[Applause]
eight years ago I began working to
understand why youth joined terrorist
groups or violent extremist groups
I was curious as to why anyone would
choose violence I wasn’t sure what I was
expecting to find but I didn’t expect to
see elements of myself you see the
search for identity is a common
characteristic of those who turn to
vaunt extremism and as I researched more
and more youth whose desire for an
identity had led them down the path of
violent extremism I realized that I
understood that very real and human need
the need to belong just a quick story I
was born in the US but my parents are
from Lebanon I went to a primary school
where I was one of a few minorities and
the only one with a Middle Eastern
background so at home my parents
emphasize Lebanese values Lebanese
culture and then at school I struggled
to fit in with my classmates who bullied
and teased me for the way that I looked
or the fact that I spoke Arabic or even
the Lebanese food that I would bring to
lunch as a child it’s very difficult to
be made to feel like you don’t belong
and so I share this story with you not
because I myself was radicalized I was
not but it illustrates one of the
largest lessons I have learned over the
years the study of violent extremism is
not the study of us versus them it’s the
study of you and
me it’s the study and understanding of
the desires that we all have for
acceptance belonging self-worth and
sometimes the vulnerabilities that can
arise as we pursue those desires so for
the next few minutes I’d like to share
some of the other lessons that I have
learned over the years with you but I’m
going to caution you you may walk out of
here today feeling like I do sometimes
which is that there are more questions
than there are answers questions like
why would anyone put on a suicide vest
and go to a concert to kill teenage
girls this research this field does not
have all the answers but I do hope that
you will leave here today understanding
that violent extremism doesn’t happen in
a vacuum in 2015
three girls left their home in London to
go travel to Syria to join Isis after
having been in contact with a female
Isis recruiter in 2016
researchers in Sweden noted that a
neo-nazi group was starting to actively
mobilize and recruit hailing the u.s.
election as the beginning of a world
revolution I could go on and on from
Buddhist extremists in Myanmar who are
persecuting Muslims – Boko Haram in
Nigeria – Hindu extremists in India
across time across cultures you can find
examples of violent extremist groups but
I give you these examples to illustrate
one of the biggest lessons which is that
there is no single profile of someone
that will join a violent extremist group
or become violently extreme no one
single profile it cuts across all
demographics from age to gender to
socioeconomic status to education level
but research has found a few overarching
factors that might lead someone down
that path the first set of factors are
more structural underlying factors that
might push someone down the path I might
frustrate them and these things include
government repression of certain groups
or government corruption or a government
that acts with impunity towards its
citizens human rights abuses group
marginalization disenfranchisement
perhaps unemployment or underemployment
all of these things can understandably
frustrates um one and leave them looking
elsewhere for a sense of control or
justice or opportunity the second set of
factors are more personal more
individual ones that can pull someone in
towards violent extremism these things
include what I mentioned earlier the
sense the wanting to belong a sense of
an identity perhaps wanting to impress
your peers or your friends or you might
even be recruited by your friends or
even the search for adventure now those
who are recruited to Vonn extremism it’s
never these manie’s factors aren’t
mutually exclusive
it’s always a combination the structural
factors that combine with their personal
grievances and then enabled by peer
networks
so using these factors maybe we can
apply them to the two case studies I
mentioned earlier so we can see where
things went wrong in the case of the
three girls from London records show
that they were experiencing a few
different things now it should be noted
these these three teenage girls they
were excellent students they were
mentors to other students in their class
but they were the children of immigrants
their families were from Ethiopia and
Bangladesh
and so as first generation they were
struggling to you know uphold their
culture yet still exist in UK society
and records show that they were also
experiencing Islamophobia in their wider
community at the same time they were
increasingly becoming aware of the
situation in Syria and wondering why no
one was intervening to help they were in
turn turning more to religion both as a
way to claim that religiosity as young
females and assert themselves as young
feminists and then it appears that
perhaps one of the final straws is that
