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Terrorism and Radicalization (Profilling (the profilling approach ignores…
Terrorism and Radicalization
'Us' vs.'Them'
threats to personal significance - draw intergroup distinctions and derogate outgroups
diaspora cell of Brotherhood
social identity framework
attain higher status - group boundaries not permeable - work together to increase status of their group
easier to prepare attacks in groups, more motivated to actually commit the attack, rather ro bail out at the last moment
identification with ingroup, disidentification with outgroup
yearning for a sense of community and a deeper meaning in life
values and small group dynamics
get the offender, even if it kills us
sacred values and moral obligations - act of heroism and terroirsm
invoking democratic vote, material incentives to defect, threatening massive retaliation against supporting populations -> might not suceed
Collective Victimhood
Social Injustice
BJW: Belief in a Just World
provoked reaction requiring defense against an enemy
inevitable response, self-defense
conspirational dimensions
sense of truth - community of practice - ritualistically enshrined
push factors: legitimate
not easy to tackle, come in many guises
pull factors: attractive and important
Motivational Account
achieving political goals
concede to specific terms
alternative: destabilize current government
legend of the invincibility of the superpowers
provoke enemy to elicit response - JiuJitsu politics
drain opponents of ressources (even: tired of war)
bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy
increase support for own cause
requires motivation and ability
penetrate enemy´s defenses
justify violence
garner attention and elicit psychological impact
Terrorism is a means to an end rather than an end in itself
disadvantage in traditional battle; thought to be the 'weapon of the weak`'
Motivations for accepting terorism
social exclusion
personal loss and trauma
humiliation and injustice
poverty
quest for significance
desire to perceive the self as valuable and important
threat - construe as members of collective - prioritize collective interests over personal aspirations and physical safety
collectivistic shift
extend themselves through space and time - providing them with a sense of symbolic immortality
mitigates fear of death and increase willingness to become a martyr for the sake of the group
increase organitational market share
Psychological Warfare
instilling a sense of insecurity
spreading of fear
symbolic damage more important the seizure of property or killing of enemies
Zimbardo: Terrorism is the psychology of fear.
coevolution of terrorism incidence rate and media coverage/attention
Context: individual decisions at particular times within a particular social and organizational context
social
Disconnectedness
perceived social injustive
aspire to freedom and greater opportunities
political
perceived political repression
corruption
cultural
demographical
Poverty
predisposing risk factors: openesss to socialization into terrorism
alienation, emotional vulnerability
dissatisfaction with current activity - does not produce results
terrorism a necessary defensive activity
identification with vistims
belief that violence against the state or its symbols is not inherently immoral
fine-tuning my religious figure
sense of reward
kinship or other ties to those experiencing similar issues
Extreme form of Aggression
public concern
media coverage/attention
lay concerns
government policies
scholarly analyses
number of terrorist attacks has increased massively
Profilling
does not deviater from the general population in terms of psychopathology
failure to find a clear terrorist profile
terrorists are not crazy, they are rational and maybe there is a terorist hidden in everyone
most terrorists are not mentally ill, can happen to normal people
involvement is not indicative of a particular state or condition
reasons for becoming involved are not necessary also the reasons for becoming actually engaged in specific terrorist operations
it is more useful to track routes instead of roots (personality factors as root causes)
yet still extremely few people engage in terrorism
many people are exposed to the triggering factors and catalysts both for religious and political mobilization -> only a few become radicalized
the profilling approach ignores specific aspects
gradual nature of the relevant socialization processes
sense of supportive qualities (pull factors)
sense of migration between roles
sense of importance of role qualities
gradual progression
self-recruiting vs. selection and threat of retaliation against family
strong network ties of reindship and kinship
small-group dynamics can trump individual personality to produce horrific behaviour in otherwise ordinary people
Structure
supporters at the base: material support, operational cover, social justification, and future recruits
violence is the tip of the iceberg
others supporting the execution: aiding and abetting the event, provide housing or other kind of support, raise funds, generate publicity, provide intelligence and so forth
multiple roles and functions in the movement
decentralized
fjihadis follow kin and colleagues more than they do orders from afar
self-forming cells of freinds that swarm for attack
online university of jihadi studies; media front
control the distribution of knowledge and ressources
What renders terrorism a viable possibility?
culprit harmed individual or its group
only aggressing against the culprit will remedy the situation
attacking civillians is warranted
Consequences
economic
stress due to media exposure
What drives aggression against other groups?
unsuccessful members of western society
bestow on the individual a sense of personal significance
Counterterrorism
policies
balance goals: risk awareness, appearing strong, identifiying someone as responsible and dangerous ; mitigating the emotional experience elicited by terrorsm
reminders of terroist attacks, poster campaigns
colour-coded warning system
perceived trheat: support for Bush - rally around the flag in response to threat.
awareness and vigliance may also augment the psychological impact ->amplify psychological harm
trumpeting attack as highly coordinated action and serious threat -> adds fuel to the emotional fire
stopping terrorists from attacking is nearly impossible and requires strong force -> usually they will find a new tactic
stopping specific tools only slows down terrorists temporarily
What gives rise to the terrorists agenda?
