International Journal of Conflict and Violence (IJCV - Universität Bielefeld)
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Dissecting Deradicalization: Challenges for Theory and Practice in Germany
Full text linkCompared to the topic of radicalization, deradicalization was long treated as secondary in research, at least until recently. This article outlines the most important findings from theory and practice in three steps by: (1) discussing and reviewing existing classifications and typologies, (2) suggesting a conceptualization of the term “deradicalization” while considering discourses about the roles of ideology, identity and risk, and, based on this, (3) providing an overview of the empirical case of practical work in Germany. It turns out that central actors from practice, academia, (security) authorities and politics not only use different definitions, but there is also little agreement on what deradicalization (practically) means. The German case shows that the landscape of deradicalization, differentiated into four fields of action, is highly diverse. However, the existing hybrid model of state and civic competences as well as the variety of approaches and actors should – with proper accentuation – be seen as an opportunity
Evident and Effective? The Challenges, Potentials and Limitations of Evaluation Research on Preventing Violent Extremism
Full text linkRadicalization and its prevention have increasingly become the subject of public debate in academia and in the political arena. The impact of prevention efforts is subject to public scrutiny – not only because these efforts, if successful, contribute to the common good, but also because many countries have increased public spending on prevention based on this justification. Evaluations can analyze impact and effectiveness and thereby advance knowledge about how prevention operates within different social contexts and what kind of outcomes it produces. However, there are significant challenges to developing a robust basis of evidence in the field of Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE). On the one hand, practitioners and scholars debate the notion of “evidence-based approaches”, e.g. with regard to methods of data collection or appropriate evaluation designs, while some fundamentally question the concept itself. On the other hand, expectations regarding the capability and feasibility of outcome evaluations are often inflated and incompatible with real-world conditions in PVE practice. This article addresses some of the challenges that researchers face when conducting outcome evaluations in the field of PVE and it suggests pragmatic solutions. It sheds light on the state of evaluation in PVE, focusing on the German context, and gives recommendations pertaining to the commissioning, planning, implementation and utilization of (outcome) evaluations
Manufacturing Polarisation in Contemporary India: The Case of Identity Politics in Post-Left Bengal
Full text linkThis article explores ethnographically the manufacturing of religious polarisation and violence in West Bengal, India. Since 2014, India has experienced a rise in religion-based identity conflict. Although West Bengal experienced riots during the partition of India, it remained unaffected during the subsequent three decades of Left rule. More recently, however, secular democratic forces have been marginalised and riot-like conflicts have emerged. We argue that identity consolidation in West Bengal is part of an increasing trend of religious polarisation in the country. To bridge the gap between scholarly discussions on the concepts of secularism and communalisation, the paper presents micro-narratives illuminating the background of religious polarisation and violence. We provide ethnographic details of the mechanisms by which religious identities are consolidated. With a case-based approach, this article unearths the mechanisms of identity-based polarisation, and its politicisation in a region which has not experienced this level of violence for several decades
The Cost of Defection: The Consequences of Quitting Al-Shabaab
Full text linkThis study investigates defections from the Al-Shabaab insurgency in Somalia. Thirty-two disengaged Al-Shabaab combatants were interviewed about their motivations, grievances, needs, and challenges in relation to the recruitment, defection, and post-defection phases. This paper focuses on post-defection challenges, where we found the primary concern to be lack of personal security. Without adequate security, disengaged combatants are vulnerable to being hunted and killed by Al-Shabaab. This significant threat discourages further mass and individual defections. We also found that disengaged combatants joined and defected out of religious zeal, to fight for what they believed to be a holy Islamic cause. This same zeal led them to defect, as they came to believe Al-Shabaab was not obeying the true Islamic faith. Indiscriminate killing by Al-Shabaab disenchants its religiously pious members, creating an opportunity to encourage mass and individual defections. However, if disengaged combatants are not protected from retribution, defection will lose its appeal
State Weakness and Regional Security Instability: Evidence from Africa’s Lake Chad Region