they became in touch with a female Isis
recruiter who reached out to them and
painted this utopia of Isis and what
they were doing in Syria saying that
they could come and choose their own
husbands and have a hand in building
families and building Isis society now
in the case of the neo-nazi we have a
first-hand account of an Australian man
named James who years ago was recruited
as James tells it early on in his
childhood he was bullied and so he
turned to drinking and drugs as a way to
cope that then led him to meet other
teenagers doing the same thing and they
were approached by an older man who was
a neo-nazi he regaled them with stories
of adventure and crime and violence and
then he started bringing them to new
Nazi rallies and was at these rallies
that James heard the neo-nazi propaganda
that victimhood narrative that all of
the issues he was facing all the
suffering he was facing it was not his
fault he had no role to play he didn’t
have to take responsibility not only was
it not his fault it was the fault of
non-whites they were the cause of his
suffering and he could have a hand in
the solution he could help get rid of
non-whites so using these two case
studies you might
able to see along the path where things
were going wrong or you might be
thinking to yourself well all of us have
less than perfect childhoods not
everybody you know has a perfect
childhood where they’re well-adjusted
where they’re not teased and not
everybody turns to violent extremism
you’re right so how does the process of
extremism and then to Vons extremism
even happen
generally it starts with a grievance and
this grievance can be any number one of
the things that I mentioned earlier when
you’re feeling frustrated you’re feeling
excluded you’re feeling marginalized
like you’re not part of your society and
it leaves you wondering why why am i
suffering or why is the group that I am
a part of suffering now you may know
from other contexts you human beings are
very hardwired to reject uncertainty and
ambiguity we don’t like it we need
structure we need order we need answers
and so here you have what psychologists
are gay Craig Lansky calls
cognitive closure in the face of
uncertainty in the face of ambiguity we
seek answers clarity and closure as
quickly as possible and some of us crave
this closure a lot more deeply than
others and those of us that do can be
very susceptible to extremist ideologies
or worldview
why because extremist ideologies are
very clear no gray it’s black and white
there’s right there’s a wrong there is
the persecuted and there are those who
are doing the persecuting and so for
people who are feeling lost don’t
understand why they’re suffering they
can be very taken in by that and not
only that once they embrace the ideology
it gives them a whole group of people
who are reinforcing them and supporting
them and validating their thoughts it
can be very fair
powerful but of course it should be
noted that not everybody who thinks
extreme thoughts will turn violent
thankfully the majority do not extremism
turns violent usually when there’s some
sort of tipping point and that tipping
point can come in the form of some sort
of traumatic event or a lot of times it
comes in the form of a friend or an
acquaintance or a recruiter pushing you
and egging you on much like we saw in
the case the two case studies I
mentioned earlier now I want to mention
quickly here that this idea of cognitive
closure it applies to all of us in our
need to have answers can be just as
dangerous in the wake of a terrorist
attack as the terrorist attack itself
why because an attack happens and we
understandably become very upset we
become scared we want answers we want
our government to act react very
strongly but of course and we might
become suspicious of you know certain
groups or religions but that can lead to
further marginalization further
unnecessary discrimination that is more
harmful than it is helpful also here I’d
like to mention the role of the media in
the way media covers terrorism of course
it goes without saying it’s essential
but we need to consider the ways in
which it can be harmful and I’ll give
you a very quick story in 2011 the
National Geographic aired a documentary
on ms-13 they are criminal gang
originating in California operating in
33 states and six countries very violent
and this documentary touched on their
violence the killings the beheadings it
was horrible
what happened in the weeks after it
aired law enforcement officials told me
that they saw recruitment for ms-13 soar
we have also seen research relevant
research
after the wake of a terrorist attack
when the media focuses and does that
24/7 news hour cycle on terrorism the
attack that sensational reporting it can
encourage further attacks now it’s
obviously hard to know where you know
what how much coverage is too much how
much is too little but I think we do
need to consider if the ways in which we
provide free marketing people free
publicity to terrorism so what can we do
