The sharing economy and livestreaming of terror: Co-production of terrorism on social media

In the xenophobic attack on a mosque in New Zealand, the perpetrator filmed the mass murder through a GoPro recording device attached to his head. The attack was streamed live on social networking sites, including a notorious extremist alt-right forum. This livestreaming of the terrorist attack on social media platforms received global condemnation, but it brought renewed scrutiny to the ‘sharing economy’ online and how terrorist attacks can be made for sharing, reposting, and editing of content by users, circumnavigating the removal of such content. This phenomenon widens the co-production of terror through mass audiences’ interaction in real time, positioning terror as mass entertainment. This chapter examines the architecture of the ‘sharing economy’ online and its significance in the production of terror, as well as the moral and ethical considerations it poses for humanity.

Terrorism: Group dynamic and interdisciplinary aspects

In this chapter, we offer an interdisciplinary and group-focused model to examine how extreme violence develops, and discuss aspects of interventions for prevention, specifically with regard to terrorism and its many forms. We argue that an analysis of terrorism must be more open, and include research into the perpetrators of extreme violence such as genocide. In general, we see the breakdown of empathy, a group dynamic process that creates the image of ‘the other’ and the violation of basic concepts of humanitarian and human rights laws, as a precondition to terrorism when viewed as a subtype of extreme violence. In recent years, Internet-based and large multinational groups have gained importance, a factor that is insufficiently considered, meaning that more attention is needed on group dynamic processes as drivers of extreme violence. Our interpretation uses models such as that developed by the group analyst Vamik Volkan, and others, including that of chosen trauma. We discuss these factors together with possible strategies to aid transitional justice and contribute to the rehabilitation of victims and perpetrators. The specific impact of each act of terrorism and the needs of victims and society to recover reflect the complex background of each event, and of the contexts in which the crimes were committed.

Tackling radicalization and terrorism in Dutch mental health institutions: Outcomes of a Dutch population survey

Virtually no data are available on mental health institutions working on radicalization and terrorism. In the Netherlands we conducted a survey of all mental health institutions (n = 65) in 2016. Fifty-seven per cent responded. The result is that mental health institutions in the Netherlands have started to take small steps towards tacking radicalization and terrorism. These small steps, even by 2016, are a contrast to the reality of radicalization and terrorist incidents and attacks in the Netherlands since 2000. This outcome may have been caused by the resistance of Dutch psychiatrists in the mental health sector (often heard in the Greater Amsterdam region) to the idea that radicalisation and terrorist incidents and attacks are not their work either. For their view is, it is not our job if there is no DSM disorder.

Police–community relations and cultural competency: Important means of countering violent extremism

Cultural competency may be helpful to police in fighting violent extremism. Perceived cultural competency of security officers may directly affect citizens responses, especially individuals from vulnerable communities. Police often need to depend upon citizens’ cooperation to identify those who may be engaging in activities of violent extremism. Therefore, officers must be trained in cultural competency to help reduce feelings of citizen alienation. Participants from three Canadian cities completed an online survey concerning perceptions of police cultural competence in several areas, including national security. Results were discussed with focus groups. With cultural variations, citizens were mostly satisfied with police–citizen interactions. However, some felt they were singled out because of race and religion. Participants stated better police training in cultural competence would lead to greater police–citizen cooperation. All would contact police if the security of Canada were in danger. However, there are those who will never trust police.

A discourse for the prevention of radicalization in the Netherlands: Curbing the radical inflow

This chapter is arranged around a theory about egocentric and sociocentric individuals and cultures. The theory outlines different experiences and trajectories of individualists and communities when it comes to sympathizing with radicalization, the emergence of violent protest, carrying out attacks on civilians and general populations, and travelling to war zones. The present chapter highlights a discourse that might place the prevention of radicalization higher on the national agenda. We do this in order to prevent the recruitment of ‘radicals’ at different levels. We illustrate that the British example—of few resources and efforts for the prevention of radicalization as a response to fear and panic after certain attacks—is not followed by the Netherlands, where there the focus is on investment, interventions, and community policing. Themes for intervention to prevent radicalization are described.

