The Dark Social Capital of Religious Radicals
The Dark Social Capital of Religious Radicals

Author: Johannes Saal

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-05-04

Total Pages: 527

ISBN-13: 3658328428

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With the departure of European Muslims to the “Islamic State” and a wave of terrorist attacks in Europe in recent years, the questions of why and how individuals radicalize to Jihadi extremism attracted keen interest. This thesis examines how individuals radicalize by applying a theoretical framework that primarily refers to social capital theory, the economics of religion, and social movement theory. The analysis of the biographical backgrounds, pathways of radicalization, and network connections of more than 1,300 Jihadi extremists from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland shows that radicalization primarily need to be considered as a social process of isolation from former social contacts and affiliation with a new religious group. Radicalization is characterized by the transformation of social capital and often channeled through so-called “strong ties” to friends and family members. These peer networks constitute the social fundament of radical clusters on the local level which are usually linked to a broader milieu through exclusive mosque communities and religious authorities. Bonding social capital within these radical groups minimizes the risk of betrayal and promotes trust essential for clandestine and risky activities.

The Dark Social Capital of Religious Radicals
The Dark Social Capital of Religious Radicals

Author: Johannes Saal

Publisher:

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9783658328436

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With the departure of European Muslims to the "Islamic State" and a wave of terrorist attacks in Europe in recent years, the questions of why and how individuals radicalize to Jihadi extremism attracted keen interest. This thesis examines how individuals radicalize by applying a theoretical framework that primarily refers to social capital theory, the economics of religion, and social movement theory. The analysis of the biographical backgrounds, pathways of radicalization, and network connections of more than 1,300 Jihadi extremists from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland shows that radicalization primarily need to be considered as a social process of isolation from former social contacts and affiliation with a new religious group. Radicalization is characterized by the transformation of social capital and often channeled through so-called "strong ties" to friends and family members. These peer networks constitute the social fundament of radical clusters on the local level which are usually linked to a broader milieu through exclusive mosque communities and religious authorities. Bonding social capital within these radical groups minimizes the risk of betrayal and promotes trust essential for clandestine and risky activities. About the author Sociologist of religion and political scientist Dr. Johannes Saal is a research assistant at the Center for Religion, Economy and Politics (University of Lucerne).

Foreign Fighters and Radical Influencers
Foreign Fighters and Radical Influencers

Author: Asya Metodieva

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-12-30

Total Pages: 150

ISBN-13: 1000823253

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This book looks at Salafi influencers and foreign fighters in the Balkans to examine how the origins and dynamics of radical milieus are related to the legacy of the Bosnian War and the Kosovo War. The work seeks to understand if and in what ways these wars influenced the consolidation of radical milieus and whether they impacted the recruitment of foreign fighters. In doing so, the book traces the path of more than 400 individuals that either traveled to Syria or were involved in recruitment locally. Employing a qualitative methodological approach, the book argues that radical influencers are likely to be more evident in postwar societies due to state and societal fragility, which create more power for social actors and constrain efforts to counter extremism. Through the activism of social actors emerging from wars, preceding conflicts resonate through society across different locations and particular postwar radical milieus do not need to be only in the place where war atrocities happened. Thus, radical milieus can spread to various locations including countries hosting postwar diaspora communities. This book will be of much interest to students of radicalisation, terrorism and political violence, Balkan politics, Middle Eastern politics, and IR in general.

The Routledge Handbook on Radicalisation and Countering Radicalisation
The Routledge Handbook on Radicalisation and Countering Radicalisation

Author: Joel Busher

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-11-28

Total Pages: 602

ISBN-13: 1000992764

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This handbook provides a theoretical and methodological exploration of the research on radicalisation and counter-radicalisation, one of the most influential concepts in Security Studies, International Relations, and Peace and Conflict Studies. Sitting at the heart of high-profile research and policy agendas on preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE), radicalisation as a concept has transformed the way researchers, policymakers, and societies think about how to counter terrorism and political violence. Deliberations about radicalisation and countering radicalisation have become further embedded as efforts to prevent and counter violent extremism have been ‘mainstreamed’ into other areas of public policy and practice, such as education, gender relations, health, peacebuilding, aid, and development. Theoretically and methodologically pluralistic, this handbook addresses radicalisation and countering radicalisation as they relate to a wide range of groups and milieus, articulating diverse ideological positions, drawing together insight and experience from multiple geographic and institutional settings, integrating global perspectives, and including scholarship focused on a range of policy fields. This book will be an essential reference point for anybody working on radicalisation, countering radicalisation, or terrorism and political violence more broadly. The insight that it provides will be relevant for both academics and members of relevant policy and practitioner communities.