well governments and other organizations
have been working on this issue for a
long time and some of their solutions
they try to give youth outlets to
express some of their grievances another
popular solution is a counter messaging
initiative now a counter message
initiative focuses on the ideology or
the narrative of a violent extremist
group for example if Isis puts out a
video of what life is like in Syria and
Iraq and they paint it as this great
place where you can come and help build
society the counter message that someone
might put out would say no actually it’s
terrible they’re beheading they’re
raping they’re killing people you don’t
want to go it seems intuitive however
the problem with these counter message
initiatives is that they’re focusing on
the ideology but as I’ve just said it’s
not always the ideology that came first
people have real grievances real
frustrations that lead them to look for
answers which leads them to the ideology
and they brace the ideology so when you
push back on the narrative and you push
back on that violent ideology you still
have not addressed what drove someone to
embrace the ideology in the first place
there’s a second issue with these
initiatives research shows that when
you’re trying to convince or persuade
someone
facts don’t matter and I think we’ve
seen examples of this from the US
presidential election from the brexit
campaign and all over they don’t work
facts don’t matter unfortunately if you
actually want to convince or persuade
someone you have to appeal to their
values to their emotions you have to
understand why it is they think and they
believe what they do so just some final
thoughts here if we want to address
violent extremism we need to address
what is driving it that means that
solutions aren’t going to come from a
5-month
messaging campaign a six-months
entrepreneurship skills program trying
to provide outlets for youth these fixes
require long term strategies that
address the structural grievances that
allow violent ideologies to fester we
need to address the corruption the
injustice the marginalization that deny
access to people and civil society
organizations are doing wonderful work
in this space but they cannot do this
work alone governments need to be
sincere about reforming and addressing
these issues will we ever end to
terrorism no and that is a risk we have
to take on there will always be a subset
of society that believes in using
violence to achieve their goals but what
we can do as human beings is to be more
accepting more inclusive and to demand
that our societies do the same to reject
the us-versus-them narrative because as
I’m hoping you understand down violent
extremism does not happen in a vacuum
thank you
[Applause]
eight years ago I began working to
understand why youth joined terrorist
groups or violent extremist groups
I was curious as to why anyone would
choose violence I wasn’t sure what I was
expecting to find but I didn’t expect to
see elements of myself you see the
search for identity is a common
characteristic of those who turn to
vaunt extremism and as I researched more
and more youth whose desire for an
identity had led them down the path of
violent extremism I realized that I
understood that very real and human need
the need to belong just a quick story I
was born in the US but my parents are
from Lebanon I went to a primary school
where I was one of a few minorities and
the only one with a Middle Eastern
background so at home my parents
emphasize Lebanese values Lebanese
culture and then at school I struggled
to fit in with my classmates who bullied
and teased me for the way that I looked
or the fact that I spoke Arabic or even
the Lebanese food that I would bring to
lunch as a child it’s very difficult to
be made to feel like you don’t belong
and so I share this story with you not
because I myself was radicalized I was
not but it illustrates one of the
largest lessons I have learned over the
years the study of violent extremism is
not the study of us versus them it’s the
study of you and
me it’s the study and understanding of
the desires that we all have for
acceptance belonging self-worth and
sometimes the vulnerabilities that can
arise as we pursue those desires so for
the next few minutes I’d like to share
some of the other lessons that I have
learned over the years with you but I’m
going to caution you you may walk out of
here today feeling like I do sometimes
which is that there are more questions
than there are answers questions like
why would anyone put on a suicide vest
and go to a concert to kill teenage
girls this research this field does not
have all the answers but I do hope that
you will leave here today understanding
that violent extremism doesn’t happen in
a vacuum in 2015
three girls left their home in London to
go travel to Syria to join Isis after
having been in contact with a female
Isis recruiter in 2016
researchers in Sweden noted that a
neo-nazi group was starting to actively
mobilize and recruit hailing the u.s.
