Preliminary Research Design

Uncategorized 5 Minutes

Dutch Radicalisation Research: Useful or Problematic?

Introduction:

“Since 2004, the term ‘radicalisation’ has become central to terrorism studies and counter-terrorism policy-making. As US and European governments have focused on stemming ‘home-grown’ Islamist political violence, the concept of radicalisation has become the master signifier of the late ‘war on terror’ and provided a new lens through which to view Muslim minorities.”    

This is a quote from a British political writer named Arun Kundnani, in which he states that western governments have shifted their focus in terms of radicalisation over the last 14 years. Research in to the field of radicalisation today focusses on Muslims within the western country in which this research is done. Why is this the case? Governments obviously see ‘home-grown’ radicalisation as a threat to national security and want to find out how to counter it. But what can the way in which this research is conducted and the results that it has had thus far tell us about the governments themselves? Is it at all helpful to conduct this kind of research? It appears that these types of research often do not lead to a satisfactory conclusion as they often refer to statistics that do not point to a clear radical profile.

Research question:

When it comes to radicalisation and governmental research that does not lead to satisfactory conclusions, one can ask questions regarding the use of these types of research and perhaps the dangers that accompany it. To formulate a possible research question concerning this topic that is more viable, it can be useful to look at a single western government and how this government deals with the research of radicalisation. For this research the Netherlands might be a country which can be interesting as a case study. To formulate a research question; “Is governmental research concerning radicalisation in the Netherlands useful in its current state?”

Historiography:

Since 2012, Islamist radicalisation within countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium has led to the departure of citizens of these countries to areas of conflict such as Syria and Iraq. These developments have been closely monitored and studied by intelligence agencies such as the Dutch AIVD and magazines such as Magazine: Nationale Veiligheid en Crisisbeheersing. They have identified phases which have an effect on radicalisation among individuals in the Netherlands. Phases mentioned are; self-identification (association with a fundamentalist role model), us-them thinking, social interaction (isolation e.g. not attending school anymore), individual characteristics (strong emotions that might not have been there before regarding certain topics), association with an extremist group (attending events that are associated with an extremist group). These are elements which intelligence agencies look out for when monitoring society in an attempt to identify possible threats. To acquire a clearer view on the matter, intelligence agencies also try to chart all the statistics surrounding radicalisation in terms of age, income, gender, family. However, most of these studies do not supply a satisfactory answer to what creates a Muslim extremist and possible danger. Arun Kundnami is a political writer who addresses problems regarding research on radicalism and his works offer a fresh insight in to the whole ordeal of possible dangers concerning research on Muslim radicals within western countries. According to Kundnami, certain types of research into radicalisation tend to create a sense of othering by creating so called ‘suspect communities’ and this might spark further islamophobia, or on the flipside, further radicalisation.  

The AIVD has focussed their attention on Salafism in the Netherlands. According to this intelligence agency there is ‘active re-education’ in progress concerning Islamic beliefs within the Netherlands. This ‘moral re-education’ is focussed on Sunni communities in Dutch mosques, as there seems to be a rise in the influence by young Salafist individuals who strive to change the existing Sunni norms within these mosques. According to the AIVD, violence has been used on multiple occasions to achieve certain goals. The AIVD pays close attention to vulnerable groups in society that might be easily influenced by this type of incluence. Children and refugees are the main two groups that are considered to be vulnerable to Salafist ideas, as they are in need of education and want to engage in group activities which (under Salafist influence) might seclude them from the rest of Dutch society and makes them more easily manipulated. The AIVD sees it as their duty to reduce national threats towards Dutch society that might stem from Salafism. To do so, the agency closely monitors mosques and individuals that encounter Salafist ideas.

Many research papers have been written over the years concerning not only the groups that are at risk of radicalising, but also how to possibly deal with these groups. Certain research papers encourage Dutch citizens to not problematise the situation and to not generalise Muslims. Support for diversity is also encouraged to lessen the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims.  However, within the same papers there is evidence of the notion of othering within society on both sides. One report by the Dutch police academy states that notions of ‘enmity and hate’ towards Dutch society within the so called ‘suspect communities’ are increasing. Not only are these notions applicable to the stance of Salafism towards Dutch society, but also their stance towards other Muslims as they are also subject to enmity and hate. By labelling ‘suspect communities’ in which Salafist ideas are present, there is also a risk of creating ‘others’ within society and these ‘others’ can use that notion for their own benefit, which is something that the Dutch government does not want to happen.

The whole matter is thus very difficult and a definite answer on how to deal with the circumstances at play has not been found yet. The way in which the Dutch government deals with radicalisation is conducted with the goal of maintaining and increasing the well-being of society as a whole, but it might have negative effects that should be researched as well.  


Justification of sources and methods:

To research this topic, most sources used are research papers concerning the radicalisation of Dutch society, many of which are written by government agencies. As mentioned before, an inspiration on the topic of whether radicalisation research is problematic is Arun Kundnani. I have formulated a research question following his concerns and will be applying his views on the Dutch case. The sources listed below will be researched with his views in mind and I will have to determine if the research regarding radicalisation is useful in its current state.

 

 

 

Published by Glenn de la Vieter

Published

Leave a comment