PROTECTION FACTORS AND RISK FACTORS FOR DISENGAGING FROM JIHADIST VIOLENT EXTREMISM: STUDIES ON THE VARIABLES “OF BECOMING” OF 450 JIHADISTS

Abstract

This article presents the first prospective sample of 450
French youngsters who tried to join ISIS between 2014
and 2016. They were followed during two years by a
multi-disciplinary team, in the scope of a ministerial
mission. Through a qualitative and quantitative way, we
explored their micro and macro characteristics. We also
cleared risk and protection factors that could facilitate
their disengagement from violent extremism.
In the first part, the tool is presented as using socio-psychological variables: sociodemographic, individual and
family characteristics, personal history before radicalization,
family history, etc.
The results display that the contemporary “jihadist” speech
reached many different individuals on cultural and social
levels. On the other hand, similarities intersect on several
variables: young age; migratory history leading to, not
necessarily a cultural change but a social stigma; the
existence of psychological vulnerabilities and notably an
anterior traumatic event frequently not treated which led
to a lowered level of life signification.
The results of the comparison between the “deradicalized”
group (57% who grieved the utopia of the Divine law to
handle a society), the “disengaged” (24% who broke up
with their group and gave up the use of violence), and
those who are still radicalized (20%), show that the failure
concern youngsters who were in touch with leaders and
who were trained to combat zones (7.5%).
About the majority of our sample who were arrested before
their depart for the Iraqi- Syrian zone, the risks factors are
mainly proximity variables: knowing a radicalized relative; being married to a radicalized; having indoctrinated
someone through physical contact (and not by internet);
knowing a relative who was incarcerated. The last risk
factor relates to the engagement motive: individuals who
were seeking for almightiness were harder to treat.
Protection factors appear as variables related to resiliency.
We formulate the hypothesis that our psycho-educative team
has easily filled and repaired the radicalized’ psychological
vulnerabilities manipulated by the recruiters (rather than
the social vulnerabilities whose compensation requires more
time). Thus, the “our successes” group show the following
characteristics: having brutally lost one parent, having
been followed for depression before radicalization, having
been followed by a psychologist prior to radicalization,
beneficiated a psycho-educative measure since the detection
of radicalization; having been detected early (for minors
and females).
A variable appears as a risk factor and a protection factor:
“being issued from an Arab Muslim family” appears as a
positive variable of becoming to disengage from violence
(disengagement). But it appears as a negative variable of becoming to grieve the utopia of a regenerated world with
Divine law (deradicalization).
Then, we postulate that the 24% of disengaged, even though
they are counted by authorities as “successes” in so far as
they gave up violence and their group, are only a relative
success. Indeed, they could join another group that would
have the same goal (to institute a “real Muslim country)
and that could pretend they do not apply violence.
We are aware of the limit of this study, which shows a
bias since the sample is composed by families who had
enough trust in the State to notify their relative to the
police authorities through the Green line. There is also
an over-representation of middle classes and of female
radicalized individuals. But we believe that these results
can help guiding prevention and exit of radicalization
policies.