At risk for radicalization and jihadism? A population-based study of Norwegian adolescents

Abstract

Little is known about attitudes among ordinary adolescents in favour of the use of political violence and radicalization. We draw on a survey from a population sample of adolescents ( n = 8627) in the Norwegian capital, Oslo. We first compared adolescents with Muslim, Christian and no religious affiliation with regard to attitudes in favour of the use of violence for political purposes and support of those who go to Syria to take part in active combat. Muslim youth reported higher levels of support for the use of violence to obtain societal change than did other adolescents. The same pattern was revealed with regard to support for the fighters in Syria. After control for other variables, Muslim affiliation had no impact on attitudes in favour of politically motivated violence, though it remained significant for support for the fighters in Syria. However, here as well we found associations with poor school grades, conduct problems and exposure to violence, possibly indicating an emerging adolescent ‘outsider’ position. Political activity on social media also played a role. Such attitudes rarely develop into politically motivated violence and jihadism. However, for a small minority, they may represent the first step in that direction.

Domestic Support for Foreign Fighting: Attitudes Towards the Use of Violence Abroad

“…The significant association between economic identification and support for participation in foreign fighting is significant across all the three initial models. This differs from the findings of the Pedersen et al (2017) study which used a more objective measurement of socio-economic position, rather than the subjective measurement included in these models.…”

“…The Young in Oslo report, from which the empirical data in this article stem, indicates that overall the scale of criminal activity amongst teenagers in Oslo has been reduced significantly in recent years (Andersen and Bakken 2015). At the same time the previous study done on the Young in Oslo data found a significant association between general conduct and extremist attitudes, indicating that anti-social behaviour might play an important role in explaining who radicalises and who does not (Pedersen et al 2017). The study found that extremist attitudes amongst Norwegian youths followed the outlines of what they described as an "outsider" position amongst those exhibiting extremist or radicalised attitudes toward political violence (ibid).…”

“…Larger cross-national surveys conducted in Europe have not focused on foreign fighting and attitudes regarding the use of political violence abroad, making the Young in Oslo data very novel and making further quantitative studies on the topic possible. A previous study using the Young in Oslo data found that anti-social behaviour was connected to attitudes about fighting in Syria (Pedersen et al 2017), while this article will investigate this further by looking at the crime-radicalisation nexus which posits a possible connection between more common forms of crime and participation in what we traditionally call political violence.…”

The pains of detainment: Experience of time and coping strategies at immigration detention centres

“…Although motives for such conversions may be complex, scholars have argued that seeking religious meaning to resolve and interpret discontent (‘spiritual seeking’) may be a primary motivation (Hamm, 2009; Pedersen et al, 2018). In prison, religious shifts can serve as a tool for ‘identity maintenance’ (Kerley and Copes, 2009), a way to face crises of self-narratives (Maruna et al, 2006) and a strategy to come to terms with own offence and shame management (Crewe et al, 2017).…”

The Shift from Consumers to Prosumers: Susceptibility of Young Adults to Radicalization

“…A study conducted by Pedersen et al (2018) of 8627 teenagers in Oslo, Norway, found that Muslim youth in Oslo were more likely to support the use of violence to obtain social change compared to other adolescents. However, after controlling for several other variables, Islam did not have a significant relationship with providing support for political violence.…”