Radicalization

Part of a series on
Terrorism
By ideology
Religious
Special-interest / Single-issue
Related topics
Structure
  • Methods
  • Tactics
Terrorist groups
Adherents
State terrorism
State-sponsored terrorism
Response to terrorism

Radicalization (or radicalisation) is the process by which an individual or a group comes to adopt increasingly radical views in opposition to a political, social, or religious status quo. The ideas of society at large shape the outcomes of radicalization. Radicalization can result in both violent and nonviolent action – academic literature focuses on radicalization into violent extremism (RVE) or radicalisation leading to acts of terrorism.[1][2][3] Multiple separate pathways can promote the process of radicalization, which can be independent but are usually mutually reinforcing.[4][5]

Radicalization that occurs across multiple reinforcing pathways greatly increases a group's resilience and lethality. Furthermore, by compromising a group's ability to blend in with non-radical society and to participate in a modern, national or international economy, radicalization serves as a kind of sociological trap that gives individuals no other place to go to satisfy their material and spiritual needs.[6]

  1. ^ Radicalisation Processes Leading to Acts of Terrorism. A concise Report prepared by the European Commission's Expert Group on Violent Radicalisation. Brussels Retrieved at: https://www.clingendael.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/20080500_cscp_report_vries.pdf
  2. ^ Borum, Randy. Radicalization into Violent Extremism I: A Review of Social Science Theories. Journal of Strategic Security. Vol. 4 Issue 4. (2011) pp. 7–36
  3. ^ Schmid, A. P. (2013-03-27). "Radicalisation, De-Radicalisation, Counter-Radicalisation: A Conceptual Discussion and Literature Review". The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague (ICCT). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ McCauley, C., Mosalenko, S. "Mechanisms of political radicalization: Pathways towards terrorism," Terrorism and Political Violence (2008). 416
  5. ^ Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Radicalization: A Guide for the Perplexed. National Security Criminal Investigations. June 2009.
  6. ^ Berman, Eli (2009). "Why are religious terrorists so lethal?". Radical, Religious, and Violent: The New Economics of Terrorism. MIT Press (published 2011). p. 19. ISBN 9780262258005. Retrieved 18 September 2020. An objective examination of numerous successful communities of faith reveals that they often stand on two pillars. The first is their ability to meet the spiritual needs of their members [...]. The second pillar is an ability to provide more tangible services, social and economic [...].