Punitive law enforcement increases extremism while postexit isolation pulls leavers back

Evidence

Punitive interventions by law enforcement also often led to paradoxical effects of increased extremism. Upon leaving extremist organizations, six cases described feeling drawn back to organizations or ideologies. This was linked to missing the thrill and other psychological benefits of being involved in radical extremism, exacerbated by postexit social isolation and triggered by current events. — 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

Categorization

• QUESTION: This bears directly on the withdrawal-of-conflict hypothesis: treating extremists as enemies may entrench rather than dissolve adversarial identity. Worth chasing the six relapse cases in later chapters.
• XREF: The thrill-and-identity-loss driving relapse resembles the dope-sick quality of ‘missing the old life’ in addiction recovery literature, and the substitution of identity needs. — connects to: Anti-terror suspicion and discrimination can push people toward 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; Attempting to quit extremism can itself escalate a person into a worse group — 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:…, 366; Deradicalization depends on abandoning stop-gap measures that keep former extremists trapped in the past — Amy Fisher-Smith, Charles R. Sullivan, John D. Macready, and Geoffrey Manzi, Identity Reconfiguration and the Core…, 670 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Anti-terrorist suspicion itself can drive people into extremism. #expands (0.85) — 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
• Deradicalization depends on abandoning stop-gap measures that keep former extremists trapped in the past #corroborates (0.82) — Amy Fisher-Smith, Charles R. Sullivan, John D. Macready, and Geoffrey Manzi, Identity Reconfiguration and the Core…, 670
• Anti-terror suspicion and discrimination can push people toward extremism #expands (0.80) — 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
• Attempting to quit extremism can itself escalate a person into a worse group #corroborates (0.78) — 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, 366