AN international £2.7 million study being led by Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) will focus on practical ways to reintegrate back into society young people who have been radicalised.
Researchers from the university and 16 other countries will examine the growing threat from lone-wolf acts of terrorism and far-right nationalist groups across Europe.
De-Radicalisation in Europe and Beyond: Detect, Resolve, Re-integrate (D.Rad), will try to identify trends in radical ideologies and help to shape policies to improve social inclusion, as well as forecasting the potential impact on society of the widening inequalities which have been created by Covid-19.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning will also be used in attempts to understand how radicalisation can develop over time.
These will utilise information that has been gleaned from online interactions, including social media, blogs and discussion forums.
The project has secured more than €3m from the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 fund and will have a focus on practical ways of reintegrating radicalised young people back into society.
Professor Umut Korkut, Dr Xander Kirke and Dr James Foley will head the Glasgow team on D.Rad, which will be based at GCU’s WISE Centre for Economic Justice.
Prof Korkut said: “Cultural and political polarisation are facts of life in most countries and this is driving marginal people, particularly in online forums, to embrace extreme ideologies.”
“The roots of this often lie in economic and democratic failures, as well as the psychologies of individuals.
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“Government de-radicalisation programmes suffer from a narrow focus on individual pathology and from a perception that they seek to penalise the Muslim community.
“With the far-right becoming one of Europe’s biggest threats, we cannot repeat the mistakes of the past.
“At the heart of radicalisation are feelings of injustice, leading to grievance, alienation and polarisation.
“The injustice is felt in everyday life – the more aggrieved you feel, the more you feel alienated from society.”
Over the next three years, evidence will be gathered from international research teams including the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Finland, Slovenia, Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Georgia and Austria.
The aims of the university’s research will be to highlight the different experiences of young people and excluded communities, as well as offering “policy and practical recommendations” to the members of the European Union on how to improve inclusion within society.
Community leaders, social workers and youth groups will be among those that will be encouraged to work on proposals that will help to reconcile grievances and foster stronger links with the community for those who may feel marginalised.
Prof Korkut said: “Alienation and perceived injustices are grounded in how people view their relationship to citizenship, culture and community.”
He continued: “The goal [of the research] is not to de-politicise or achieve apathy, but rather to inspire ownership of issues of injustice, to convert tendencies that could lead individuals to radicalisation into activism, volunteering or alternative forms of civic engagement.”
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