Understanding Digital Media and the Lifecycles of Bangladeshi Violent Extremists
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Type
ThesisThesis type
Doctor of PhilosophyAuthor/s
Parvez, Md SaimumAbstract
Despite a large number of studies on violent extremism and online radicalization, there exists a lack of a theoretical framework to explain the role of digital media. Moreover, the number of empirically grounded studies that would support the theories is also minimal. Against this ...
See moreDespite a large number of studies on violent extremism and online radicalization, there exists a lack of a theoretical framework to explain the role of digital media. Moreover, the number of empirically grounded studies that would support the theories is also minimal. Against this backdrop, this project aims to move the existing literature forward theoretically and empirically and fill in the gaps. Building on John Horgan's (2014a) process model, I construct a theoretical framework explaining the role of digital media in the process of becoming violent extremists. The framework argues that participating in violent extremism is a process, and there is no single pathway to violent extremism. Digital media is one of the factors that motivate individuals in their journey to becoming violent extremists. I argue that digital media's role could be explained in three phases; recruitment, strengthening, and attack. To test the arguments, first, I develop a dataset comprising of micro-data of 370 violent extremists, including their socio-demographic traits and their pattern of using digital media. Second, I conduct interviews of the key informants of violent extremism, namely law-enforcement officers, security experts, and journalists, and analyze online jihadi materials to find the impact of digital media on violent extremism. After analyzing the profiles and contents, I find that digital media provide greater reach to the recruitment targets by providing access to the previously unreachable demographic, such as women and westernized youths. Besides greater reach, digital media help to strengthen beliefs in the jihadi ideology of the recruits by disseminating jihadi online narratives and enabling continuous interactions among the jihadists. In this phase, the recruits become actively engaged in violent extremism and prepare themselves for participation in the attack. Eventually, in the attack phase, digital media provide previously unattainable opportunities for violent extremists. By providing an in-depth analysis of five violent extremist lifecycles, this study also demonstrates the presence of online and offline factors in violent extremist lifecycles in varying degrees. The analysis finds that, in most cases, online-offline factors interact and are intertwined with each other.
See less
See moreDespite a large number of studies on violent extremism and online radicalization, there exists a lack of a theoretical framework to explain the role of digital media. Moreover, the number of empirically grounded studies that would support the theories is also minimal. Against this backdrop, this project aims to move the existing literature forward theoretically and empirically and fill in the gaps. Building on John Horgan's (2014a) process model, I construct a theoretical framework explaining the role of digital media in the process of becoming violent extremists. The framework argues that participating in violent extremism is a process, and there is no single pathway to violent extremism. Digital media is one of the factors that motivate individuals in their journey to becoming violent extremists. I argue that digital media's role could be explained in three phases; recruitment, strengthening, and attack. To test the arguments, first, I develop a dataset comprising of micro-data of 370 violent extremists, including their socio-demographic traits and their pattern of using digital media. Second, I conduct interviews of the key informants of violent extremism, namely law-enforcement officers, security experts, and journalists, and analyze online jihadi materials to find the impact of digital media on violent extremism. After analyzing the profiles and contents, I find that digital media provide greater reach to the recruitment targets by providing access to the previously unreachable demographic, such as women and westernized youths. Besides greater reach, digital media help to strengthen beliefs in the jihadi ideology of the recruits by disseminating jihadi online narratives and enabling continuous interactions among the jihadists. In this phase, the recruits become actively engaged in violent extremism and prepare themselves for participation in the attack. Eventually, in the attack phase, digital media provide previously unattainable opportunities for violent extremists. By providing an in-depth analysis of five violent extremist lifecycles, this study also demonstrates the presence of online and offline factors in violent extremist lifecycles in varying degrees. The analysis finds that, in most cases, online-offline factors interact and are intertwined with each other.
See less
Date
2020Publisher
University of SydneyRights statement
The author retains copyright of this thesis. It may only be used for the purposes of research and study. It must not be used for any other purposes and may not be transmitted or shared with others without prior permission.Faculty/School
Faculty of Arts and Social SciencesSchool of Social and Political Sciences
Department, Discipline or Centre
Department of Government and International RelationsAwarding institution
The University of SydneyShare