that aids or authorizes terrorist attacks or recruits terrorists. It is now more a source of inspiration for terrorist acts carried out by independent local groups that have branded themselves with the Al Qaeda name. Building on his previous groundbreaking work on the Al Qaeda network, forensic psychiatrist Marc Sageman has greatly expanded his research to explain how Islamic terrorism emerges and operates in the twenty-first century. In Leaderless Jihad, Sageman rejects the views that place responsibility for terrorism on society or a flawed, predisposed individual. Instead, he argues, the individual, outside influence, and group dynamics come together in a four-step process through which Muslim youth become radicalized. First, traumatic events either experienced personally or learned about indirectly spark moral outrage. Individuals interpret this outrage through a specific ideology, more felt and understood than based on doctrine. Usually in a chat room or other Internet-based venues, adherents share this moral outrage, which resonates with the personal experiences of others. The outrage is acted on by a group, either online or offline. Leaderless Jihad offers a ray of hope. Drawing on historical analogies, Sageman argues that the zeal of jihadism is self-terminating; eventually its followers will turn away from violence as a means of expressing their discontent. The book concludes with Sageman's recommendations for the application of his research to counterterrorism law enforcement efforts. Copyright
"Mark Hamm is, without doubt, the world's leading expert on prison radicalization. Based on decades of research, this book presents a nuanced and sophisticated picture,. Beautifully written, it is the most complete, and the most empirically rigorous, account of this phenomenon to date. A must read for anyone interested in homegrown radicalization." -Peter Neumann, Director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR), King's College London. The Madrid train bombers, shoe-bomber Richard Reid, al-Qaeda in Iraq, and the 9/11 attacks-all were led by men radicalized behind bars. Today's prisons are hotbeds for personal transformation toward terrorist beliefs and actions due to the increasingly chaotic nature of prison life caused by mass incarceration. In The Spectacular Few, Mark Hamm, a former prison warden, demonstrates how prisoners use criminal cunning, collective resistance and nihilism to incite terrorism. Drawing from a wide range of sources, The Spectacular Few imagines the texture of prisoners' lives. Hamm covers their criminal thinking styles, the social networks that influenced them, and personal "turning points" that set them on the pathway to violent extremism. Hamm argues that in order to understand terrorism today, we must come to terms with how prisoners are treated behind bars.
Numerous policy issues surround the incarceration of religious extremists and individuals with terrorist ties. These inmates must be managed, prevented from precipitating security risks, and stopped from recruiting or encouraging others to commit terrorist acts. To systematically investigate the prevalence of these issues in U.S. prisons, we conducted a survey of wardens of state-level maximum security prisons in the United States. Results suggest that the majority of facilities currently have existing security threat groups (STGs) with extremist religious beliefs. Large majorities of wardens indicated shortages of religious service providers, with nearly all allowing volunteers to supplement existing religious services. A multinomial logistic regression model suggests that (in accordance with previous literature on gangs) wardens pursuing policies of isolating these prisoners believe these policies to be much more effective than other strategies, such as increased monitoring. Additionally, more frequent staff training relevant to managing these individuals is significantly related to wardens' judgments that their policies are effective.
The management of politically motivated violent offenders has long been recognised as an exceptionally difficult problem for prisons. Critical issues include the reform of such prisoners and also the potential for wider radicalisation. Traditionally, such offenders have been relatively rare which has often masked these difficulties. However, when the numbers increase, such prisoners can seriously comprise the effectiveness and safety of the prison system in a variety of ways. This chapter seeks to explore some of the major issues in this area.
We present a model of radicalization and deradicalization based on the notion that the quest for personal significance constitutes a major motivational force that may push individuals toward violent extremism. Radicalization is defined as the process of supporting or engaging in activities deemed (by others) as in violation of important social norms (e.g., the killing of civilians). In these terms, radicalization (1) is a matter of degree (in which mere attitudinal support for violence reflects a lower degree of radicalization than actual engagement in violence); (2) represents a subjective judgment proffered by those for whom the violated norms seem important but not by those who have devalued or suppressed the norms in question.
Our radicalization/deradicalization model contains three crucial components: (1) the motivational component (the quest for personal significance) that defines a goal to which one may be committed, (2) the ideological component that in addition identifies the means of violence as appropriate for this goal's pursuit, and (3) the social process of networking and group dynamics through which the individual comes to share in the violence‐justifying ideology and proceeds to implement it as a means of significance gain. We present empirical evidence consistent with our model's assumptions and discuss its implications for policies of preventing radicalization and effecting deradicalization.
