Terrorist groups recruit through family and intimate personal bonds that substitute for kin.

Evidence

Observers of terrorism in West Germany have also noted the importance of personal connections and relatives in the process of joining a group (Jäger, Schmidtchen, & Süllwold, 1981; Wasmund, 1982). Wasmund discovered a large number of couples and brothers and sisters participating in terrorism. This finding reinforces his argument that the terrorist group is a family substitute. Jäger (1981, pp. 156–157) noted that in some cases relationships with other influential persons were so significant that without them the terrorist’s personal development would have taken a different course. Leaders of terrorist groups often fill the role of mentor, becoming substitute parents. Similarly, in the Basque resistance, young recruits frequently joined under the influence of older militants (Clark, 1983). Couples also are commonly found in Italian terrorist groups, and Japanese terrorist Kozo Okamoto followed the lead of his older brother. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4111

Categorization

• XREF: Parallels Coleman’s social capital model — strong ties transmit influence and norms, whether toward the Catholic-school dropout benefit or toward radicalization. — connects to: Al-Qaeda recruits Western residents and recruits adolescents craving easy certainties — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 1437; Homegrown Western recruits join al-Qaeda to resolve internal adolescent tensions — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 1437; Extremist groups recruit by supplying the kinship and belonging that members lacked. — 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:…, 372 (+2 more)