election as the beginning of a world
revolution I could go on and on from
Buddhist extremists in Myanmar who are
persecuting Muslims – Boko Haram in
Nigeria – Hindu extremists in India
across time across cultures you can find
examples of violent extremist groups but
I give you these examples to illustrate
one of the biggest lessons which is that
there is no single profile of someone
that will join a violent extremist group
or become violently extreme no one
single profile it cuts across all
demographics from age to gender to
socioeconomic status to education level
but research has found a few overarching
factors that might lead someone down
that path the first set of factors are
more structural underlying factors that
might push someone down the path I might
frustrate them and these things include
government repression of certain groups
or government corruption or a government
that acts with impunity towards its
citizens human rights abuses group
marginalization disenfranchisement
perhaps unemployment or underemployment
all of these things can understandably
frustrates um one and leave them looking
elsewhere for a sense of control or
justice or opportunity the second set of
factors are more personal more
individual ones that can pull someone in
towards violent extremism these things
include what I mentioned earlier the
sense the wanting to belong a sense of
an identity perhaps wanting to impress
your peers or your friends or you might
even be recruited by your friends or
even the search for adventure now those
who are recruited to Vonn extremism it’s
never these manie’s factors aren’t
mutually exclusive
it’s always a combination the structural
factors that combine with their personal
grievances and then enabled by peer
networks
so using these factors maybe we can
apply them to the two case studies I
mentioned earlier so we can see where
things went wrong in the case of the
three girls from London records show
that they were experiencing a few
different things now it should be noted
these these three teenage girls they
were excellent students they were
mentors to other students in their class
but they were the children of immigrants
their families were from Ethiopia and
Bangladesh
and so as first generation they were
struggling to you know uphold their
culture yet still exist in UK society
and records show that they were also
experiencing Islamophobia in their wider
community at the same time they were
increasingly becoming aware of the
situation in Syria and wondering why no
one was intervening to help they were in
turn turning more to religion both as a
way to claim that religiosity as young
females and assert themselves as young
feminists and then it appears that
perhaps one of the final straws is that
they became in touch with a female Isis
recruiter who reached out to them and
painted this utopia of Isis and what
they were doing in Syria saying that
they could come and choose their own
husbands and have a hand in building
families and building Isis society now
in the case of the neo-nazi we have a
first-hand account of an Australian man
named James who years ago was recruited
as James tells it early on in his
childhood he was bullied and so he
turned to drinking and drugs as a way to
cope that then led him to meet other
teenagers doing the same thing and they
were approached by an older man who was
a neo-nazi he regaled them with stories
of adventure and crime and violence and
then he started bringing them to new
Nazi rallies and was at these rallies
that James heard the neo-nazi propaganda
that victimhood narrative that all of
the issues he was facing all the
suffering he was facing it was not his
fault he had no role to play he didn’t
have to take responsibility not only was
it not his fault it was the fault of
non-whites they were the cause of his
suffering and he could have a hand in
the solution he could help get rid of
non-whites so using these two case
studies you might
able to see along the path where things
were going wrong or you might be
thinking to yourself well all of us have
less than perfect childhoods not
everybody you know has a perfect
childhood where they’re well-adjusted
where they’re not teased and not
everybody turns to violent extremism
you’re right so how does the process of
extremism and then to Vons extremism
even happen
generally it starts with a grievance and
this grievance can be any number one of
the things that I mentioned earlier when
you’re feeling frustrated you’re feeling
excluded you’re feeling marginalized
like you’re not part of your society and
it leaves you wondering why why am i
suffering or why is the group that I am
a part of suffering now you may know
from other contexts you human beings are
very hardwired to reject uncertainty and
ambiguity we don’t like it we need
structure we need order we need answers
and so here you have what psychologists
are gay Craig Lansky calls
cognitive closure in the face of
uncertainty in the face of ambiguity we
seek answers clarity and closure as
quickly as possible and some of us crave
this closure a lot more deeply than
others and those of us that do can be
very susceptible to extremist ideologies
or worldview
why because extremist ideologies are
very clear no gray it’s black and white
