How has ISIS been so successful in Recruiting Young People Internationally?
Author: Gülfer Ulaş, Kadir Has University, Department of International Relations
On a day-to-day basis, thousands of young people have been travelling from Western countries to the Middle East to join violent extremist groups. However, it is a myth to think that terrorists and extremists are all naturally violent individuals or sociopaths. The goal of this piece is to show how they are deliberately recruiting and contemplate the factors in what might draw a young person towards extremist ideologies. So, in this piece, I want to look at one of the controversial aspects of the terrorism issue. Notably, I want to examine psychological and sociological factors to understand how young people are being allured to join violent extremist organisations, and how likely it is possible to prevent this.
This piece aims to clarify the given assumptions on the recruiters’ motivations and support the main argument, which is that young people have been increasingly becoming radicalised. In doing so, the paper focuses on ISIS (Daesh) as it has been a unique expression of contemporary terrorism (Neumann, 2009) with its structure and modus operandi, and young individuals being a part of it.
I should primarily begin by noting the popular assumption that terrorists and extremists are all insane or violent psychopaths. Instead, social structures and non-pathological and psychological traits explain how they might be possibly radicalised in a unique process. So contrary to what is assumed, the process can usually be observed within bottom-up factors. In this regard, it is useful to remember Olivier Roy’s approach to the issue as terrorist organisations are conducting sympathy, and young people inherently want to be part of them (2004). In the case of ISIS, for example, the brand ‘Caliphate’ offers a new world order, and young people allured to participate in this rebellious movement.
The lure of terror
Radicalisation is an extremely complex human socio-environmental issue. To understand this, the broad categorisation has been made by experts in the field as “push factors” and “pull factors”. These are mainly conducted around alienation, isolation, rage, fear, trauma, revenge, identity problems (Choudhury, 2007, Roy, 2004), and relative deprivation (Gurr, 1970) that leads young people to violent radicalisation and make hijrah (migrate) to join ISIS. The push factors rely on socio-economic pressures such as unemployment, lack of self-esteem, humiliation (Stern 1999, 2003; Juergensmeyer, 2000; Richardson, 2006), and seeking for a new adventure that pushes to rebel. Unlike the push factors, pull factors mainly revolve around ISIS’s intense recruitment propaganda strategies and building a utopian “Caliphate state” goal. It fundamentally focuses on what a person gains as becoming involved in an extremist organisation (DIIS, 2015). In this sense, offerings by ISIS, such as a sense of belonging and brotherhood/sisterhood discourses, play an immense role.
Those who join voluntarily are appealed by the group-based identity against cultural threats (Darden, 2019), and seek fame, dignity, and respect through ISIS. In this sense, not just a utopia is offered within a spiritual purpose, but also a chance at being a hero is offered (Stern, 2003). To that extent, Western military interventions and support for oppressive regimes (Pape, 2006) in the Middle East, and the Syrian War have been among the constant storytelling of ISIS.
Recruiters, who are mostly second or third-generation immigrants, are challenged by some cultural norms in Western society. Since they start to school and grow up, many Muslim children of Europe find themselves torn apart between their families and the country they were born in. Extremist and terrorist groups take advantage of the vulnerability of young people and channel it towards violence (Khan, 2017). Their feelings are mostly distorted for spiritual and divine purposes by offering a sense of belonging and being loved with sisterhood and brotherhood discourses.
ISIS also uses the empathy factor while creating awareness for its audience. In this regard, the “end of the ummah” and “call for jihad” discourses play a significant role. Often, violent groups portray the world as “good” and “evil”. Therefore, there has been a Manichean approach to the matter. The definition of the “other” appears as part of a black and white portrayal of the world (Stern & Berger, 2015). This empathy approach is also revealed in Olivier Roy’s Jihad & Death, where he explains how the jihadist fight occurs from other’s suffering (Roy, 2017).