removing terrorists ability -> military operations - may ignore terrorists concerns, frustrations and perceived injustices
military interventions -> boomerang effects
Terrorism is not conventional war: requires the actions of only a small group of people to continue -> complete defeat using force may be essentially impossible
undermine terrorists instruments
demonstrate that attacks do not attract attention or elicit an emotional response
demonstrate that terorism does not lead to concessions, instability, or a large state response
prevent sense of significance, status of martyr, labelled as 'mastermind'
elicit inconsistency between terrorism and other goals - reduces the overall ability to justify the use of terrorism (aggressing against unarmed civillians is against the teachings of islam)
increase instrumentality of other means: negotiation, education program
push factors come in many different guises, pull factors are often similar -> more feasible to tackle pull factors -> nattower and more easily identifiable
making the realities of terrorism known, undermining the positive attractions
counterpropaganda: challenges to the myths and lures of terrorism - directed at specific polulations
less effective for those already involved
dependent upon the credibility and the relevant expertise of the communicator + perceptions of the communicators intention
does not have something to gain or explicitly intends to persuade
similarity in social background (views, valiues and status
differences in age or leadership may promote the communicator to expert status
encouriging those who have become disengaged to vocalize their experiences
nevertheless might be ignored by the deeply commited
The process of radicalization
Phase 1: sensitivity to a radical ideology - cognitive opening
micro level: quest for significance
(1): feelings of insignificance: loss of status, a strong sense of humiliation, or poor career prospects (personal failure, criminal activities and drug abuse).
ISIS and alike: well-equipped to restore feelings of significance by providing recruits with a sense of belonging, respect, heroism, status and the notion to fight for a holy cause
(2) personal uncertainty: identify with group that provides clear norms and values. Radical groups are particularly able to do this: clear profile, solid structure and a blck.and-white worldview.
meso level: social environment (friends, family and other groups)
(1) fraternal relative deprivation: ingroup suffers from injustive (discrimination)
similar: right-wing groups -> experience that native citizens are being treatefd worse than immigrants
(2) friendship and family: strong sense of ingroup belongingness + image of an evil outgroup, creating a strong intergroup dynamic.
macro level: larger societal factors
accelerating globalization
identity threat
political, economic and cultural dominance of the west
western lifestyle as a cultural threat
globalization spurs terrorism
Phase 2: individual becomes a member of a radical group
micro level: starts as a marginal member
motivated to show loyalty to the group
likely to follow the norms and values of the group: exp. downgrading an outgroup in public contexts
meso level: strengthened ties
initiation rituals
physical and psychological isolation can cut people loose from their old social environments
training and coaching
often encouraged to break bridges, not necessary when old enviroment shares views
macro level: perceived group efficacy
declaration of the caliphate
Phase 3: action - ready to act on behalf of the group´s ideology
micro level: confrontation with death of a relative or friend
meso level: write or videotape a testament
commitment makes it harder for them to withdraw
dehumanizing outgroup, acute threat to ingroup
macro level: appeals by authorities to use violence
Characteristics of radical groups
all radical groups perceive a serious problem in society
problem or grievance is different for each group
strongly dissatisfied with the manner in which the current institutions deal with their problem
low institutional trust and a perception that authorities are not legitimate
consier their own groups norms and values as superior to those of other groups
strong us versus them distinction
most groups embrace an ideology that legitmizes violence to address their concerns -> violence often directed at culprit viewed as responsible for creating the grievance
strong belief in the efficacy of the use of violence
Resilience; turning throughout the process, shielding both against radicalization and deradicalization
Deradicalization
rejecting the ideology
NOT mere disengagement
micro level: loss of the ideological appeal
major life events (marriage, birth of a child), new group ties - radical group looses significance
ideological doubt
due to exposure to alternative viewpoints
sometimes encouraged by other group members -> meso factor
meso factor: detachment from group and its activities:
often caused by an intragroup conflict and disappointment in the leaders
macro level: prison - context in which people want to make a new staert and de-radicalize
groups can desintegrate by themselves and stop existing
changes in intergroup dynamics: intragroup frictions or changes in the intergroup political landscape
makes the behaviour more psycho-logical
three distinct phase: becoming involved, being involved, disengaging
earlier research
small and statistically insigmnificant sample of individuals
dangers of overgeneralization
Involvement
power of the group
ideological control: conent and process of ideology
refelcts a dynamic, though highly personalized, process of incrimental assimilation and accomodation
pull factors
status
social approval
role models as a source of authorative legitimacy
great respect
material assistance
role availability: how and why did it become open, attractive and attainable
flexible factors, whole host of local internal and external grup, organizational, leadership and other management or response issues
limiting martyrdom operation - scarcitiy
Perceived Threat
foreign occupation
cultural or identity threat
cultural domination
perceived humiliation
desecration of sacred places
Abu Ghraib humiliation
injustice, identity and belonging