This article describes uncertainty–identity theory's analysis of how self‐uncertainty may lead, through social identity and self‐categorization processes, to group and societal extremism. We provide details of empirical evidence from direct tests of the theory that focus on four aspects of extremism: (1) studies of self‐uncertainty and student support for extreme campus protest groups that promote a radical agenda; (2) studies of uncertainty, identity centrality, and support for violent group action in the context of the Israel–Palestine conflict; (3) studies of the role played by self‐uncertainty in support for leadership per se and for authoritarian leadership in particular; and (4) studies of the conjunction of group‐membership factors that lead specific individuals within a group to go to greater extremes than others on behalf of the group. The article ends with a discussion of policy implications and principles that might help prevent uncertainty leading, through group identity processes, to societal extremism.
In this study among Dutch Muslim youth (N = 131), we focus on the process of radicalization. We hypothesize that this process is driven by three main factors: (a) personal uncertainty, (b) perceived injustice, and (c) perceived group threat. Using structural equation modeling, we demonstrate that personal uncertainty, perceived injustice, and group‐threat factors are important determinants of a radical belief system (e.g., perceived superiority of Muslims, perceived illegitimacy of Dutch authorities, perceived distance to others, and a feeling of being disconnected from society). This radical belief system in turn predicts attitudes toward violence by other Muslims, which is a determinant of own violent intentions. Results are discussed in terms of the role of individual and group‐based determinants of radicalization.
Extremism in society is the source of enormous human suffering and represents a significant social problem. In this article, we make a case for the urgency of understanding the psychology of societal extremism, discuss the diverse forms that extremism can take, and identify uncertainty as a correlate of and quite possibly precondition for extremism. We discuss the concept of uncertainty and the burgeoning social psychological research on uncertainty and its links with various forms of extremism. Thus, this article frames and contextualizes the subsequent articles in this issue of the Journal of Social Issues, on the psychology of the relationship, and possible causal link, between uncertainty and societal extremism.
Terrorists disengage from the groups or organizations to which they belong as a result of structural, organizational, or personal factors. These types of factors seem to operate with relative mutual independence. All this can be analytically induced from research conducted at an individual level of analysis, based on 35 long interviews with former members of ETA who voluntarily decided to conclude their militancy at some point between 1970 and 2000. Until the mid-1980s, the individual decision to leave ETA tended to be linked to a subjective perception of ongoing political and social changes. From then on, disagreement with the internal functioning of the ethno-nationalist terrorist organization or the tactics adopted by its leaders became more salient motivations for those militants who decided to walk away. All along, however, there were ETA members who left terrorism behind for reasons of a rather personal nature. As expected, in this qualitative empirical study, disengagement was found to be a process seldom concomitant to that of deradicalization.
Two psychological perspectives on terrorism are distinguished, approaching it as a “syndrome” and as a “tool,” respectively. According to the “syndrome” view, terrorism represents a psychologically meaningful construct with identifiable characteristics on individual and group levels of analysis. According to the “tool” perspective, terrorism represents a strategic instrument that any party in a conflict with another may use. Research thus far has found little support for the “syndrome” view. Terrorists do not seem to be characterized by a unique set of psychological traits or pathologies. Nor has research uncovered any particular “root causes” of terrorism. The vast heterogeneity of terrorism's users is consistent with the “tool” view, affording an analysis of terrorism in terms of means-ends psychology. The “tool” view implies conditions under which potential perpetrators may find terrorism more or less appealing, hence offering guidance for the “war on terrorism.”
