IJCV Focus Section on ‘Radicalization’
Resulting from findings of the BMBF-funded project “Extreme Society: Radicalization and Deradicalization in Germany” (2017–2020), a Focus Section on radicalization has been published in International Journal of Conflict and Violence (IJCV) (open source). The seven contributions in the Focus Section take stock of the state of research on radicalization and deradicalization and pave the way for a further comparative, empirical and international research agenda.
All contributions share a broad understanding of the contested concept of radicalization while accentuating the concept to fit its specific topic. This broad perspective is elaborated in the first contribution (Abay Gaspar et al.) in a manner that does justice to both the processual logic of the term and the span from non-violent to violent types. The spectrum of the following six contribution ranges from the individual (Pisoiu et al.) and the collective level radicalization (Meiering et al.), radicalization of whole societies and its link to polarization (Herschinger et al.); as well as deradicalization and prevention (Baaken et al.), the online dimension of radicalization and extremism (Winter et al.), and evaluation of preventive measures (Armborst et al.). The seven articles are accompanied by two international commentaries, that discuss their findings and draw connections.
Guest editors of the Focus Section are Julian Junk, Clara-Auguste Süß, Christopher Daase and Nicole Deitelhoff.
The chapters in detail:
- What Do We Know about Radicalization? Overview of the Structure and Key Findings of the Focus Section
Julian Junk, Clara-Auguste Süß, Christopher Daase, Nicole Deitelhoff - Radicalization and Political Violence – Challenges of Conceptualizing and Researching Origins, Processes and Politics of Illiberal Beliefs
Hande Abay Gaspar, Christopher Daase, Nicole Deitelhoff, Julian Junk, Manjana Sold - Factors of Individual Radicalization into Extremism, Violence and Terror – the German Contribution in a Context
Daniela Pisoiu, Andreas Zick, Fabian Srowig, Viktoria Roth, Katharina Seewald - Connecting Structures: Resistance, Heroic Masculinity and Anti-Feminism as Bridging Narratives within Group Radicalization
David Meiering, Aziz Dziri, Naika Foroutan - A Threat to Open Societies? Conceptualizing the Radicalization of Society
Eva Herschinger, Kemal Bozay, Magdalena von Drachenfels, Oliver Decker, Christian Joppke - Dissecting Deradicalization: Challenges for Theory and Practice in Germany
Till Baaken, Judy Korn, Maximilian Ruf, Dennis Walkenhorst - Online Extremism: Research Trends in Internet Activism, Radicalization, and Counter-Strategies
Charlie Winter, Peter Neumann, Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, Magnus Ranstorp, Lorenzo Vidino, Johanna Fürst - Evident and Effective? The Challenges, Potentials and Limitations of Evaluation Research on Preventing Violent Extremism
Inga Nehlsen, Janusz Biene, Marc Coester, Frank Greuel, Björn Milbradt, Andreas Armborst - Radicalization: Trajectories in Research, Policy and Practice
Sarah Marsden - What Do We Know about Radicalization? A Commentary on Key Issues, Findings and a Framework for Future Research for the Scientific and Applied Community
Sarah Knight, David Keatley