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Description

"In what follows, we explore how researchers studying key issues in terrorism and extremism studies have incorporated formers into their work by tracing current trends in the empirical research in a North American context. First, we examine how those relying on interviews with formers have uncovered a complex web of overlapping push and pull factors that predispose extremist onset. Second, we explore how the use of formers to understand radicalization processes has provided valuable insight that would not have been available through secondary sources. Third, we discuss how formers have better informed our understanding of the processes of leaving extremism. Last, we describe some of the ways that formers have informed research on combating extremism. Highlighted throughout this chapter are key gaps in the empirical literature and suggestions for progressing research. But before proceeding, it is necessary to outline how we conceptualize “former extremists.” They are individuals who at one time in their lives subscribed to and/ or perpetuated violence in the name of a particular extremist ideology and have since publicly and/ or privately denounced violence in the name of a particular extremist ideology. In short, they no longer identify themselves as adherents of a particular extremist ideology or are affiliated with an extremist group or movement."

ISBN

9780197765067

Publication Date

10-29-2024

Publisher

Oxford University Press

City

New York, NY

Comments

In Gordon Clubb, Ryan Scrivens, and Md. Didarul Islam (Eds.), Former Extremists: Preventing and Countering Violence.

Peer Reviewed

1

Copyright

University of Maryland National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) 2024

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Former Extremists in North American Research

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