suggest that in the absence of social verification, experience is transitory, random, and ephemeral / once acknowledged by others and shared in a continuing process of social verification termed "shared reality," experience is no longer mere capricious subjectivity, but instead achieves the phenomenological status of objective reality / in other words, experience is established as valid and reliable to the extent that it is shared with others / examine classic social-psychological research and theory as well as more recent research, especially that pertaining to the role of communication processes in social cognition / [the authors] suggest several implications of the hypothesis for such topics as stereotyping, self, language, attitudes, and persuasion
suggest that (1) the individual creates and maintains the experience of reality or meaning by sharing it with others in a process of social verification; (2) social interaction depends upon and is regulated by the achievement of shared reality; and (3) the shared reality that is established in social interaction in turn functions to regulate the self, closing the dialogical circle (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This paper examines the dynamics of the use of unofficial force by prison guards in a Texas penitentiary. The findings suggest that rather than being idiosyncratic or sporadic, guard use of physical coercion was highly structured and deeply entrenched in the guard subculture Upperranking guards served as mentors and socialized younger nonmnking guards into the process of using physical coercion. These nonranking guards actually served as apprentices. Most importantly, guards who used physical force were rewarded for their behavior with improved duty posts or even promotions.
Research indicates that Islam is the fastest growing religion among prisoners in Western nations. In the United States, roughly 240,000 inmates have converted to the faith since the 9/11 attacks. According to federal law enforcement, Saudi-backed Wahhabi clerics have targeted these prisoners for terrorist recruitment. The present research examines this claim from several different perspectives. First, it reviews the literature on prisoner conversions to Islam and concludes that there are opposing viewpoints on the matter. One side of the debate takes an alarmist stance, arguing that prisons have become incubators for Islamic terrorism; the other side asserts that Islam plays a vital role in prisoner rehabilitation. Second, results of a two-year study of prisoner radicalization and terrorist recruitment in US prisons are reported. The motives for prisoner conversions to Islam are discussed along with the effects of conversion on inmate behaviour; the role played by gangs and charismatic leaders in radicalizing prisoners; and the social processes by which inmates move from radicalization to operational terrorism. Third, two case studies are presented. One involves a terrorist plot waged by a gang of Sunni prisoners at California's New Folsom Prison; the other looks at the inmate-led Islamic Studies Program at Old Folsom Prison, which has adopted a de-radicalization agenda. It is argued that inmate self-help programmes may do more than the state to prevent radicalization and terrorist recruitment behind bars.
This paper takes a macro-systemic look at how humiliation pervades the criminal justice system.
A motivational analysis of suicidal terrorism is outlined, anchored in the notion of significance quest. It is suggested that heterogeneous factors identified as personal causes of suicidal terrorism (e.g. trauma, humiliation, social exclusion), the various ideological reasons assumed to justify it (e.g. liberation from foreign occupation, defense of one’s nation or religion), and the social pressures brought upon candidates for suicidal terrorism may be profitably subsumed within an integrative framework that explains diverse instances of suicidal terrorism as attempts at significance restoration, significance gain, and prevention of significance loss. Research and policy implications of the present analysis are considered.
Four studies examined how diverse aspects of goal pursuit are influenced by the accessibility of alternative goals. It was consistently found that such an accessibility often affects the resources allocated to a focal goal, influencing commitment, progress, and the development of effective means, as well as one's emotional reponses to positive and negative feedback about one's striving efforts. Moreover, the direction of these influences was found to depend on how the alternative goals relate to the focal pursuit. Alternatives unrelated to the focal goal pull resources away from it, whereas alternatives facilitatively related to a focal goal draw resources toward it.
From uncertainty-identity theory, it was hypothesized that where people feel their self-relevant values and practices are under threat, self-uncertainty strengthens identification with "radical" groups, and either has no effect on or weakens identification with "moderate" groups. Since this hypothesis was tested on Australian students, who prefer to identify with moderate groups, the context-specific expectation was for that preference to disappear under uncertainty. This prediction was confirmed by a laboratory experiment in which self-uncertainty and group radicalism were manipulated in a 2 x 2 design (N = 82); the preference to identify with a moderate over a radical group disappeared under uncertainty because uncertainty strengthened identification with the radical group. This effect was directly mirrored in people's intentions to engage in specific group behaviors, and behavioral intentions were mediated by identification. The research is framed by a discussion of the relationship between uncertainty and social extremism, and implications for future research are noted.
