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Thesis advisor: Jonathan Laurence / In the decade following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, global focus has shifted towards analyzing how to combat terrorism. "Countering Violent Extremism" policies, or CVE, emerged as a means to combat the growing threat of extremist attacks against Western and Western-backed governments around the world. CVE promotes the use of deradicalization and integration techniques to develop trust in communities considered "at-risk" of becoming radicalized and executing extremist attacks. Problematically, CVE policies have been adopted and adored without having been scrutinized. I consider three historical cases of policies very similar to CVE, in France, Great Britain, and the United States, and analyze how CVE may distract from a concerning trend towards immigration, law enforcement, and military action instead of meaningful engagement. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Politicaql Science.

The goal of this thesis is a deeper exploration of the phenomenon of violent radicalization and its causes in the prison population in the Czech environment. The theoretical part summarizes current knowledge about the possible causes of radicalization and current issues concerning radicalization around the world and in the Czech Republic. Furthermore, the specifics of prison radicalization and possible ways of deradicalization, including examples of good practice, are outlined. The empirical part attempts to map the characteristics of individuals in potential risk of radicalization in the environment of Czech prisons. The examined sample of 67 people is composed only of men and their average age is 34 years. Nearly half of the cases involves right-wing radicalization, in one third of cases individual non-specific radicalization is identified, and Islamic and left-wing radicalization is represented in low percentage of cases. In the sample, we can observe a high rate of unemployment, previous criminality, low level of education, childhood behavioral problems, under-average intellect, increased aggression, or impulsivity. Dissociative personality, identity problems, or mental health issues are also very common. The second part of the research aims at evaluating professional preparedness of the prison...

This study assesses the problem of youth radicalization and violent extremism in the northeast region of Nigeria. The study aimed to identify and explain the major factors that make these youths in the region vulnerable to the radical ideologies of Boko Haram, how these factors have interacted and resulted in them being sympathetic to terrorism in the region or being actively involved in the act. With these factors in mind, the study also aimed to critically access the government’s non-militarized response to violent extremism in order to ascertain whether or not these factors that have lured the youths into violent extremism in the first place have been taken into consideration in the design and implementation of such programs. Designed as a case study, the study relies on secondary data for its analysis and finds that poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, the almajeri system of Islamic education, and strong religious beliefs have been major risk factors for radicalization in the region. Also, findings show that the government’s deradicalization programs are flawed in their design and implementation, do not aim to address the root causes of radicalization into extremism, and give preferential treatment to repentant terrorists at the expense of the actual victims. I conclude by arguing that deradicalization in the region is in some way having a counter-effect (serving as an incentive for people to get radicalized into extremism) and also recommend further research on this with a possible comparative focus on other deradicalization programs in the country, past and present.

It is important to direct resources to effective evidence- and value-based counter-radicalization strategies, especially within prisons. With the increasing threat ofviolence and terror from various violent extremist groups, such as Daesh, thefocus on prisons should be intensified. While radicalization within prisons was nota significant problem a decade ago, the new recruitment strategies from e.g.Daesh now pose a new challenge for prisons. This thesis identifies contemporaryliterature on radicalization, deradicalization, and violent extremism within aprison context. From this seven recurrent themes were identified: overcrowding,religious chaplains, sectioning, risk assessment, monitoring and supervision,rehabilitation programs and education of staff. This was then used to develop anassessment model, which was based on the Canadian Risk-Need-Responsivitymodel’s three core principles, for evaluating and conducting counterradicalizationstrategies. The assessment model was then used as a framework fora comparative analysis of the Danish and Swedish Prison and Probation Services’counter-radicalization strategies within prisons. The results show that bothcountries adhered to a degree to the assessment model and current literaturewithin the field. The results further reveal that there is a lack of empiricalevidence and data on radicalization and counter-radicalization within prisons, andthat the data available is somewhat outdated.

