The report “Youth and Violent Extremism on Social Media”, released by UNESCO, puts on debate the role of social media on the process of radicalization and some of its impacts on youth. The authors Séraphin Alava, Divina Frau-Meigs and Ghayda Hassan map the main researches about the theme and divide their analysis by global areas: Europe, North America, Latin-America and the Caribbean is the first section, followed by Arab world and Africa and Asia.
One of the most highlighted topics is the gender issue in radicalization process in Europe, Caribbean, North and Latin America. According to Alava, Frau-Meigs and Hassan, the amount of articles focused on gender and radicalization on social media is very low compared to the growing number of radicalized women online – they represent about 30% of the departures to Syria/Iraq war zones.
The authors explain that it happens due to the fact that many female figthers mask their identity on social media and because male academics represent the majority of scholars in this field. In accordance with researchers’ mapping, those women see the process of radicalization as a way to become independent and join the fight:
"One identifed trend is a feminist claim of women coming forward to take their place in the fighting, which coincides with a structured use of communication processes by terrorist groups to recruit them."
Alava, Frau-Meigs and Hassan also emphasize the dual role of social media on the process of radicalization. According to a study conducted by Mohamed Ibn Rachid Faculty, the number of Facebook users in 22 Arab countries increased from 54.5 million in 2013 to 81.3 million in 2014, most by young people. Many of those young Internet users launched several campaigns on Facebook and Twitter to fight against terrorism and radicalization.
However, the authors underscored how social media can be used to incite hate and radicalize youth. African extremist group “Boko Haram” usually spread their principles through the Internet, with sophisticated videos, while in Indonesia the ISIS recruits use online games to persuade recruitment for ISIS can be done through online games.
Even though there is little evidence in literature that alternative narratives are effective in countering radicalization, it is a preventive measure that has started being used by some governments. Some of them decided to invest in primary education. According to the authors, those governments use various tactics grouped under the label of Media and Information Literacy (MIL), relevant for both countries where censorship is not acceptable or even for those that have strong restrictions to freedom of speech.
The full article can be accessed here: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0026/002603/260382e.pdf
(By Roanna Azevedo for Words Heal The World)
Study reveals biographical background of Dutch suspects of terrorism
The document “Dutch Suspects of Terrorist Activity: A Study of Their Biographical Backgrounds Based on Primary Sources”, published in September 2017 on the Journal for Deradicalization gives a structured overview of the biographical backgrounds of Dutch suspected terrorists. Authored by Maarten van Leyenhorst and Ada Andreas, the study fits into the debate about risk management and supervision of terrorist offences.
Based on pre-sentence reports of suspected or prosecuted people for being related to Salafi-Jihadi terrorism in Netherlands, experts discovered that 42% of the twenty six analyzed suspects had prior criminal convictions, and 73% of them had convictions involving violence, like burglaries and assaults. All of them denied any involvement in illegal activities and claimed that they were being prosecuted due to their Islamic beliefs.
According to the study, most suspects had identity problems or existential questions. Thereby, researchers believe the suspects started looking for explanations, and ended up having contact with radical ideologies. The analysis confirms that the internet has an important role on the process of Dutch individuals radicalization as many of the suspects had some kind of contact with radical ideologies available on the internet.
Researchers presented some criminogenic factors, after analysing each of the twenty six cases. Here are some of them:
- The number of younger suspects increased, based on prior cases and according to probation officers from DPS (Dutch probation service);
- Females represent only 15% of the suspects, but fulfill very specific roles within the Salafi-Jihadi groups. Radicalized women usually collect money for the family of those who have been arrested or are in Syria and serve as mediators between male suspects that can’t communicate with each other;
- 46% of the suspects are second-generation immigrants from Moroccan parents;
- 54% of the twenty six suspects were raised in large families with six or more siblings and 46% had children;
- 54% of them lived with their parents before being arrested or departing to Syria;
- 78% of the suspects had an official income and 57% had debts. But the economic situation of many of them deteriorated some time before they pledged allegiance to extremist groups;
- 26% of the suspects had no work experience at all;
- 15% of them were diagnosed with a DMS-IV disorder, among them ADHD, borderline personality, PTSS and psychotic disorder.
Leyenhorst and Andreas finish the report giving recommendations to future researchers. For both of them it is extremely important to understand the reason why the number of younger suspects of terrorism is increasing and individuals with a prosperous career choose to support terrorist groups. According to the authors, further studies may help people learn more about the the motivations that lead to radicalization.
The full article can be accessed here: http://journals.sfu.ca/jd/index.php/jd/article/download/119/99
(By Roanna Azevedo for Words Heal The World)
Study reveals deradicalization programs in Canada are more likely to succeed when community is involved
The report Youth De-Radicalization: A Canadian Framework published by the Journal for Deradicalization reveals deradicalization processes are more likely to succeed when community is involved.
The study conducted by Hafal Ahmad used principles of Social Identity Theory to make an attempt to understand how individuals’ identity can lead to extreme behaviour towards other people. According to this theory, young people are often trying to feel included in some groups and this feeling of belonging has been used by recruiters to persuade youth to join their groups.
Aware of this, many religious and government authorities have started looking for deradicalization programs in Canada despite the relatively low number of successful terrorist plots in the country. The prime-minister Justin Trudeau emphasized the need of community-based approaches, by unveiling a plan that could reach out vulnerable people.
In order to gather extensive information about de-radicalisation in Canada, Hafal Ahmad interviewed 19 people from three different sectors: religious leaders; secondary school counsellors, and professors from different disciplines. 7 out of the 19 individuals interviewed had some kind of experience with youth radicalisation and 9 participants made references to the relationship between media distortion and radicalisation. When it comes to deradicalization programs in Canada, all of the 19 people made references to “belonging and engagement” and “education” as main drivers of the process, followed by “space life”, which includes government, family and community environments.
According to Mr. Ahmad, preventing vulnerable youth from joining violent extremist groups has to become a priority to the Canadian government. Investment in youth well-being can be achieved by adding critical thinking activities to country´s schools and discussing community problems with stakeholders. All of these measures may allow youth to become aware of its importance in its community and surroundings – the feeling of belonging that may prevent it from being easy preys to extremist groups.
The full article can be accessed here: http://journals.sfu.ca/jd/index.php/jd/article/download/113/94
(By Roanna Azevedo for Words Heal The World)
