Sarah Victoria Marsden

A Social Movement Theory Typology of Militant Organisations: Contextualising Terrorism

ABSTRACT Typologies are ubiquitous in terrorism studies, illustrating their continued appeal as a tool to further our understanding of this form of political violence. Despite this, to date, the promise of an empirically derived typology has largely been neglected. In addressing this gap, this article sets out a typology developed from Social Movement Theory. Using a novel statistical technique to derive a three-dimensional framework for categorising militant groups, the typology incorporates both organisational characteristics and the wider political context. The result is a typology defined by three conceptual constructs: political capacity, war-making capacity, and network capacity. Alongside these organisational features, imposing measures of the wider political opportunity structure reveals eight types of militant organisation. To explore the utility of the framework, a preliminary analysis interprets the typology in light of the presence of wider conflict. That a robust relationship is found between the various types and whether groups were operating in peacetime, civil war, or low-intensity conflict, goes some way to demonstrating its utility as an analytical tool. Conclusions draw attention to the importance of contextualising militant groups in their socio-political setting, and the benefits of combining theory alongside empirical analysis to develop robust characterisations of violent organisations.

Conceptualising ‘success’ with those convicted of terrorism offences : aims, methods and barriers to reintegration

Despite an increasing need to understand the aims of work with ex-prisoners convicted of terrorism offences, the knowledge base remains underdeveloped. Notwithstanding this limited theoretical and empirical foundation, practitioners in probation are increasingly faced with trying to successfully resettle these ex-prisoners. In the south of England, the organisation tasked with this work is London Probation Trusts Central Extremism Unit (CEU). Based on interviews and observational research with practitioners, this article sets out a framework for interpreting this works aims from a practitioner perspective. Alongside describing the 13 primary aims of successful resettlement, the research sets out what success would ‘look like’, as well as considering some of the challenges in interpreting and promoting positive outcomes. The CEUs model reflects a multimodal approach, speaking to both criminogenic needs, and the primary themes of desistance. Within this, practitioners try to encourage the probationers to take control of their own life and develop an agentic approach to their present and future. It is in this way that successful resettlement is conceptualised by practitioners working in this field. The implications of these findings for current debates over the appropriate focus of work on countering violent extremism and returnees from overseas conflict are also discussed.

Forest jihad : assessing the evidence for ‘popular resistance terrorism’

Despite increasing concern over the potential threat from “forest jihad,” there has been no systematic attempt to assess whether such attacks are in fact taking place. Drawing on principles from the geospatial profiling of terrorist events, fire-risk prediction data, and information on jihadist convictions, this article offers a thorough review of the evidence to address this question. The available information suggests that so far, jihadists have not attempted to attack North American or European wildlands by means of arson. Despite calls for “popular resistance terrorism” in the jihadist literature, and the apparently low costs associated with this type of attack, jihadists have so far shown little appetite for “forest jihad.”

Radical distinctions: a comparative study of two jihadist speeches

Work on contemporary instances of “violent extremist” texts tends to see these primarily as more or less instrumental extensions of political (or political-religious) movements. As a result, there are few studies that devote close attention to individual examples of the texts themselves. In this article, we offer a detailed analysis of two jihadist speeches by the prominent ideologues Adam Gadahn and the late Anwar al-Awlaki. We argue that Al-Awlaki’s work ultimately succeeds where Gadahn’s seemingly fails because it is underpinned by a form of fundamentalism which, paradoxically, is inherently premised on the survival of possibilities for dialogue and polyglossia.

Successful terrorism: framework and review

Is terrorism successful? This oft-asked but infrequently answered question is at the heart of understanding terrorisms use. Effective policy and practice rest on a clear appreciation of how terrorism succeeds and fails. This paper identifies and reviews the literature on terrorisms effectiveness and considers its strengths and weaknesses. To organise the review, a multi-level framework for conceptualising the goals of terrorism and its enactors is presented. Crucially, this includes the perspective of both sides of the conflict dyad, and considers the tactical, organisational, strategic and ultimate goals of extremist groups. This speaks to the need for a comprehensive framework within which to situate the question of terrorisms goals, and aims to assess the state of the knowledge with respect to terrorisms efficacy.

Reintegrating Extremists: Challenges and Opportunities

This final chapter draws together the empirical and theoretical insights developed through the book to describe an alternative way of approaching the reintegration of those involved in extremism. Interpreting the multiple aims implicated in this work using criminological theory suggesting a desistance or strengths-based approach, understood within an overarching framework of reintegration, seems to have significant promise. In particular, because of the specific features of politically motivated offending, often informed by the desire to achieve a subjectively defined positive future, the approach reflected in the GLM seems particularly well suited. This concluding chapter also examines the nature and implications of the barriers to reintegration faced by those with terrorism convictions. Finally, the implications for ‘foreign fighters’ returning from involvement in overseas conflicts are considered.

Reducing Risk and Encouraging Desistance

This chapter considers how the UK’s counterterrorism policy, known as CONTEST, has tried to prevent terrorism, with a focus on the probation service’s work and that of their community partners. Included here is a discussion of the aims of work with former prisoners. As intervention efforts with former terrorism offenders are in their infancy, reliable measures of appropriate aims and methods have yet to emerge. Developed from extensive interviews with practitioners, this chapter presents a framework for understanding what might constitute a successful outcome. Interpreting this framework using the wider literature on desistance from crime, three themes relevant to interpreting what success might ‘look like’ with this group are suggested: supporting reintegration, developing resilience and redirection of the motivation to commit terrorist offences.

Redirecting the Motivation to Offend

Significant barriers face those moving away from extremism, which in turn can have a tangible effect on the motivation to re-engage positively with the wider community. This chapter looks at how practitioners sought to elicit motivation from and provide support for those they worked with to build a more positive future. Developing the implications of this discussion, the chapter goes on to reframe how the process of moving away from extremism is conceptualised. Instead of the broad process models currently prevalent in the literature, the chapter argues we should instead consider how individuals may be encouraged to pursue primary human goods, such as relatedness, spirituality, community and agency, which have been recognised as important in the move towards and away from offending, most notably in the Good Lives Model.

Resilience and Belonging

Developing resilience to negative peer influence as well as to those political and social events that may inform the motivation to re-engage in extremism is vital to long-term desistance. In reviewing some of the methods tried by probation officers and community mentors to develop resilience, this chapter examines two issues: critical thinking and social identity. Nurturing critical thinking and critical consumption skills were considered vital to sustaining long-term disengagement. Similarly, developing a broader social identity rather than the single-minded focus on a narrow conception of identity related to the radical group was a central part of what practitioners believed was important. Interpreting these processes in the context of desistance-based models of reintegration offers a conceptual foundation for understanding why and how developing resilience is important.

Supporting Agency and Facilitating Reintegration

Although a widely used concept, there are theoretical, conceptual and empirical problems embedded within the ‘deradicalisation’ construct. One of these problems is the risk that it strips the individual of agency and implies that things are ‘being done’ to passive, weak-minded recipients, thus prioritising the effort to change attitudes and beliefs. This chapter examines how statutory and community-based organisations addressed the question of ‘deradicalisation’, finding success by focusing on developing individual agency and facilitating reintegration, rather than a concerted effort to force internal change. Discussion draws attention to the two-way notion of reintegration, that is, the need for both society and the individual to play a role in producing successful outcomes.