Terrorist Transformations: The Link between Terrorist Roles and Terrorist Disengagement

Altier, Mary Beth; Boyle, Emma Leonard; Horgan, John

doi:10.1080/1057610x.2019.1700038

Cited by 15 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…Finally, consistent with new research by Mary Beth Altier and her colleagues, persistent activists enjoy fewer educational and employment opportunities than those who disengage (Altier, Boyle, & Horgan, 2020). This reduces the impact of this important pull factor.…”

Section: Why Persistent Activists Do Not Disengage From Al-muhajiroun and Jemaah Islamiyahsupporting

confidence: 66%

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Understanding How British and Indonesian Extremists Disengage and Why They Don't

Kenney

Hwang

2020

Political Psychology

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This article compares how individuals from two different Salafi-jihadi groups disengage from high-risk activism and political violence. Drawing on original interviews, we explore the "push" and "pull" factors that influence our respondents' decisions to leave. We identify numerous push-and-pull factors that are consistent with previous research, including disagreements with group leaders over strategy and practices and educational and employment opportunities. We also contribute to existing research by including "persistent activists" in our sample who did not disengage. Surprisingly, these respondents remained in their groups despite experiencing some of the same push-and-pull factors as those who left. Including this variation allows us to separate necessary but insufficient conditions of disengagement from factors that exert a more profound impact. We highlight the influence of one key factor-and its absence-in our discussion: alternative social networks with supportive outsiders for those who left and the lack of such meaningful relationships for those who remained. We conclude by discussing the implications of our research for countering violent extremism.

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Section: Why Persistent Activists Do Not Disengage From Al-muhajiroun and Jemaah Islamiyahsupporting

confidence: 66%

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Understanding How British and Indonesian Extremists Disengage and Why They Don't

Kenney

Hwang

2020

Political Psychology

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“…Autobiographical memory plays a critical role in the construction of individual identity, accounting for what occurs, and when in a lifespan. Given this, systematic analysis of terrorist autobiographies has the potential to offer understanding of psychogenesis, thought processes, reasoning, and social construction over a life course, an advantage not afforded in prevalence studies (Altier, Horgan, & Thoroughgood, 2012;Altier, et al, 2017;Altier, Leonard Boyle, & Horgan, 2020). Analysis of autobiographical data also limits participant reactivity via (a) removal of contamination effects found in observation studies (b) elimination of researcher-participant interactions, (c) removal of expectancy bias from participants, and (d) reduction of artificiality found in interview designs (Altier et al, 2012;Krippendorff, 2004).…”

Section: Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the behavioural trajectories of terrorists: The role of psychological resilience

Corner

Taylor

Clemmow

2021

Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict

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Within studies critically examining terrorist behaviour, the examination of mental health has largely focused on the relationship with the movement towards terrorist involvement. The impact of engagement in terrorism upon mental health has rarely been studied. However, recent research has shown that there is an association between terrorist engagement and the occurrence of mental health problems across the spectrum of terrorist involvement. This work therefore expands on previous research, and disaggregates three discrete stages of terrorist involvement; pre-engagement, engagement, and disengagement, to critically examine the role of psychological resilience on mental health. To determine whether psychological resilience protects against the negative psychological repercussions of terrorist involvement, we undertake cluster analyses. Results indicate that there is a subset of actors who demonstrate psychological resilience, and appear to maintain their mental health despite their experiences during involvement in terrorism.

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“…One of the key arguments made in the terrorism literature is that it is difficult to pin down any one set of consistent motives and factors that explain why a person radicalized to violent extremism (Dalgaard-Nielsen, 2013;Weenink & Vooren-Morsing, 2021). The same applies to answering why someone deradicalized or disengaged (Altier et al, 2020;Horgan, 2009). This has been referred as the heterogeneity problem in terrorism studies, with scholars arguing that radicalization and deradicalization should be viewed as comprising a set of diverse experiences, unique to the individual (Dawson, 2019a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…On the other side of the spectrum push factors triggering disengagement are features linked to involvement with terrorist groups (e.g., burn out, losing faith in leaders, and the ideology) that drive people away from an extremist group (Dalgaard-Nielsen, 2013). Pull factors lay outside of the group and act to lure individuals to more conventional social roles (e.g., having children) (Altier et al, 2020;Hwang, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One way in which scholars have tried to make sense of this diversity is by providing conceptual clarity through the use of the push and pull distinction (Altier et al, 2017(Altier et al, , 2020Dawson et al, 2016;Horgan et al, 2017;Vergani et al, 2020). Push factors can be understood as external factors outside the individual that push a person towards radicalization and violent extremism.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The push and pull of radicalization and extremist disengagement: The application of criminological theory to Indonesian and Australian cases of radicalization

Cherney

Putra

Putera

et al. 2021

Journal of Criminology

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Research shows there is variability in factors that cause a person to radicalize to violent extremism. The use of the push/pull distinction has been one way in which scholars have aimed to provide clarity to the process of radicalization and extremist disengagement. However, it remains a conceptually underdeveloped distinction. In this paper, we draw on aspects of criminological theory to better understand the push and pull distinction. The paper draws on research comprising interviews with three Indonesians and two Australian individuals who have radicalized to violent extremism that is aligned with jihadist ideologies. Based on this primary data, case descriptions and narratives are provided on each individual examining pathways into and away from violent extremism. We draw on aspects of strain theory, social control, differential association, and desistance theory to understand common patterns across each case and to highlight the relative influence of various push and pull factors. Implications for theory and policy are highlighted. We also acknowledge limitations in our approach.

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Terrorist Transformations: The Link between Terrorist Roles and Terrorist Disengagement

Cited by 15 publications

References 0 publications

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Understanding How British and Indonesian Extremists Disengage and Why They Don't

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Understanding How British and Indonesian Extremists Disengage and Why They Don't

Assessing the behavioural trajectories of terrorists: The role of psychological resilience

The push and pull of radicalization and extremist disengagement: The application of criminological theory to Indonesian and Australian cases of radicalization

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