Radicalization Models of Terrorist

Radicalization Models of Terrorist
Student Name
Department, University
Course Code: Course Name
Professor’s Name
Due Date
Radicalization Models of Terrorist
Radicalization can be conceptualized as the process where different actors, such as individuals and groups, adopt extremist ideologies and engage in violent acts. In this regard, the radical group or individual may choose to support terrorism as well as participate in violent activity in society. Radicalization is a complex field of study, and many theories vary on the number of steps individuals take to engage in a violent act. The report compares and contrasts social movement and cognitive approaches detailing how they explain the motivations for individuals to join violent extremist groups. In addition, the report summarizes the behavioral as well as psychological factors associated with disengaging from terrorism. Lastly, the paper incorporates a description of the most effective programs to counter radicalization and their rationales.
Comparing and Contrasting Social Movement and Cognitive Radicalization Models
There exist tremendous differences between the social movement and cognitive radicalization theories in explaining terrorists’ motivations. The cognitive radicalization model emphasizes extremist ideologies to explain why an individual would join a terrorist organization. The proponents of cognitive radicalization theory support the view that individuals’ intrinsic forces motivate them to engage in violent or extremist activities. In addition, the cognitive radicalization model also argues that violent extremist organizations such as Al-Qaeda legitimize their violence on other individuals or communities based on fundamentalist and mistaken interpretations of Islamic religious doctrines against people with different belief systems or faiths. In this context, false interpretations constitute increasingly specific ideals, including believing that the Western world is morally corrupted. The extremist terrorist groups believe that such corruption and moral decay offer an impetus for Christians in Western countries to oppose Islam and its related cultural beliefs. Therefore, violent Islamic extremist groups support jihad as well as martyrdom as legitimate causes via which they can protect their beliefs from Western and Christian influence (Hardy, 2018).
On the other hand, the Social Movement Theory views social networks and the linked emotional connections, socialization, and political identities as crucial in motivating terrorists to engage in radicalization. It provides an approach to evaluate the feedback techniques in the community, including media coverage and government countermeasures on the radicalization process. It provides an approach to understanding violent radicalization with a more precise dimension anchored on the comprehensive political mobilization processes and dynamics. Accordingly, solidarity among group partnerships is reinforced explicitly by the risk conditions to which persons belong and harmonizes with a developing sense of responsibility among participants of a particular group in a social setting. Furthermore, group memberships can lead to motivation radicalization by making it difficult to return once...