Counter-radicalization, public health, and racism: A case analysis of Prevent

The threat of terrorism is well documented to be associated with Muslims and Islam in British public consciousness. This chapter will emphasize the sociopolitical context underlying public health strategies seeking to address radicalization and extremism, especially given the UK government’s recent pivoting of its ‘Prevent’ policy within mental health services. Drawing upon two years of empirical fieldwork exploring the impact of the Prevent duty in the National Health Service, this chapter will outline several key issues with counter-radicalization policies enacted within health settings. Firstly, I found that mental health professionals—especially Muslims—self-censored their critical thoughts of Prevent, largely as a result of the political and moral subscript underlying counterterrorism: the ‘good’ position was to accept their counterterrorism duty, and the ‘bad’ position was to reject it. Secondly, Prevent significantly emphasizes reliance on ‘trusting one’s gut’ given the elusive framework of psychological risk factors it outlines during training. In turn, the government engages in what I call performative colour blindness: the active recognition and erasure of a common sense that associates racialized Muslims with the threat of terrorism. Colour blindness, however, is known to be integral for the maintenance of institutionally racist practices in contemporary times. This chapter ends by highlighting two understated issues of racism in contemporary public health approaches to counter-radicalization: the reinvigorated impulse to ‘tackle’ the far-right and the question of coercion and accountability.

Terrorism in the context of social capital and community

Community cohesion, trust, and participation in networks—or social capital—have been proposed not only as a way of combating the appeal of violent extremism, but also as a way of facilitating radicalization and recruitment. The bonding and bridging processes involved in civic investment are explored to assess both their risk and protective factors. Population research has demonstrated how vulnerable groups, when feeling threatened or marginalized, tend to bond at the expense of bridging, increasing the likelihood of being labelled as suspect communities. A core challenge in an era of terrorist threat is how to balance the need for intelligence about potential acts of extreme violence, while maintaining a positive relationship with communities targeted by recruiters. Although the task of building bridging social capital within a diverse society is more challenging than within a homogenous one, the rewards are potentially greater given the broader range of skills and attributes that can be integrated.

Violent radicalization and terrorism: A societal challenge for all citizens

We set out the remarkable range of contributors to this important and searching set of chapters, which demonstrate interdisciplinary perspectives on how to understand and then prevent terrorism. The authors are scholars and practitioners, and are embedded in their work on a daily basis in systems that tenaciously seek to tackle terrorism on a global scale, as well as in their localities. The perspectives include cultural, religious, legal, political, public health, and youth and adult life course approaches, as well as how national and local governments perceive the challenge and respond, sometimes helpfully and sometimes not.

Clinical intervention to address violent radicalization: The Quebec model

Radicalization to violence is a world social phenomenon that is related to mental health in multiple ways, not only because psychological factors and psychopathology are determinants of violent radicalization, but also because psychological distress, grief, and trauma are significant public health consequences of this form of violence. The complexity of violent radicalization manifestations and its increasing association with severe psychopathology in lone actors suggests that there is an important role for clinicians to play in supporting and complementing the work of frontline psychosocial services, as well as contributing to the transdisciplinary network needed to develop effective intervention models. However, given the risks of medicalizing forms of social suffering and of being co-opted by ideologically driven political interests, this professional involvement cannot take place without continuous ethical reflection and systemic evaluation. This chapter will describe the clinical model of intervention developed in Quebec (Canada), and discuss some of the organizational, clinical, and ethical challenges encountered.

The equifinality and multifinality of violent radicalization and mental health

The relationship between violent radicalization and poor mental health is complex and multilayered. We use the principles of equifinality and multifinality to demonstrate this complexity. In terms of equifinality, we draw upon the existing evidence base to demonstrate that the end outcome of violent radicalization has many paths into it. Some individuals will be touched by different aspects related to poor mental health along this path. In terms of multifinality, we demonstrate trajectories to multiple outcomes originating from poor mental health problems, where violent radicalization is a low base rate outcome, of many. To do so, we draw on the evidence base from various systematic reviews and meta-analyses of other public/personal harms. We also draw upon illustrations of different individuals displaying similar symptoms/diagnoses and map the mechanisms through which their end outcome differed (e.g. because of exposure to different influences, opportunity, and so on).