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And if there were another way out? Questioning the prevalent radicalization models

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Abstract

Violent radicalization is increasingly conceptualized as a public health issue, associated with psychological distress, a sharp increase in discrimination and profiling, and an increase in hate crime and some types of terrorist acts.

This brief paper addresses the limitations of the current conceptual models of violent radicalization. Beyond understanding the path leading from radicalization of opinion to violent radicalization, it proposes to consider the non-violent outcomes of radicalization of opinions in the current social context and to study these outcomes in multiple settings for both minorities and majorities. Moving beyond the implicit linearity of current models and promoting a systemic vision would help to decrease the actual profiling of targeted communities and support the design of community-based prevention programs structured on these alternative outcomes, and in particular on the emergence of social solidarities in groups expressing discontent with the status quo.

Résumé

p ]La radicalisation violente est de plus en plus conceptualisée comme une question de santé publique, associée avec de la détresse psychologique, une augmentation importante de la discrimination et du profilage, de même que des crimes haineux et de certains types d’actes terroristes.

Cet article interroge les limites des modèles conceptuels prévalents de la radicalisation violente. Au-delà de la compréhension des trajectoires conduisant de la radicalisation des opinions à la radicalisation violente, il propose de porter attention aux évolutions non violentes de la radicalisation d’opinion, et d’étudier ces évolutions dans de multiples sites en considérant à la fois les dynamiques des majorités et des minorités.

Dans une perspective systémique, dépasser la linéarité implicite des modèles actuels permettrait de réduire le profilage des communautés ciblées et de soutenir l’élaboration de programmes communautaires de prévention, visant à favoriser ces évolutions non violentes, et en particulier l’émergence de solidarités sociales dans des groupes exprimant un mécontentement face à l’ordre social actuel.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Social and Cultural Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, 7085 Hutchison, Local 204.2, H3N 1Y9, Canada

    Cécile Rousseau MD (Professor)

  2. Département de psychologie, Université du Québec à Montreal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Ghayda Hassan PhD

  3. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Youssef Oulhote PhD

Authors
  1. Cécile Rousseau MD
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  2. Ghayda Hassan PhD
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  3. Youssef Oulhote PhD
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Correspondence to Cécile Rousseau MD.

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Rousseau, C., Hassan, G. & Oulhote, Y. And if there were another way out? Questioning the prevalent radicalization models. Can J Public Health 108, e633–e635 (2017). https://doi.org/10.17269/CJPH.108.6233

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.17269/CJPH.108.6233

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