Radicalisation
Radicalisation

Author: James R Lewis

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2024-03

Total Pages: 450

ISBN-13: 0197771262

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A comparative, multidisciplinary interrogation of how people across the world become extremists of all kinds, and how different scholarly fields study and theorize this process.

Foreign Fighters in Ukraine
Foreign Fighters in Ukraine

Author: Kacper Rękawek

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-12-30

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 1000830411

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Foreign Fighters in Ukraine is the first comprehensive academic study taking an in-depth look at foreigners who have chosen to fight in the conflict in Ukraine. While there has been considerable focus in policy, security and academic circles on the threat from returning jihadists – so-called returnee foreign terrorist fighters – the same danger from right-wing, but not essentially terrorist, extremists and others has been largely overlooked. As Westerners rushed to join the nascent Caliphate in Syria/Iraq, others simultaneously traveled to another foreign war on what many would call Europe’s doorstep: the Russo-Ukrainian war. This book unmasks this largely unknown group of fighters as the author dives into the fighters’ ideological and social backgrounds, their motivations for joining the conflict, their travails on the way there and their battle record in Eastern Ukraine. To a large extent based on interviews with the fighters themselves, it is a study on how and why men risk their lives while fighting a foreign war – and attract the attention of security services at home upon their return. Particularly, given the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the growing interest in far-right violence worldwide, the book evaluates whether these returnees constitute another security threat to the West. This volume will be of interest to all those researching small wars, terrorism, peace and conflict studies and right-wing extremism.

The Radical Imagination of Black Women
The Radical Imagination of Black Women

Author: Pearl K. Ford Dowe

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2023-09-12

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 0197650791

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"The Radical Imagination of Black Women: Ambition, Politics and Power explores how elite Black women decide to seek political office. Despite their marginalized existence Black women engage in a robust political participation that includes seeking elected office. Utilizing interviews of Black women who currently or have served in office and focus group data of Black women, the manuscript bridges the literatures of ambition theory and marginalization through a theory I refer to a "ambition on the margins". Black women's resistance to marginalization informs us about the conditions that shape Black women and their political socialization, while ambition theory helps us understand what they do in response to marginalization. The socialization process fosters the decision-making process of Black women. This framework moves the extant literature beyond the premise that the political ambition of Black women is less than White women or men. Political science's approach to ambition negates and disregards mechanisms beyond voting that Black women often engage in such as doing political work through community and civic organizations. That data provided from interviews reveal the complex dynamics that contribute to the nuanced process that Black women emerge as candidates and engage as politicians"--

Rational Extremism
Rational Extremism

Author: Ronald Wintrobe

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2006-08-14

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 1139460439

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Extremists are people whose ideas or tactics are viewed as outside the mainstream. Looked at this way, extremists are not necessarily twisted or evil. But they can be, especially when they are intolerant and violent. What makes extremists turn violent? This 2006 book assumes that extremists are rational: given their ends, they choose the best means to achieve them. The analysis explains why extremist leaders use the tactics they do, and why they are often insensitive to punishment and to loss of life. It also explains how rational people can be motivated to die for the cause. The book covers different aspects of extremism such as revolution, suicide terrorism, and global jihad. The arguments are illustrated with important episodes of extremism, including the French Revolution, the rise of nationalism in Yugoslavia under Milosevic, and the emergence of suicide terror and Al Qaeda today.

Social Capital and Social Cohesion in Post-Soviet Russia
Social Capital and Social Cohesion in Post-Soviet Russia

Author: Judyth L. Twigg

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-09-16

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 1315290235

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This work shows that the collapse of socialist employment and social service systems - and of the USSR itself - has had profoundly damaging effects, manifested in dislocation and homelessness, ethnic strife, family breakdown, declining life expectancy, and soaring rates of violence and crime.

Faith and Social Capital After the Debt Crisis
Faith and Social Capital After the Debt Crisis

Author: A. Dinham

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2012-04-24

Total Pages: 219

ISBN-13: 1137005688

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This book explores what becomes of faiths when seen as social capital. In the grip of the current debt crisis, where the social and capital seem increasingly unbalanced, this book examines whether faiths can help rebalance society through drawing communities together.