A new research project will see Exeter and Cornwall-based academics find clues to Islamic radicalisation. Focusing on North Africans living in the UK, France and Spain three political scientists and a historian will trace the historical roots of radicalisation, by assessing the impact how the legacies of colonial repression and current political, social and economic marginalisation affect perceptions of terrorism and the West.
The 2 year project attracted £224,000 from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to the Cornwall campus.
Radicalisation amongst some Muslims is leading to direct threats to domestic and international stability. The project focuses on Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, where national and religious memories of past injustices are important for understanding support for radical Islamism, exemplified by Algerian participation as foreign fighters for jihadist movements in Iraq.
Dr Jonathan Githens-Mazer, principal investigator on the grant and lecturer in politics at the University of Exeter's Cornwall campus says: "Myths, memories and symbols of past violence and contemporary repression are substantial sources of motivation for radicalisation. For those few North Africans who become attracted to radical and violent Islamism, blame for current predicaments is often attributed to European colonial powers, or what are perceived as Western support for current injustices in the democratically challenged political regimes of North Africa. With globalisation, immigration, and ever shrinking world the threats posed by this kind of radicalisation extends far beyond North Africa and the Middle East, and this project will increase understanding of these complex issues."
The research will include field studies of archives and political institutions from as far afield as Rabat (Morocco), Algiers and Tunis to Paris, London and Cordoba, and interviews with members of North African immigrant communities in England, France and Spain. The work will address not only the complexities of transnational networks of these immigrant communities throughout Europe and North Africa, but will also hope to discover how past events, such as the Algerian 'Sétif Massacre' of 8 May 1945, during which an estimated 45000 Algerians were killed by French and Colons paramilitaries, and recent severe scrutiny and crackdowns on Islamist politics in Morocco and Tunisia directly affect attitudes and capacities for radicalisation today. It is hoped that this more 'holistic' approach to understanding the causes and consequences of past violence will subsequently shed light on patterns of radicalisation in new generations.
The grant is awarded as part of the ESRC's critical reassessment research initiative 'New Security Challenges: 'Radicalisation' and Violence'.
UK's largest funding agency for research and postgraduate training relating to social and economic issues. It supports independent, high quality research relevant to business, the public sector and voluntary organisations. The ESRC’s planned total expenditure in 2007/08 is £181 million. At any one time the ESRC supports over 4,000 researchers and postgraduate students in academic institutions and research policy institutes.
Source: By University Of Exeter
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