Anti-terror suspicion and discrimination can push people toward extremism

Evidence

Bhui and colleagues make another important point: A public health approach might also prioritize understanding the effect of radicalization and terrorist acts on social cohesion. For example, accusations or suspicion that one is a terrorist or discrimination of a person or group thought to be terrorists could create social conditions (e.g., isolation, exclusion, unemployment) that may make some persons vulnerable to extremist ideology or violence. Family and friends of individuals who have radicalized may be an especially vulnerable group. Ensuring that families and friends of those who have radicalized are supported after learning that their family member or friend has radicalized may be a critical component for countering future radicalization and terrorist acts. — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 120

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Being recruited, seen, and valued is a powerful early pull into extremism. — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America:…, 373; Punitive law enforcement increases extremism while postexit isolation pulls leavers back — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America:…, 47; Anti-terrorist suspicion itself can drive people into extremism. — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America:…, 120 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Anti-terrorist suspicion itself can drive people into extremism. #corroborates (1.00) — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 120
• Need for significance predicts extremism mainly when combined with discrimination or activist identity #expands (0.82) — Lea Echelmeyer, Anne-Marie Slotboom, and Frank Weerman, The Putative Effect of Identity on…, 234
• The presumption of Muslim terrorism shapes both state discrimination and Muslim response #expands (0.78) — Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamophobia and the…, 66