Radicalisation of ‘lone actors’

Publikation: Beiträge in SammelwerkenKapitelbegutachtet

Authors

  • Francis O’connor
  • Lasse Lindekilde
  • Stefan Malthaner

Lone-actor terrorism is a low-frequency phenomenon. Many people adopt extremist or radical views that endorse the use of violence, but only an infinitesimal minority ever conduct individual acts of violence or terrorism. Moreover, lone-actor terrorists are often thought to prepare and perpetrate violent attacks on their own but also as predominantly ‘self-radicalized’ individuals. How are they socialised into radical worldviews and/or how do they adopt violent forms of action without the support of militant groups and radical milieus? Research in recent years has confirmed that so-called lone actors are in fact not as ‘lone’ as the description seems to suggest. As much as collective radicalisation is a relational process driven by interactions with other individuals, movements, and institutions in one’s immediate social environment, lone-actor radicalisation is similarly relationally informed. The ‘loneness’ of lone actors is always relative and never absolute and is itself a form of relational configuration. Drawing on the Lone Actor Radicalisation and Terrorism (LART) dataset (N=306), this chapter identifies the emergence and development of the field, with a particular focus on the most recent innovations and transformations of lone-actor radicalisation. The chapter makes the case for a relational perspective. We argue that, in addition to examining the social and personal backgrounds and histories of these perpetrators, we need to examine the dynamic social processes in which lone-actor attacks are embedded, as shaped and driven by online as well as offline relations and interactions.

OriginalspracheEnglisch
TitelThe Routledge Handbook on Radicalisation and Countering Radicalisation
HerausgeberJoel Busher, Leena Malkki, Sarah Marsden
Anzahl der Seiten18
VerlagTaylor and Francis Inc.
Erscheinungsdatum01.01.2023
Seiten213-230
ISBN (Print)978-0-367-47684-7, 978-1-032-57380-9
ISBN (elektronisch)9781000992694, 978-1-003-03584-8
DOIs
PublikationsstatusErschienen - 01.01.2023

Bibliographische Notiz

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 selection and editorial matter, Joel Busher, Leena Malkki and Sarah Marsden; individual chapters, the contributors.

DOI