Radicalisation to commit terrorism from a political socialisation perspective in Kenya and Uganda

[摘要] English: Preventing and combating terrorism should start with understanding what drives an individual toresorttoterrorism,takingintoconsiderationthatnotallpeopleexperience thesame externalcircumstances –notevenpeoplegrowingupinthesamehousehold.Inorderto understandradicalisation,thisstudyasksthequestiontowhatextentpoliticalsocialisation can explain the participation of individuals in terrorist organisations in Kenya and Uganda. Is thereadifferenceintheapplicablefactorsbetweenthedivergentideologicalframeworksof the Allied Democratic Forces and the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, and al-Shabaab and the Mombasa Republican Council in Kenya? To establish this, 285 interviews were conducted withmembersofthesefourorganisationsandthefamiliesofal-Shabaabmemberswhohad been killed or incarcerated, or who had disappeared in Kenya. This study found that political socialisation,startingwiththefamily,peers,school,media,earlierpoliticalexperiencesand the terrorist group, played a distinctive role in each of these organisations. In addition to the differences,whichcreateadistinctiveprofileforeachorganisation,thestudyalsonoted remarkablesimilarities,startingwithpersonalitytypes,positioninthefamilyandeducation (orthelackthereof).Withthisinmind,canlawenforcementandsocialorganisationsbe guided to identify and reach individuals at risk? The process of answering this question starts withcallingongovernmentsandtheirsecurityforcestounderstandtheuniquenessofeach organisation. In other words, to copy and paste counterterrorism strategies between countries iscounterproductive.Theonlyinclusive findingacrossorganisationsandbetweencountries hastodowiththemannerinwhichcountriesandtheirsecurityforcesrespondtothese organisations. Strategies based on ethnic and religious profiling, mass arrests and even torture proved to be extremely counterproductive. On this note, the study found that both Kenya and Ugandahavebeenunabletoestablishaninclusivenationalidentity.Instead,religiousand ethnic identity drives political exclusion and relative deprivation. One of the key findingsof thisstudyisthatonlyaverysmallminorityisdrivenbypurelyeconomiccircumstance. A core component among individuals being radicalised relates to the fact that people lose their trust in politicians and the political system, while anger and frustration are directed at security agencies that are presented as agents protecting the current regime at any cost. Consequently, instead of preventing and combating terrorism, these approaches ensure that people experiencing the mentioned strategies –and even their family members –are radicalised. The preventionofunconventionalpoliticalparticipationshouldthereforestartwithcreatinga political landscape in which people, especially those being marginalised, can express themselves freely. Additionally, the legitimacy of the political process can only be ensured if thepoliticallandscapeisfreeandfair.Therefore,thelegitimacyofthegovernment,the measuressecurityagenciesimplementtorespondtothesethreats,andthepotentialfor unconventional political participation are interlinked. The study also found that education is a keyfactorinensuringlegitimateparticipationinthepoliticalprocessandthemosteffective strategy to prevent relative deprivation.

[发布机构] University of the Free State