CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2016
| Author | Laigle, Germain Irénée Yves |
|---|---|
| Title | Contemporary European Jihadism: Friendship and Counterculture |
| Summary | This dissertation brings a unique perspective in analyzing the homegrown phenomenon of Contemporary European Jihadism as a violent counterculture, involving clusters of young Europeans. The involvement in this phenomenon reflects the rejection of today’s globalized world, a level of nihilism and a need for rebellion, disclosed by an adherence to other countercultures before escalating to a Jihadism. I indeed argue that we should speak of Jihadisms, as various phenomena, rather than Jihadism. The absence of a societal project, the family model crisis, the failures of the different integration policies combined with side effects of globalization such as an increased emphasis on cultural identifications are all factors initiating this nihilism and will to revolt. What is particularly striking is that this involvement often happens in groups, clusters of friends who have sometimes known each other for years, some other times met a few weeks before deciding to join Daesh to fight in the Levant or conduct a terrorist attack. Daesh offers to a desperate youth a new family, the neo-jihadis are “born again” as they adopt a new name. This thesis focuses on the European terrorist networks through the lens of various dynamics that are at stake in order to understand how these individuals are willing to sacrifice themselves for a group, its ideas and ideals. The case study of the Verviers cell, responsible for the Paris attacks in November 2015 and the Brussels attacks in March 2016, demonstrates that most of the terrorists not only knew each other for years, but also grew up together in some quartiers défavorisés, and collaborated in petty criminal activities. Other findings show that these individuals previously participated to petty criminal economies and have travelled to Daesh-held territory. These findings support the idea that these attackers experienced a phenomenon of identity fusion. |
| Supervisor | Al-Azmeh, Aziz |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2016/laigle_germain.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University