Description
Choose one of the following essay questions:
1. ‘All terrorists are radicals, but not all radicals are terrorists’ (Neumann, 2008; 2013; 2016).
What does this statement imply? Can a person be radicalised and never turn to terrorism? Critically motivate your answer referring to relevant literature discussed during the sessions.
‘2. Shock, demolish and rebuild’ (Orofino, 2015; 2020) is a common strategy used by extremist and terror groups to recruit and ‘fidelise’ their members. How does it work? Explain and discuss.
3. Discuss how effective the CONTEST strategy has been in combatting extremism in the UK.
4. Shamima Begum– who fled the UK when she was 15 to join ISIS – has said her ‘whole world fell apart’ when she discovered that she had been stripped of her British citizenship (The Guardian, 2020 (Links to an external site.)).
Discuss the case of Shamima Begun in light of the ‘factors of radicalisation’ and the theoretical models (i.e. ‘staircase, pyramid and conveyor belt to terrorism’) studied during the sessions.
Develop a critical argument explaining why Shamima decided to join ISIS espousing their ideological cause.
5. Hizb ut-Tahrir and the English Defence League – apparently very different but with a lot in common! Use the two groups as case-studies to compare and contrast Islamist and far-right non-violent extremism and explain how the two can strengthen each other in a vicious cycle.
Make sure you develop a clear argument, critically discuss your ideas and the motivations you decide to include in your essay.
Make sure you include relevant academic literature on:
The theoretical models explaining the escalation from radicalisation to extremism and terrorism
The triggers that push individuals towards radical and extreme beliefs, i.e. ‘emotional factors’ and the ‘environmental factors’
The process of recruiting and ‘fidelisation theoretical models’of members within an extremist group
The impact and implications of counter-terrorism policies, prevention strategies and disengagement programmes
