Beyond the crime-terror nexus: socio-economic status, violent crimes and terrorism
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JCRPP-02-2017-0010 |
| Pages | 158-172 |
| Published date | 18 September 2017 |
| Date | 18 September 2017 |
| Author | Vanja Ljujic,Jan Willem van Prooijen,Frank Weerman |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology |
Beyond the crime-terror nexus:
socio-economic status, violent
crimes and terrorism
Vanja Ljujic, Jan Willem van Prooijen and Frank Weerman
Abstract
Purpose –The literature on terrorism suggests a strong link between criminal offending and terrorism –the
crime-terror nexus. Building upon a strain theory perspective, the purpose of this paper is to suggest that
devalued socio-economic status (i.e. limited education and unemployment) and criminal pastdefine the pool
of people from which violent and terror offenders may be recruited.
Design/methodology/approach –The current study compares three sources of data on educational and
employment characteristics of violent and terror offenders: Dutch statistical data (CBS) including the Police
Recognition System (HKS) on violent criminals, the findings on jihadist networks and the open access on
European terrorists.
Findings –The majority of Dutch violent offenders, foreign fighters and European terrorists have only
completed secondary school (or lower) and were unemployed in the year of offending. Half of recent
European terrorists had previously been involved in violent crimes and/or had joined jihadi groups abroad.
Research limitations/implications –Onelimitation of the study concerns the exploratory use of secondary
and open-access data. While it was impossible to establish causality with the current methodology, these
findings highlight the background conditions under which violent and terrorist crime can originate, and
suggest one of the mechanisms that shapes the crime-terror nexus. Future research would benefit from more
work identifying the causal antecedents to terrorism.
Practical implications –Whether relative deprivation is a direct cause or merely an amplifying factor in
criminal motivation needs to be scrutinized in future research. However, its consideration may have great
implications for policy and law enforcement agencies.
Social implications –An individual’s desire to improve status and personal significance by the virtue of
illegal activity may be particularly salient in the context of cultural polarization, which manifests as decreased
trust and loyalty toward national laws and institutions. Parallel to preventive and security measures, it may be
worthwhile to encourage multicultural associations and community networks in support of mutual (interethnic
and interreligious) understanding.
Originality/value –The paper explores one of the ol dest factors that has been suspected of leading to
terrorism in lack of economic or educational opportunity. However, the paper also offers a new perspective
on how these factors ma y relate to participat ion in terrorism. Rath er than claiming these factors directly
cause terrorism, the au thors take a strain theor y perspective to argue th at these strains induc e fewer
opportunities to engage in terrorism and provide individuals with the skills/strength to resist
de-radicalization or counter-radicalization.
Keywords Education, Employment, Terrorism, Crime-terror nexus, Strain theory, Violent crimes
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Out of all forbidden, punishable and illegal acts, many people perceive terrorist crimes as
one the most formidable threats to national security. Indeed, terrorist acts indiscriminately target
civilians, as demonstrated in recent lethal attacks on European soil (e.g. Paris, Nice, Brussels,
Istanbul and Berlin). According to the Dutch Criminal Code, terrorism includes a wide
array of criminal offenses that are planned, prepared and/or committed with a terrorist intent
Received 8 February 2017
Revised 25 April 2017
30 May 2017
Accepted 17 June 2017
Vanja Ljujic is a Postdoc
Researcher, Jan Willem van
Prooijen is an Associate
Professor, Frank Weerman is a
Senior Researcher, all at The
Netherlands Institute for the
Study of Crime and Law
Enforcement, Free University
Amsterdam, Amsterdam,
The Netherlands.
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VOL. 3 NO. 3 2017, pp.158-172, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2056-3841 DOI 10.1108/JCRPP-02-2017-0010
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