At risk for radicalization and jihadism? A population-based study of Norwegian adolescents
| Author | Anders Bakken,Willy Pedersen,Viggo Vestel |
| Published date | 01 March 2018 |
| Date | 01 March 2018 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0010836717716721 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0010836717716721
Cooperation and Conflict
2018, Vol. 53(1) 61 –83
© The Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/0010836717716721
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At risk for radicalization and
jihadism? A population-based
study of Norwegian adolescents
Willy Pedersen, Viggo Vestel
and Anders Bakken
Abstract
Little is known about attitudes among ordinary adolescents in favour of the use of political
violence and radicalization. We draw on a survey from a population sample of adolescents (n
= 8627) in the Norwegian capital, Oslo. We first compared adolescents with Muslim, Christian
and no religious affiliation with regard to attitudes in favour of the use of violence for political
purposes and support of those who go to Syria to take part in active combat. Muslim youth
reported higher levels of support for the use of violence to obtain societal change than did other
adolescents. The same pattern was revealed with regard to support for the fighters in Syria. After
control for other variables, Muslim affiliation had no impact on attitudes in favour of politically
motivated violence, though it remained significant for support for the fighters in Syria. However,
here as well we found associations with poor school grades, conduct problems and exposure
to violence, possibly indicating an emerging adolescent ‘outsider’ position. Political activity on
social media also played a role. Such attitudes rarely develop into politically motivated violence
and jihadism. However, for a small minority, they may represent the first step in that direction.
Keywords
Adolescents, Islam, jihadism, political violence, radicalization, survey, Syria
Introduction
In a recent evaluation by the Norwegian Security Police Force, extreme Islamic milieus
were considered the most dangerous threat to national security (PST, 2015). Several fac-
tors were emphasized, such as (i) the ability of these milieus to recruit new supporters;
(ii) the fact that Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) now functions as a unifying sym-
bol; and (iii) the increasing number of Norwegians who have experienced combat in
Corresponding author:
Willy Pedersen, Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1096,
Blindern 0317, Oslo, Norway.
Email: willy.pedersen@sosgeo.uio.no
716721CAC0010.1177/0010836717716721Cooperation and ConflictPedersen et al.
research-article2017
Article
62 Cooperation and Conflict 53(1)
Syria. Unemployed persons and marginalized segments of the immigrant population are
regarded as being at risk for radicalization. Another element is that several of the leaders
of the radical Islamic movements are convicted criminals.
This concern echoes developments in other Western countries (PEW, 2015). For
example, in France, Spain and the UK, the proportion of the population who are ‘very
concerned about Islamic terrorism’ has increased over the last five years. The same
development is evident in Muslim countries such as Palestine, Lebanon and Pakistan,
although the figures there are lower. The increasing worry obviously reflects fear in the
wake of the 2004 train bombings in Madrid, suicide bombings in London a year later, the
Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris and the recent ‘black Friday’ massacre. The increasing
number of militants who have gone to Syria to fight and the existence of developed
jihadist networks in Europe are new aspects of this situation (Nesser, 2015). At the begin-
ning of 2016, an estimated 4500 Westerners have joined ISIS and other militant groups
in Syria, and pose a possible risk of ‘returnee violence’. Females are also increasingly
finding roles in this movement (Bergen et al., 2015).
The Norwegian Security Police Force acknowledge that we know little about the
broader groups of young people who hold ideologies that may be potentially transformed
into radical Islamism. The present study is aimed at providing new knowledge regarding
such issues using a population sample of Norwegian adolescents. We emphasize that, for
most adolescents, the ideas and ideologies we uncovered do not represent a security
threat. However, we identify broader ideological streams that, for some, could be trans-
formed into more direct, radicalized attitudes and subsequent behaviours.
Radicalization and jihadism
The term radicalization has been intensely debated over the past decade (Neumann,
2013), but is often regarded as a conceptual response to the emergence of ‘home-grown’
terrorism in Western Europe. Many countries have established ‘counter-radicalization’
programmes, which has led to institutionalization of the term. However, the term is used
in a number of ways, based on different agendas; different contexts for use have also
been identified as important for the standard connotations (see Sedgwick, 2010). It has
also been suggested that, when studying adolescent populations, it is necessary to make
a distinction between ‘true’ radicalization and a more general expression of youthful
revolt and solidarity with the Muslim world (Kühle and Lindekilde, 2010). There appears
to be a growing consensus that the key dimension of the term is the combination of (i)
certain attitudes; and (ii) the willingness to take part in actions for reaching certain goals.
A distinction between ‘activism’ and ‘radicalism’ has been suggested, in which the for-
mer is defined as readiness to engage in ‘legal and non-violent political action’, whereas
the latter is defined as the readiness to engage in ‘illegal and violent political action’
(Moskalenko and McCauley, 2009).
The radicalization concept is often linked to the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, as
the war and the subsequent occupation increased frustration across the Islamic world
and facilitated recruitment to militant groups and to the so-called ‘global jihadism’. The
term seems to have its origin in the Middle East in the 1960s and 1970s, in the context
of broader socio-revolutionary movements. These groups were initially fighting over
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