POL335 - Policing, Intelligence and Counterterrorism Essay 1

1 Found helpful • 4 Pages • Essays / Projects • Year: Pre-2021

First 1,500 word essay for POL335 - Policing, Intelligence and Counterterrorism. Essay topic/question: Security agencies involved in counterterrorism believe that radicalisation is a complex process that operates through multiple pathways. What is radicalisation and what are the main pathways through which it operates? Give suitable examples to support your argument. Introduction: Understanding the radicalisation process and the pathways through which it operates is a crucial component of counterterrorism efforts. Understanding how individuals and groups are radicalised, where it happens and what the facilitating factors are will allow security agencies to not only better identify terrorist suspects but also to tackle the problem of terrorism in its early stages (Kleinmann 2012, 290-292). This essay aims to identify the main pathways of radicalisation through an analysis of the conceptual models used to explain radicalisation. The first part of this essay attempts to answer the question, what is radicalisation? It is important to note that even once a good working definition of the concept is decided upon, it is still difficult to identify exactly how the radicalisation process operates when the contributing factors are incredibly multifarious. There are a number of sociological and psychological theories on the topic with some studies identifying over two-hundred factors influencing the radicalisation process (Marret et. al. 2013, 137). Borum addresses this in his paper, Radicalization into Violent Extremism II: A Review of Conceptual Models and Empirical Research, concluding quite simply that “Different pathways can lead to radicalization (sometimes called the principle of equifinality); conversely, different persons on a shared pathway or trajectory may have different outcomes (sometimes called the principle of multifinality)” (Borum 2012a, 57). The second part of this essay analyses the main pathways through which radicalisation operates, these being grievances, social inclusion/group affiliation, and thrill seeking. This essay concludes that while significant progress has been made in understanding the radicalisation process, more empirical research needs to be done in order to better assist security agencies involved in counterterrorism.

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