Pathways Towards Radicalisation: What Role for Family? A Comparative Analysis of Violent and Non-Violent Extremism in the United States and the United

Despite an abundance of knowledge on the causes and mechanisms of radicalisation, empirical research on the complex links between family and violent/non-violent extremism largely remains a terra incognita to modern academic studies. Conventional wisdom indicates that in some cases family members can assume an active role in radicalisation, as they can directly pass on extremist and terrorist ideologies. Other cases show that only a latent role would exist. That is, in certain situations unstable family conditions might somehow provide a fertile breeding ground for radicalisation. Finally, there are also cases suggesting that family would not play any role in radicalisation at all. Within this picture, the proposed study is intended to contribute a significant piece of the puzzle by empirically examining the extent to which family dynamics and background may affect different pathways to radicalisation. Drawing from interviews with a medium sample of former British and American extremists, the proposed study will use a combination of fuzzy-set/Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fs/QCA) and Social Network Analysis (SNA) in a sequential mixed-methods research design. Phase one will employ fs/QCA to analyse the radicalisation process of the sampled individuals in order to: 1. Determine the existence of possible patterns of radicalisation and elucidate their drivers. 2. Examine the impact that family may have on such patterns. 3. Generate more accurate hypotheses to test in phase two. Based on the findings derived from phase-one, phase-two will apply SNA to :1. Compare the structural characteristics of the family system of the sampled individuals. 2. Assess the roles played by different familial actors in the radicalisation of their loved ones. By uncovering causal mechanisms of radicalisation, this investigation will produce a rich empirical account of how extremism is transmitted between and across generations, the similarities and differences in the way individuals from different ideological backgrounds engage in extremist behaviours, and the direct and indirect influence of family on radicalisation. This in turn might be used by practitioners to help at-risk parents to recognise and react to signs of radicalisation as well as by governments to develop ad-hoc counter- and de-radicalisation programs.