Title: They are searching for the holes in their bodies and souls – desistance from violent Islamic extremism, a qualitative approach.   This essay aims to provide a deeper understanding and insight into why individuals choose to leave violence-promoting Islamist environments. The choice of method has been qualitative. The essay consists of four semi-structured interviews with key informants. The interview material has been transcribed and coded individually by both authors. The study has taken an integrated theoretical approach where the main framework consists of a life course perspective supported by Hirschi’s theory of social bonds, Merton’s theory of strain and Sutherland’s theory of differential associations. The main findings show that possible turning points with regards to desistance related to violence-promoting Islamist environments primarily consists of aspects related to belonging and social contexts. In other words, this essay shows that social relations are an integral part with regards to desistance. The findings closely correspond to those of previous studies within the field. The findings are supported by the study’s theoretical framework where pro-social community interactions strengthen the social bonds to society through differential associations, this in turn leads to a decreased amount of strain. / Uppsatsen syftar till att ge en djupare förståelse och insikt till varför individer väljer att avhålla sig från våldsbejakande islamistiska miljöer. Valet av metod har varit kvalitativt. Uppsatsens teoretiska utgångspunkt utgörs av ett integrerat perspektiv innehållande Life Course Theory, Mertons teori om Strain, Hirschis sociala band och Sutherlands differentiella associationer. Uppsatsens underlag består av fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer med nyckelinformanter. Intervjumaterialet har transkriberats och kodats individuellt av båda författarna. Resultaten visar att vändpunkter i förhållande till utträden från våldsbejakande islamistiska extremistiska grupperingar i huvudsak utgörs av aspekter relaterade till tillhörighet, sammanhang och disillusionment. Resultaten korresponderar väl till tidigare forskning inom området och kan förklaras utifrån uppsatsens teoretiska ramverk, där en pro-social gemenskap skapar sociala band genom differentiella associationer - resultaten därav blir minskade upplevelser av strain.

Al Qaeda s’est fait connaître grâce à quelques attentats pionniers symboliques dont le plus spectaculaire a eu lieu le 11 septembre 2001. L’étude du profil complexe d’Al Qaeda, avec ses racines profondes ancrées dans l’histoire, la politique et la société du monde islamique, puis de son évolution, permet de comprendre que la véritable menace ne vient pas d’un seul homme ni même d’un groupe, mais d’une idéologie plus large dédiée au djihad défensif, l’Al Qaedisme. Cette idéologie construite sur des piliers solides et cohérents, prône une guerre sainte planétaire contre l’Occident. Des réseaux fondamentalistes ad hoc et des groupes terroristes locaux se sont greffés autour des objectifs et stratégies d’un Al Qaedisme codifié commun diffusé dans le cyberespace et ont amplifié la menace en touchant toutes les sphères de la communauté internationale. L’approche politique conservatrice dominante a tenté de mettre un frein aux attentats en instituant toute une série de mesures exceptionnelles plus répressives les unes que les autres. Pourtant, le phénomène croissant de radicalisation et la multiplication des attentats terroristes depuis 2001, démontrent que les modèles occidentaux appliqués par des Occidentaux à des sociétés établies sur d’autres fondamentaux n’ont pas permis de trouver de solution durable contre l’Al Qaedisme et même aggravé la menace. Des réponses adaptées à la véritable menace renforcées par le respect des droits de l’homme, sont à mettre en œuvre au travers de nouvelles stratégies multidisciplinaires et synchronisées de déradicalisation qui passent par la guerre des idées pour dépolariser les relations entre les musulmans et non-musulmans. L’adoption de mesures préventives, proactives et réactives qui trouvent un équilibre entre les besoins de la lutte contre le terrorisme et les valeurs démocratiques fondamentales devra en tout premier lieu viser à gagner les cœurs et les esprits de toutes les parties et à former une alliance des civilisations. / Al Qaeda has become renowned thanks to a few symbolic pioneering terrorist attacks among which the most spectacular ones took place on 11 September 2001. The study of Al Qaeda’s complex profile with deep roots in history, politics and the society of the Islamic world, and of its evolution, helps to understand that the real menace comes not from one man, nor from a group, but from an overarching ideology dedicated to a defensive jihad, Al Qaedism. This radical ideology, built upon strong and coherent pillars, preaches a holy global war against the West. Radical fundamentalist ad hoc networks and local terrorist groups have amalgamated around the objectives and strategies of a common, codified Al Qaedism disseminated in cyberspace and have magnified the menace by reaching all the spheres of the international community. The dominating conservative political approach attempted in vain to prevent further terrorist attacks by putting in place a series of exceptional measures more repressive one than another. However, the growing radicalization and the unprecedented multiplication of terrorist attacks since 2001 demonstrate that the western models applied as such by Westerners to societies established on other fundamentals have not allowed to find a longstanding solution against Al Qaedism and rather increased the menace. Responses adjusted to the real menace, reinforced by the respect to human rights, have to be introduced by new multidisciplinary and synchronized strategies of deradicalization that take into account the war on ideas in order to depolarize the relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in the world. The adoption of preventive, proactive and reactive measures that find a balance between the needs of the fight against terrorism and the fundamental democratic values will have to aim first at gaining the hearts and minds of all the parties involved and to foster an alliance of civilizations.