there’s right there’s a wrong there is
the persecuted and there are those who
are doing the persecuting and so for
people who are feeling lost don’t
understand why they’re suffering they
can be very taken in by that and not
only that once they embrace the ideology
it gives them a whole group of people
who are reinforcing them and supporting
them and validating their thoughts it
can be very fair
powerful but of course it should be
noted that not everybody who thinks
extreme thoughts will turn violent
thankfully the majority do not extremism
turns violent usually when there’s some
sort of tipping point and that tipping
point can come in the form of some sort
of traumatic event or a lot of times it
comes in the form of a friend or an
acquaintance or a recruiter pushing you
and egging you on much like we saw in
the case the two case studies I
mentioned earlier now I want to mention
quickly here that this idea of cognitive
closure it applies to all of us in our
need to have answers can be just as
dangerous in the wake of a terrorist
attack as the terrorist attack itself
why because an attack happens and we
understandably become very upset we
become scared we want answers we want
our government to act react very
strongly but of course and we might
become suspicious of you know certain
groups or religions but that can lead to
further marginalization further
unnecessary discrimination that is more
harmful than it is helpful also here I’d
like to mention the role of the media in
the way media covers terrorism of course
it goes without saying it’s essential
but we need to consider the ways in
which it can be harmful and I’ll give
you a very quick story in 2011 the
National Geographic aired a documentary
on ms-13 they are criminal gang
originating in California operating in
33 states and six countries very violent
and this documentary touched on their
violence the killings the beheadings it
was horrible
what happened in the weeks after it
aired law enforcement officials told me
that they saw recruitment for ms-13 soar
we have also seen research relevant
research
after the wake of a terrorist attack
when the media focuses and does that
24/7 news hour cycle on terrorism the
attack that sensational reporting it can
encourage further attacks now it’s
obviously hard to know where you know
what how much coverage is too much how
much is too little but I think we do
need to consider if the ways in which we
provide free marketing people free
publicity to terrorism so what can we do
well governments and other organizations
have been working on this issue for a
long time and some of their solutions
they try to give youth outlets to
express some of their grievances another
popular solution is a counter messaging
initiative now a counter message
initiative focuses on the ideology or
the narrative of a violent extremist
group for example if Isis puts out a
video of what life is like in Syria and
Iraq and they paint it as this great
place where you can come and help build
society the counter message that someone
might put out would say no actually it’s
terrible they’re beheading they’re
raping they’re killing people you don’t
want to go it seems intuitive however
the problem with these counter message
initiatives is that they’re focusing on
the ideology but as I’ve just said it’s
not always the ideology that came first
people have real grievances real
frustrations that lead them to look for
answers which leads them to the ideology
and they brace the ideology so when you
push back on the narrative and you push
back on that violent ideology you still
have not addressed what drove someone to
embrace the ideology in the first place
there’s a second issue with these
initiatives research shows that when
you’re trying to convince or persuade
someone
facts don’t matter and I think we’ve
seen examples of this from the US
presidential election from the brexit
campaign and all over they don’t work
facts don’t matter unfortunately if you
actually want to convince or persuade
someone you have to appeal to their
values to their emotions you have to
understand why it is they think and they
believe what they do so just some final
thoughts here if we want to address
violent extremism we need to address
what is driving it that means that
solutions aren’t going to come from a
5-month
messaging campaign a six-months
entrepreneurship skills program trying
to provide outlets for youth these fixes
require long term strategies that
address the structural grievances that
allow violent ideologies to fester we
need to address the corruption the
injustice the marginalization that deny
access to people and civil society
organizations are doing wonderful work
in this space but they cannot do this
work alone governments need to be
sincere about reforming and addressing
these issues will we ever end to
terrorism no and that is a risk we have
to take on there will always be a subset
of society that believes in using
violence to achieve their goals but what
we can do as human beings is to be more
accepting more inclusive and to demand
that our societies do the same to reject
the us-versus-them narrative because as
I’m hoping you understand down violent
extremism does not happen in a vacuum
thank you
[Applause]
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