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34EXTR0 - PAP4 - Tuning into Bordering Geographies: Reviewing Approaches to Radicalisation and Violent Extremism (VE) in the EU, Western Balkans and The Mena Region
Session Type: Pre-Arranged Panel
Category: 34. Radicalization, Extremism, and Terrorism (ESC WG) (WG-EXTREME)
Session Details
TUNING INTO BORDERING GEOGRAPHIES: REVIEWING APPROACHES TO RADICALISATION AND VIOLENT EXTREMISM (VE) IN THE EU, WESTERN BALKANS AND THE MENA REGION
The study of radicalisation and VE in recent years has been mainly focused on understanding the nature, structure, operation mode and funding of violent extremism, where religion is the framework and communication and recruitment strategies its most outstanding challenge. This has led research and policymaking to neglect or diminish the relevance of socioeconomic, cultural and political drivers.
Moreover, research indicates that radicalisation cannot be explained outside a given social context where push and pull factors move individuals to strengthen their ideological beliefs, develop a polarised positioning and reinterpret the interactions with those considered as antagonistic. Group dynamics favour these reshaped interactions between collective and individual root-causes.
Finally, most standardised interpretations and strategies have proved insufficient to grasp regional particularities; cultural, historical, socioeconomic, and political circumstances of each country – or community - determine the level of success of prevention and countering measures (P/CVE) and help explain different radicalising processes by combining different levels of analysis (macro, meso and micro).
Drawing from the study of seven previously identified drivers of radicalisation (religion, economic deprivation, territorial inequalities, transnational dynamics, social digitalisation, political issues, and educational, leisure and cultural opportunities) the panel features one case study from the European Union, one from the Western Balkans and one from the MENA region, by presenting primary data and results obtained in field research from the macro and meso-level analyses as well as a reflection of recent trends in radicalisation, particularly targeting far right radicalisation in Southeast Europe.
Moreover, research indicates that radicalisation cannot be explained outside a given social context where push and pull factors move individuals to strengthen their ideological beliefs, develop a polarised positioning and reinterpret the interactions with those considered as antagonistic. Group dynamics favour these reshaped interactions between collective and individual root-causes.
Finally, most standardised interpretations and strategies have proved insufficient to grasp regional particularities; cultural, historical, socioeconomic, and political circumstances of each country – or community - determine the level of success of prevention and countering measures (P/CVE) and help explain different radicalising processes by combining different levels of analysis (macro, meso and micro).
Drawing from the study of seven previously identified drivers of radicalisation (religion, economic deprivation, territorial inequalities, transnational dynamics, social digitalisation, political issues, and educational, leisure and cultural opportunities) the panel features one case study from the European Union, one from the Western Balkans and one from the MENA region, by presenting primary data and results obtained in field research from the macro and meso-level analyses as well as a reflection of recent trends in radicalisation, particularly targeting far right radicalisation in Southeast Europe.
Authors
Stefan Ralchev
Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD)
Abstract
The macro-level analysis showed that Bulgaria’s Muslims have been largely resilient to the entry of more conservative representations of Islam, with only isolated instances of Islamist radicalisation emerging in the most marginalised Muslim Roma communities. On the other hand, the far right has been more dynamic, including a variety of actors espousing far-right rhetoric online and offline. The general tendency of institutions is to consider it a less pressing threat, having limited potential to trigger violence. In contrast, civil society has warned that the mainstreaming and normalisation of far-right narratives need urgent attention.
At the meso-level, the research confirmed that the Roma communities initially observed in the context of institutional and civil society perceptions have shown resilience to religious radicalisation/polarisation due to: fundamental change in their structure, with large numbers of people emigrating to Western Europe; lack of leadership; and gradual rise in the level of education and decrease of poverty levels. The meso analysis also looked at the far right and signs of radicalisation among ultra-conservative online communities and online communities of football supporters, showing the risks of turning violent, with examples of anti-government protests and some football supporters accepting violence as legitimate means to achieve an end.
