Attitudes towards radicalising to violent extremism among Australian Muslims : role of structures, social dynamics and social identity

Abstract

There is a gap in the literature regarding why some people turn to violent acts of extremism and the vast majority of people living in the same settings adopt lawful means. Researchers have discussed the psychological disposition of terrorists, but they have not agreed on a profile that fits for all times and places. Social psychologists would hold that terrorists are made, not born, pointing to more than 70 years of research. A thorough research of existing literature in the field of social psychology on terrorism covers issues of social identity theory, social categorisation and social comparison. Social identity has been identified as one key contributor to political violence or terrorism, given that a mutual social identity that mimics that of the group means that one will come to see the world through the lens of the group. This study seeks to determine the impact of structures on social identity, as well as the social dynamic, and whether these enhance susceptibility to radicalising towards violence. Potential structures include: damaging political discourse, negative media portrayal, Islamophobia, and racism. These can produce perceived distance to others, and a sense of disconnection from society. The social dynamic involves perception of injustice and experiences of racism. A survey consisting of 200 participants revealed that, i) alienation increases susceptibility to radicalising to violent extremism, ii) structures give rise to a sense of alienation, iii) the greater the sense of belonging, the greater the rejection of violent dispositions towards the West and its allies, iv) Muslims feel a great sense of belonging to Australia, but are angered by the existing structures, v) the greater the religiosity, the greater the connection to Australia and the greater the rejection of violent dispositions towards the West and its allies, vii) there is a great sense of perceived injustice towards [from?] the Muslim community. The findings of this project have implications for Government policy direction and better direction on countering violent extremism.

Date of Award	2017
Original language	English