Effectiveness of Radicalisation and Deradicalisation Concepts

Transcription

1 Effectiveness of Radicalisation and Deradicalisation Concepts Munir Zamir, Director, Fida Management & C7

2 Key Considerations Do current R&DR discourses capture the balance between scrutiny and security within CT understanding? Claim: R&DR concepts appear either too broad to be effective or too narrow to correctly identify the difference between religiosity vs. extremism on one hand and terrorism and security on the other hand.

3 Contextual Clarity Current concepts of radicalisation are often not well connected to notions of de-radicalisation There is a lack of symbiosis in the relationship Much of the work is post 9/11 Theoretical frameworks being used are pre-9/11 Social Movement theories, Psychological, Social Psychology and integrated approaches From religious cults to nationalist / regional actors & terrorists groups

4 Radicalisation Discourse suggests that it can capture why people resort to violent means to fulfill individual or group needs, but not how they end up in this position and what drives them Is this not about a perceived causal link between radicalisation and terrorism as opposed to an empirically verified link? Does the involvement in terrorism part then place radicalisation into the CT realm?

5 Radicalisation Is the relevance of radicalisation in CT conceptually associated to actions that not only justify violence but compel it? Thought into action or thought into no action Cause & effect how people come to do what they do Multitude of personal and broader functions at work in the journey towards violence? Or a one size fits all approach Is radicalisation used to administer CT understanding or justify it existence post 9/11?

6 The Paradox of Consensus Can t agree on what terrorism is in a universally applicable context However, seemingly radicalisation discourse also cannot agree on what radicalism and extremism are or are not Extremism = deviation from the norms and values of a civilized society Is such a point alone sufficient for a defining a security threat? Is this really acceptable to diasporas at the chalk face of this discourse?

7 Common Ideas Antipathy/ hostility toward a target group Creating justifications and mandates for violence Eliminating social / psychological barriers that might inhibit violent action (Borum, 2011)

8 Processes / Steps/ Slopes The process of developing extremist ideologies and beliefs Developing does not imply adopting or even actioning Can a belief be prevented in the same way as an impending action can? (Woolwich case) Current discourse applies emphasis to the externalisation of the process (seeking, meeting, learning, accepting, following etc.) But what of the multi-layered internal emotional components- internalisation?

9 Retro-Radicalisation The processes of manifesting internally housed narratives of beliefs through cognitive opening and closing of meanings associated to identity, belonging and duty The role, use and legitimacy of violence form part of a macro level narrative within the micro level of the person and is nuanced by meso level interactions with competing ideologies. War on Terror vs. Global Caliphate Two forms or types of radicalisation? Multi-level radicalisation Macro-Micro-Meso Parallel radicalisation Ideology and grievance

10 Key Questions Who defines the radical in contrast to the extreme and then to the moderate? (moderate = mainstream?) Why are not all radicals either extremists or terrorists? How is Islam differentiated from Islamism? What actually occurs inside the self to either accept or reject extremist narrative? Why are the majority of Muslims resilient to global /local grievances, injustices and issues? Ideology or Psychology?

11 Key Questions Are those prone to violent tendencies more vulnerable? (Woolwich / Gang culture) Then what of the emergence of well educated and integrated terrorists? Is this about social capital or cultural capital Is terrorism the new narcissism? The impact of fame and infamy culture The impact of social media/ Web 3.0 on identity and cognitive reasoning / digital literacy and choice

12 Deradicalisation Can you de-radicalise someone who does not wish to be de-radicalised? How do you know when they have been de-radicalised? Is the narrative component more important than the willingness to act? Again, are the psychological factors more important than the ideological ones? What is a deradicalised person suppose to look and behave like? Copyright 2013 Fida Management