The role of social capital in the perception of images of the Islamic State
| Published date | 08 January 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JACPR-01-2017-0270 |
| Pages | 46-60 |
| Date | 08 January 2018 |
| Author | Andrey Petrovich Koshkin,Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zhidkih,Andrey Vadimovich Novikov |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Aggression, conflict & peace,Sociology,Gender studies,Gender violence,Political sociology, policy & social change,Social conflicts,War/peace |
The role of social capital in the perception
of images of the Islamic State
Andrey Petrovich Koshkin, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zhidkih and Andrey Vadimovich Novikov
Abstract
Purpose –The terrorism of “Islamic State”(IS) is increasingly coming to be seen as a complicated and
complex phenomenon permeated with various political goals and personal interests. The effectiveness of
terrorist recruiters determines the need to identify the reasons for the appeal of the IS image and for the
effectiveness of IS propaganda in different population layers and social groups. From this perspective, it is
crucial to identify the significant social factors that are most affecting the perceptionof the terrorist activities of
“IS”and their role in creating and shaping IS images. The purpose of this paper is to determine the role of
social capital in the perception of the IS image.
Design/methodology/approach –The study is based on the findings of a sociological survey of a sample
comprising 881 Russian students. In this research, six scales were used to identify the attitude of Russian
students toward IS: informational awareness of IS; theimage of IS fighters; the image of IS as an organization;
attitude to an anti-terrorist policy; the role of the mass media; the level of social capital. Factorial analysis of the
main components was conducted for each of the scales.
Findings –Subsequently, the correlation analysis of the relationship of social capital to the perception of the
image of “IS”was conducted. Six main IS images were identified in the minds of the students. The research
results show that survey participants with high levels of social capital are significantly more negative in their
perception of the activities of the terrorist organization in question.
Originality/value –From this perspective, it is crucial to identify the significant social factors that are most
affecting the perception of the terrorist activities of “IS”and their role in creating and shaping IS images.
This study focuses on determining the role of social capital in the perception of the IS image.
Keywords Trust, Social capital, Images, Islamic state, Anti-terrorism policies, Perception of terrorism
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Amid an increased activity of Islamic State (IS) recruiters among the Russian youth, there is a
growing public concern about the effectiveness of the humanistic function of modern higher
education.Only in the past few years, about5,000 people left Russiafor IS, while a large proportion
of them werenot only representativesof the marginalized stratabut were also people with higheror
incompletehigher education (Kazancev,2016). This experience shows that neitherthe possession
of higher educationnor high awareness of “IS”criminal activitiesare an unconditional guaranteeof
protection from the effects of terrorist propaganda. It is possible that there are other more
significant social factors, including social capital, either hindering or facilitating the recruitment of
new terrorists and a specific perception of terrorist organizations’activities.
In line with R. Putnam definition, social capital is manifested through connections between
people and institutions –social networks, standards of interaction, and trust that promote
mutually beneficial coordination and cooperation (Putnam et al., 1993). Thus, the level of trust
and communication with public institutions can influence significantly the changes in perception
of terrorist activities carried out by different social groups (Giordano and Lindström, 2016).
At the present time, the relevance of studying the relationship of social factors and the perception
of terrorist organizations’image is due to the following circumstances. First, the administration of
Received 26 January 2017
Revised 20 March 2017
Accepted 23 April 2017
Andrey Petrovich Koshkin is the
Head of the Department of
Political Science and Sociology,
Plekhanov Russian University
of Economics, Moscow,
Russian Federation.
Vladimir Aleksandrovich
Zhidkih is based at the
Department of Political Science
and Sociology, Plekhanov
Russian University of
Economics, Moscow, Russian
Federation.
Andrey Vadimovich Novikov is
an Assistant in the Department
of Political Science and
Sociology, Plekhanov Russian
University of Economics,
Moscow, Russian Federation.
PAGE46
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JOURNAL OF AGGRESSION, CONFLICTAND PEACE RESEARCH
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VOL. 10 NO. 1 2018, pp. 46-60, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1759-6599 DOI 10.1108/JACPR-01-2017-0270
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