In the aftermath of 11 September, ISIS has been unprecedented in terms of state-building claims and reaching a majority of young people across 34 countries (CTC, 2018). Meanwhile, we saw a huge increase in the number of women recruiters (ICSR, 2019) too. Women sympathetic to ISIS deliberately seek to challenge modern Western-imposed gender norms and emphasise their rejection of liberal “Western feminism” (Al Khansaa Brigade 2015, 2-29). Paradoxically, many of them ended up being kidnapped or sex slaves in ISIS.
The role of the internet
How ISIS emerged as one of the world’s most successful terrorist organisations in recruiting a high number of people can only be understood by analyzing its propaganda strategies. One of the key aspects appears to be the internet and the usage of social media. We have seen members of ISIS tweeting, sharing their life experiences through messaging apps (Telegram), magazines (Al Dabiq and Al Rumiyeh), and other forms of propaganda for audiences, where they become a hero and idol for many young people. Since the internet has been a great facilitator, the moment you show some sort of interest for groups like ISIS with any posts, you start to get messages online (Bloom, 2011), and connecting with many other recruiters.
However, the internet does not radicalize people. It is only a tool and a powerful catalyst for many recruiters for radicalisation, particularly into violent extremism. As for females, apart from women who are kidnapped or forced to join ISIS, in many cases, they are mainly naive, travelling with family and friendship networks. There is a useful piece, “How Western women join ISIS?” in Marie Claire magazine, demonstrating how the process begins and progresses online (Storey, 2016).
Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that any migrant can experience these processes, but that does not necessarily mean that they are going to attend violent extremist groups. The Pew Research suggests that there are hundreds of Muslims around the world sympathetic to jihadi aspirations, but they do not engage with violence (Lipka, 2017). In attempting to understand this, it is critical to check the past mobilizations of foreign fighters and build preventive measures at a large scale accordingly. More specifically, how individuals perceive and respond to his or her environment posits a great place.
Studying Prevention - What can be done about it?
The extraordinary issue about ISIS is their so-called state “Caliphate”. Since they defined their actions under a territorial claim, the need for women, family, public affairs, engineers, and other elements for a state-building has been crucial. In this sense, it has demonstrated an impressive capacity to recruit young people of almost every age, background, and gender. Regarding young people’s motivations, nuanced findings shed light on possible prevention strategies with cooperation among family, classroom resources, the public, internet, and government sectors.
At the same time, classroom “storytelling” could be useful. In Canada, for example, there has been a programme called “Extreme Dialogue”[i] since 2015. It is guiding practitioners to challenge extremism as well as training workshops for young people and equipping them on the issue. Subsequently, in the UK, there is also a government-based Commission[ii], as well as research centres, and helpful websites, including “Educate Against Hate”[iii] for tackling extremism. These developments aim to show young people that they are not alone and being cared for by family, friends, and teachers.
Besides, I should note that media narratives and glossy newspapers’ headlines help shape public opinion toward different societal issues. Insulting descriptions and false sensationalised headlines attributed to a minority group naturally lead to increased prejudices against that group, and this can lead to further confusion and isolation of the minority group (Saltman, 2015).
Additionally, the use of the term “jihadi bride” still takes place in the headlines[1] for female recruiters and ignoring the complete understanding of female’s motivations into violent extremism. Women and children are particularly vulnerable to forced marriages and kidnappings, and any prevention efforts should pursue gender-neutral strategies that cover girls and women.
On a final note, creating a wide influence on populations must be the hardest part of the countering process. While the population gets intense, creating conventional solutions gets equally difficult. So far, studying push and pull factors fundamentally helps us understand the different profiles of people. However, if policymakers particularly consider the strategic logic of ISIS, there could be more sufficient countering efforts to build resilience. Otherwise, it will continue to flourish and persist as a daunting task.
References
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[I] https://extremedialogue.org
[II] https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/commission-for-countering-extremism
[III] https://educateagainsthate.com
Cover picture: https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2018/05/18/national-silence-to-mark-manchester-arena-attack-anniversary/