Motivations for Jihad and Cognitive Dissonance – A Qualitative Analysis of Former Swedish Jihadists

Abstract

This study is based on interviews with three former Swedish jihadists, and it uses cognitive dissonance theory to analyze how their motivations for jihad changed-from the early stages of radicalization to fighting as part of a jihadist group and finally leaving jihad. It argues that cognitive dissonance is a causal mechanism, alternative to empathy and collective relative deprivation, that can explain how individuals with collective identities can be motivated to opt for jihad. For none of the interviewees did fundamentalist Islam provide a gateway into jihadism, nor did they seem to use Islam as a mere justification for violent behavior. Cognitive dissonance can also shed light on why some jihadists have not been susceptible to further radicalization by accepting even more radical ideas.

Domestic Support for Foreign Fighting: Attitudes Towards the Use of Violence Abroad

“…Attitudes have been used in studies of violence as hypothetical constructs, which are determined by the internal value system of respondents (Ajzen and Fishbein 2005;Funk et al 1999). The research on violent radicals has failed to provide any "standard" profile, which might in part be explained by the fact that radicalisation is not a static phenomenon but rather a dynamic process (McCauley and Moskalenko 2008;Nilsson 2019). The theoretical framework and earlier research applied in the study ranges from more traditional conflict literature, to psychology and criminology to look at many of the earlier assumptions about factors influencing more radical attitudes towards the use of violence.…”

“…The increased interest in foreign fighting as a phenomenon, following the invasion of Iraq and the Syrian Civil War, has led to an influx of case studies on the topic. Many of these case studies have taken the form of primary or second-hand interviews with former foreign fighters and were focused on providing descriptive or phenomenological studies of radicalised Europeans travelling out to fight (Bakker 2011;Marone 2016;Moore and Tumelty 2008;Nilsson 2019;Rostami et al 2020). In addition to this, some country level studies have been done on the driving factors behind foreign fighting in Syria and Iraq (Pokalova 2019), as well an increased focus on the gendered dimension of these factors (e.g.…”

“…Much of these explanatory factors, in the context of violent radicalisation in Europe, has sprung from the French sociological tradition (Dalgaard Nielsen 2010). Nilsson (2019) identifies two overarching explanatory models, one which views socio-economic explanations in light of cultural s factors, such as in the work of Gilles Kepel (2017), where the religious and cultural explanations are in focus. The other explanatory model, central to the work of Olivier Roy, views violent Islamist radicalisation as a manifestation of a more general violent nihilism, separate from cultural explanations (2016,2017).…”

“…As Nilsson (2019) points out, the motivation for those who travel out changes over time and the process should not be seen as a static on, but rather as one that goes through several phases; from an initial stage of radicalisation "at home" to participation in foreign fighting and then as returnees for those who survive and chose to come back. More recent research also highlights the importance of empirical access to these different phases, which are dynamic processes that shift over time and as well as over geographical areas (Rostami et al 2020).…”

Migrating for Conflict. (c2022)

“…Another interpretation of the sense of obligation toward identity is Nilsson's (2022) explanation of cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance is defined as a psychological sense of discomfort prompted by contradicting opinions, beliefs, or knowledge held by an individual.…”