A cultural criminology of “new” jihad: Insights from propaganda magazines

Abstract

The backgrounds and modus operandi of more recent jihadi terrorists tend to share factors and characteristics more typically associated with non-political violence such as mass-killings and gang violence. Their attacks, moreover, seem to have been precipitated not by the direct instructions of a formal hierarchy but by the encouragement of propaganda produced and disseminated by networked, media-savvy terrorist groups. It is necessary to explain how these “recruitment” efforts work. Cultural criminology, with its understanding of the relationship between mediated meaning and individual experience, can provide such an analysis. The article presents a qualitative document analysis of 32 propaganda magazines produced by the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda. It demonstrates that they contain significantly more than religious rhetoric and military strategy. Rather, they are part of a process that crystalizes a jihadi subculture that appeals to disaffected and/or marginalized, excitement-seeking youths. The magazines cultivate violence by constructing a militarized style that celebrates outlaw status, where violence is eroticized and aestheticized. They idealize the notion of a jihadi terrorist that is tough and willing to commit brutal violence. The lifestyle portrayed offers the possibility of heroism, excitement, belonging and imminent fame, themes often espoused by conventional, Western consumer culture. The magazines occasionally draw on street jargon, urban music, fashion, films, and video games. The subcultural model of jihadi propaganda we explicate provides a novel way of understanding terrorist recruiting tactics and motivations that are not necessarily in opposition to contemporary conventional criminal and “mainstream” cultures, but in resonance with them.

Can social bonds and social learning theories help explain radical violent extremism?

“…Recent work on related questions have highlighted the Nordic relevance of these issues. The overlap between street crime, violence and terrorism, requires an interdisciplinary approach that includes political science, religious studies, and criminology (Sandberg & Colvin, 2020;Sunde et al, 2020). Does the Nordic context, with its encompassing welfare states, strengthen social bonds and conventional behaviour, or is the marginalization of ethnic minorities simply different from the US?…”

“…The field of research into radicalization and violent extremism emerged from political science, social psychology and national security arenas, but lacks criminological focus (Safer-Lichtenstein et al, 2017), which is perplexing, given that terrorism is a form of crime (Clarke & Newman, 2006). Waele and Pauwels (2016) noted that radicalization research could benefit from social bonds and social learning theories because they provide new insights into the social dynamics, attachments, and societal involvement (Akers, 2009;Alston et al, 1995;Ilan & Sandberg, 2019;Sunde et al, 2020). A criminological focus can address the lack of distinction between violent and non-violent radicalism, which is currently a central issue in the radicalization field.…”

Rap, Islam and Jihadi Cool: The attractions of the Western jihadi subculture

“…Hemmingsen (2015) understood jihadist groups by employing Roszak’s (1995) theory of counterculture. Pisoiu (2015) found support for the explanatory value of subcultural concepts such as bricolage, homology and resistance, and Andersen and Sandberg (2020) examined the now defunct ISIS magazine, Dabiq , from both a subcultural and social movement perspective (see also Jensen and Larsen, 2021; Larsen and Jensen, 2019; Sunde et al, 2020). Finally, and of particular interest for the argument in this paper, Conti (2017) used perspectives drawn from the CCCS and studied the jihadi rapper Deso-Dogg and online subcultural visual elements using the concepts of bricolage and homology.…”

“…Here, guns and other weapons symbolize a more militaristic masculinity. The jihadist message is directed at the defence of the Umma against Western military aggressions (Sunde et al, 2020). Posing with guns and the Quran while wearing camouflage jackets thus symbolizes a militaristic masculinity, which some young Muslim men in the West might find aesthetically attractive.…”

“…A recent body of literature has explored the analytical purchase of viewing recent formations of jihadism in the West from a subcultural perspective (Ahmed and Pisoiu, 2017; Andersen and Sandberg, 2020; Conti, 2017; Cottee, 2011, 2020; Hemmingsen, 2015; Jensen and Larsen, 2021; Larsen and Jensen, 2019; Pisoiu, 2015; Sunde et al, 2020). This perspective has many advantages.…”