A motivational extension of social identity theory is proposed: the uncertainty reduction hypothesis. Building on social identity theory and self-categorization theory, a subjective uncertainty reduction model of motivation associated with social identity process and group and intergroup behavior is developed and described. Contextually generated subjective uncertainty about important, usually self-conceptually relevant, matters motivates uncertainty reduction. The processes of self-categorization and prototypical depersonalization responsible for social identification and group behaviors are well suited to subjective uncertainty reduction; they contextually assimilate self to a prescriptive prototype that guides and consensually validates perception, cognition, affect and behavior. Group membership, social category-based self-conceptualization, group behavior, and intergroup relations are motivated by uncertainty reduction. Contextual uncertainty can be reduced by group membership and group action. This model integrates self-enhancement and self-evaluative motives into a single motivational framework for social identity processes. Derivation and explanation of the model recruits literatures on social identity, self-categorization, uncertainty, social comparison processes, self-motives, self-esteem, uncertainty related motives. sociostructural motivations, intragroup processes, intergroup relations, extremism, prototypicality, entitativity. social influence, and social change. Some direct tests of the uncertainty reduction hypothesis are described.
The authors characterize religions as social groups and religiosity as the extent to which a person identifies with a religion, subscribes to its ideology or worldview, and conforms to its normative practices. They argue that religions have attributes that make them well suited to reduce feelings of self-uncertainty. According to uncertainty-identity theory, people are motivated to reduce feelings of uncertainty about or reflecting on self; and identification with groups, particularly highly entitative groups, is a very effective way to reduce uncertainty. All groups provide belief systems and normative prescriptions related to everyday life. However, religions also address the nature of existence, invoking sacred entities and associated rituals and ceremonies. They are entitative groups that provide a moral compass and rules for living that pervade a person's life, making them particularly attractive in times of uncertainty. The authors document data supporting their analysis and discuss conditions that transform religiosity into religious zealotry and extremism.
For decades, a new type of terrorism has been quietly gathering ranks in the world. America's ability to remain oblivious to these new movements ended on September 11, 2001. The Islamist fanatics in the global Salafi jihad (the violent, revivalist social movement of which al Qaeda is a part) target the West, but their operations mercilessly slaughter thousands of people of all races and religions throughout the world. Marc Sageman challenges conventional wisdom about terrorism, observing that the key to mounting an effective defense against future attacks is a thorough understanding of the networks that allow these new terrorists to proliferate. Based on intensive study of biographical data on 172 participants in the jihad, Understanding Terror Networks gives us the first social explanation of the global wave of activity. Sageman traces its roots in Egypt, gestation in Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan war, exile in the Sudan, and growth of branches worldwide, including detailed accounts of life within the Hamburg and Montreal cells that planned attacks on the United States. U.S. government strategies to combat the jihad are based on the traditional reasons an individual was thought to turn to terrorism: poverty, trauma, madness, and ignorance. Sageman refutes all these notions, showing that, for the vast majority of the mujahedin, social bonds predated ideological commitment, and it was these social networks that inspired alienated young Muslims to join the jihad. These men, isolated from the rest of society, were transformed into fanatics yearning for martyrdom and eager to kill. The tight bonds of family and friendship, paradoxically enhanced by the tenuous links between the cell groups (making it difficult for authorities to trace connections), contributed to the jihad movement's flexibility and longevity. And although Sageman's systematic analysis highlights the crucial role the networks played in the terrorists' success, he states unequivocally that the level of commitment and choice to embrace violence were entirely their own. Understanding Terror Networks combines Sageman's scrutiny of sources, personal acquaintance with Islamic fundamentalists, deep appreciation of history, and effective application of network theory, modeling, and forensic psychology. Sageman's unique research allows him to go beyond available academic studies, which are light on facts, and journalistic narratives, which are devoid of theory. The result is a profound contribution to our understanding of the perpetrators of 9/11 that has practical implications for the war on terror. Copyright
Interdependent self-construals mitigate the fear of death, augment the support for martyrdom, and increase altruistic suicide
- E Orehek
- J A Sasota
- A W Kruglanski
- L Ridgeway
- M Dechesne
Orehek, E., Sasota, J. A., Kruglanski, A. W., Ridgeway, L., & Dechesne, M. (2011). Interdependent selfconstruals mitigate the fear of death, augment the support for martyrdom, and increase altruistic suicide.
Unpublished Manuscript. University of Groningen.
DOI: 10.1002/bsl M The psychology of martyrdom (Unpublished doctoral dissertation) University of Maryland, College Park On sin and sacrifice: How intrinsic religiosity and sexual-guilt create support for martyrdom The psychology of martyrdom: Making the ultimate sacrifice in the name of a cause
- M Dugas
- A W Kruglanski
- M Dugas
- A W Kruglanski
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