RT Article
T1 Armed and Explosive? An Explorative Statistical Analysis of Extremist Radicalization Cases with Military Background
JF Terrorism and political violence
VO 35
IS 3
SP 518
OP 532
A1 Haugstvedt, Håvard
A2 Koehler, Daniel
LA English
YR 2023
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1843246821
AB Extremist infiltration of armed forces, and the spread of violent radicalization among service members and former soldiers, are a growing international concern. With an increased number of active duty and former soldiers involved in extremist and terrorist milieus, the public fears that national security might be compromised by potential terrorists using their training, equipment, and networks against the countries they swore to protect. This is a serious impediment to the trust in authorities for many nations. However, little empirical research exists on either the scope of the problem, or the specific risk factors that might be involved in turning military personnel toward extremism. In this paper, we utilize the “Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States” (PIRUS) dataset to shed light on the vulnerability and risk factors into the extremist radicalization of military personnel. Our findings indicate that far-right radicalized individuals with military backgrounds are more likely to suffer from trauma, a diminution of social standing, having difficulties in romantic relationships, and exclusion from participation in social groups or organizations, compared to far-right radicalized individuals without military backgrounds. Mental illness, grievance, and anger toward society are also more present in the far-right military group compared to the non-military group.
K1 Extremism
K1 military background
K1 extremist radicalization
K1 PIRUS
DO 10.1080/09546553.2021.1957675