Full text linkThere is a considerable evidence showing that many states in the Global South are very weak, and therefore struggle to carry out basic responsibilities of statehood. While a handful of studies have examined problems associated with state weakness, there is a paucity of scholarly literature that thoroughly explores its empirical implications on regional security. It is on this note that this article draws on the contemporary developments in the Lake Chad region to elucidate the nodes that connect state weakness and regional security instability. It argues that any state that cannot efficaciously control its borders, promptly respond to security emergencies and demonstrate substantial institutional capacity in addressing citizens’ needs is vulnerable to create regional insecurity, especially when the neighbouring states share similar attributes. The article concludes that an alternative approach to ensuring lasting regional security in such regions, especially in the present Lake Chad region, is deliberate commitment to state-building
Political Mobilisation as the Trigger of Xenophobic Violence in Post-Apartheid South Africa
Full text linkWhat triggers xenophobic violence in South Africa? By answering this deceivingly simple but critical question, this paper highlights an often-missed empirical factor and key element in the xenophobic violence causal chain: mobilization. Drawing from extensive, comparative empirical data and global literature, the paper argues that, while macro and micro-level socio-economic and political circumstances are important elements in heightening tensions and creating collective discontent, anger and resentment towards foreign nationals, it is the mobilization of this discontent and not the discontent itself that triggers xenophobic attacks in locations where they occur. Mobilization is the vital connective tissue between discontent and xenophobic violence. Local violence entrepreneurs use well-known mobilization techniques, including haranguing and parochial patronage, to stir crowds into targeted and well-organized violent attacks of foreign nationals in South Africa. While this argument is in line with existing theoretical approaches that emphasize mobilization as a key causal factor in the occurrence of collective violence, the paper provides useful solid empirical backing these still hesitant approaches require to consolidate their explanatory value and efficacy
Unofficial Storytelling as Middle Ground Between Transitional Truth-Telling and Forgetting: A New Approach to Dealing With the Past in Postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina
Full text linkIs transitional truth-telling more beneficial to reconciliation than remaining silent about past crimes? The aim of this article is to contribute to the debate by exploring the impact of “My Story,” an NGO initiative that uses multiethnic storytelling by victims of the Bosnian war to promote reconciliation. We report field observations and the results obtained from interviews with young Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs. Empathy, as a reported outcome of the storytelling, seems to enable deeper reflection and attitude change. Respondents reported reduced prejudice, competitive victimhood and blaming, and increased interest in information about the outgroup, increased interest in peace activism, a change of emotions toward the outgroup and feeling guilt for the misdeeds of their ingroup. We conclude that this storytelling initiative is beneficial and worth spreading internationally. It deconstructs many of the same factors that prevent reconciliation that truth commissions aim to deconstruct, while improving interethnic attitudes and enabling to look toward the future, as forgetting does
Necro-spaces and Violent Homicides in Mexico
Full text linkThis article focuses on the spatial autocorrelation of homicidal violence and the presence of groups that have the capacity to exercise sovereignty. These actors possess necro-power and operate sometimes within, sometimes outside the framework of the law. They are sometimes in opposition to one another, while at other times they operate in a coordinated fashion. Their presence gives form to what we shall call necro-spaces: places where different actors (hitmen, dealers, the police or the military) spread death and destruction, in indefinite confrontations with no foreseeable victor. The methodology of our analysis of the spatial autocorrelation of homicidal violence at the municipal level in the years 2005, 2010 and 2015 enabled us to connect the spatial relationships among the homicides with descriptions of the groups that build regimes of violence in those spaces
Using Participatory Visual Methods in the Study of Violence Perceptions and Urban Space in Mexico
Full text linkThe contribution investigates the experience of using visual participatory methods of data collection, auto-photography and community mapping, in the context of urban planning, violence and insecurity problems in Mexico. Two case studies examine peripheral communities in the cities of Aguascalientes and Culiacan where different manifestations of violence are present. The contribution explores the potential of participatory visual methods in capturing perceptions of violence and makes the case for their use in planning processes, as more appropriate methods are needed to capture perceptions of violence and insecurity in urban areas. The rationale, methods and results of community mapping and auto-photography are discussed, as well as some potential challenges and theoretical limitations