Understanding How and Why Young People Enter Radical or Violent Extremist Groups
Abstract
The process of (violent) radicalisation and subsequently joining of radical or violent extremist groups was studied using semi-structured interviews with (young) people who considered themselves as radicals or violent extremists in left-wing, right-wing or religious settings. The data was gathered in Belgium from March through November 2013. Though modest in number (12), the interviews tell us a lot about factors that play a role in (violent) radicalisation and the organisation of radical or violent extremist groups through online and offline recruitment and daily activities. The results of the interviews are linked to the existing theoretical frameworks on (violent) radicalisation, including factors underlying engagement and recruitment. They show that new social media are not as relevant as currently asserted, but that offline methods of recruitment are still uppermost. They also make clear that the content of the ideology is not the first impetus for searching, but that a general discontent with society comes first, a search for ways of dealing with this discontent, and an orientation associated with the search. This has implications for the way society should deal with young people and radical convictions and the alternatives that should be provided.
Published
2017-06-21
Issue
Section
Open Section
Copyright (c) 2017 International Journal of Conflict and Violence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Upon submitting a contribution, the authors certify that:
- They are authorised by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements.
- The submitted manuscript is original and has not been published in a similar form or with generally the same content in an ISSN/ISBN-registered journal or book in any language before, that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication has been approved by all the authors and that the authors have full authority to enter into this agreement.
- They warrant and represent that they have the full power and authority to enter into and execute this agreement and to convey the rights granted herein, and that such rights are not now subject to prior assignment, transfer or other encumbrance. This also applies to the text and photo originals attained from other sources (for which the authors have secured the right to reproduce any material that has already been published or copyrighted elsewhere).
- Their manuscript contains nothing that is unlawful, libellous, or which would, if published, constitute a breach of contract or of confidence or of commitment given to secrecy.
- In the event that the parties to this agreement, either individually or collectively, are held responsible for damages or the costs of a legal process undertaken by a third party as a result of the authors’ actions under points 1, 2, 3, and 4, the authors agree to release the publisher from the claims of the third party and to compensate the publisher for any resulting legal costs.
- They agree to the following license and copyright agreement:
Copyright Agreement
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication in print and online. The work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works License (CC-BY-ND), which allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. However, the work may not be altered or transformed. The license is valid for both electronic and paper copies.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors grant IJCV rights to integrate the work, its title, and its abstract in databases, abstracting and indexing services, and other similar information sources.
- German Law shall apply to this agreement. Court of jurisdiction is Bielefeld, Germany.