At the meso-level, the research confirmed that the Roma communities initially observed in the context of institutional and civil society perceptions have shown resilience to religious radicalisation/polarisation due to: fundamental change in their structure, with large numbers of people emigrating to Western Europe; lack of leadership; and gradual rise in the level of education and decrease of poverty levels. The meso analysis also looked at the far right and signs of radicalisation among ultra-conservative online communities and online communities of football supporters, showing the risks of turning violent, with examples of anti-government protests and some football supporters accepting violence as legitimate means to achieve an end.
Contextualisation of institutional and community-level drivers of radicalisation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Balkans
Authors
Damir Kapidžić
University of Sarajevo
Muamer Hirkić
University of Sarajevo
Abstract
Radicalisation in BiH and much of the Balkans has long considered in the light of religious extremism, mainly radical Islam. This study confronts this common understanding and identifies several drivers of radicalization at the institutional and community levels that display greater relevance. It presents primary data and results obtained in field research in BiH through the CONNEKT project, while providing a comparative overview. The underlying idea is that the seven identified drivers are relevant in different contexts which require a more bottom-up understanding of radicalisation processes among youth. Macro-level drivers are identified through institutional understandings of radicalisation, patterns of collaboration, and institutional norms and practices of state institutions, religious institutions, CSOs, international organisations, and media. These are complemented by a meso-level understanding within three case studies of youth groups. The country and region contextualisation shows that the relevance of drivers differs between countries, institutions and cases. What is significant is that religion is not the only and not the most relevant driver and can also display an inoculating effect. Drivers related to political ideas and nationalism are a much more potent . While some drivers are individually significant factors, others play an important role as underlying drivers that work cumulatively.
Beyond religion: towards a new approach to radicalisation and CVE strategies in Jordan
Authors
Jadranka Stikovac Clark
Generations for Peace
Barik Mhadeen
Generations for Peace
Abstract
The recent macro-level research in Jordan revealed an increased acknowledgment of ineffectiveness of purely security approach as a response to VE. While on the macro level the state conceptualised the VE threat and its dynamics through an ideological lens, the non-state and community, meso-level actors cited contextual grievances as more pressing factors that needed to be addressed. The stark absence of an effective coordination mechanism that should tie different state and non-state efforts within a common vision was additionally noted on the macro level, and has since been confirmed by the meso-level study. Furthermore, the focus on religion in the state’s response to violent extremism was not always favourably received by stakeholders on both macro and meso levels. The in-depth study of interactions between and among the drivers of radicalisation and different contexts of social interaction confirmed that religion is not only the structural component of Jordan’s VE-related response but is also one driver among many. Other drivers became prominent through the interactions with social contexts. The mix of these factors seemed to produce greater frustration, lack of hope, and a strong sense of social injustice, amongst youth in particular.
Pan-European Dynamics of the Far Right in Southeastern Europe
Authors
Florian Bieber
University of Graz
Abstract
The paper will explore the emergence of a pan-European far-right that does not just cooperate on a pan-European level, but also shares discursive frames and promotes an emerging notion of “Europeaness”. Central to the presentation will be a discussion on how these notions play out in Southeastern Europe, especially how nationalist discourses about “Defending Europe” fit into these larger debates of inclusion and exclusion. Positioning national discourses as defending Europe thus allows them to position and validate them in larger pan-European nationalist discourses. The paper will offer a preliminary mapping of these ideas and networks in Southeastern Europe and how different nationalist movements position themselves in the larger European debates. The two thematic frames discussed are migration and the war in Ukraine, namely how migration from outside Europe has been unifying the far-right in creating a shared image of Europe “under threat”, whereas the Russian aggression has been divisive with some groups seeing Ukraine as defending Europe against Russia, in line with broader more mainstream narratives and a second that supports the Russian position, drawing on long-standing allegiance of far-right groups with Russia and convergence on the notion of radical nationalism.
34EXTR0 - PAP4 - Tuning into Bordering Geographies: Reviewing Approaches to Radicalisation and Violent Extremism (VE) in the EU, Western Balkans and The Mena Region
Description
Please only choose to join as an attendee if you are NOT a speaker.Session Chair
Lurdes Vidal Bertran
23/9/2022, 8:15 AM — 9:30 AM