Transcript Understanding and Supporting the Role of Youth in

Understanding and Supporting
the Role of Youth in the
Prevention of Violent Extremism
UNDP GLOBAL MEETING ON PVE
OSLO, 15 MARCH 2016
#YOUTH4PEACE #ENDEXTREMISM
Youth Radicalisation and Political
Violence in the Digital Era
Dr Akil N Awan
Associate Professor of Political
Violence & Terrorism
Royal Holloway, University of London
Twitter: @Akil_N_Awan
Defining Radicalism or Extremism
A Definition of Radicalism
Radicalism involves either:
1) Acceptance or espousal of beliefs,
ideas, & attitudes that contradict or
fall outside of range of acceptable or
mainstream views within their own
societies
German Neo-Nazis
protesting outside
a refugee shelter
OR
2) The employment
of illegal methods
or strategies in
pursuing ideas &
beliefs, irrespective
of the legitimacy &
mainstream
acceptability of
those ideas.
Animal rights group
encouraging arson
A Definition of Radicalism
So, radicalism involves the
transgressing of either:
mainstream beliefs and ideas
OR
legitimate methods and strategies
Not always bad: Positive social
change also begins on peripheries of
mainstream & is radical to begin with
Radicalism as a Youth Phenomenon
Historically, youth drawn disproportionately to
radical activities & movements
Red Guards with Mao during
the Cultural Revolution
Name can reflect a youth demographic
al-Shabaab = The Youth
Taliban = Students
Jihadism today almost exclusively associated
with young men under 25, & originates in
regions experiencing youth bulge.
Accounting for Youth-Radicalism Nexus
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No simple cause & effect calculus
Can identify certain critical factors
which might make youth more
susceptible to radical narratives or
groups
3 Most important factors:
 Identity crises/Quest for Meaning
 Politics disenfranchisement
 Socio-economic inequality.
Identity Crises/Quest for Meaning
Individuals seek comfort in beguiling narratives
offering safe & welcoming community of likeminded ‘outcasts’.
THE NEED TO BELONG
University
‘Radicalism’
Political Disenfranchisement
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Disillusionment / alienation from traditional
political processes, institutions & structures
Recourse to protest and demonstrations
Radicalism results from soured idealism.
Socio-economic Inequality
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Linked to socio-economic inequalities that
disproportionately impact young people
May find ‘solutions’ in extreme organisations
and movements.
The ‘youth bulge’ within many societies
correlates with periods of political unrest.
The ‘New’ Media Environment
Digital Native vs Digital Immigrant
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For young people, little new about the new media
environment. Rather, only media environment.
For newer generation of political actors, most social &
other interaction already takes place within new
media environment => unsurprising that political
activism or radical escapism should do so too
Online Echo Chamber Effect
Paradox of New Media Enviornment
Access to Staggering amount of information BUT
users choose to cocoon themselves within an
insular community
Might Radicalism be a Good thing?
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Radicalism not necessarily a bad thing
Radicalism indicates a political awakening for
young people  Opposite can be apathy
How to divert very same energies hijacked by
extremists & radicals towards positive ends
Can be normal part of Political Socialization
“If you’re young and you’re not a radical,
you've got no soul; whereas if you’re old
and still a radical, you've got no sense”
Available on
www.youth4peace.info