Analysing and challenging representations of female jihadi radicalisation - an Area Studies investigation of the European media

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The probable area of research is the concept of 'radicalisation' which currently lacks critical academic knowledge - its relationship with gender, and how it is mediatised throughout the European media. Terrorism is a complex matter and poses a global security risk that it cannot be addressed within national boundaries. In particular, Europe (i.e. Spain, England, France and Belgium) have seen some of the major attacks (that gained widespread media attention) post 9/11 (Nilsson, 2018, p.17). Therefore, during these attacks most European audiences, regardless of their educational and social status, were motivated to engage with the media. Consequently, the European media has a significant influence as to how the concept of 'radicalisation' is represented. This research will focus on women. While there are valuable studies on females (Saltman & Smith, 2015; Pearson & Winterbottom, 2017; Ben-Israel, 2018) the field is dominated overall by the study of men. Yet, when reporting on women the media utilise language such as 'sex jihadist', 'the fallen women', 'jihadi brides' and 'jihadi Jane' (Mekhennet & Warrick, 2017; Gardner 2015). These representations are problematic given their weak evidence base but also foster other problems. Not least of these is the assumption that a process - 'radicalisation' - is universal in terrorism and this is reiterated in key research (Bjorgo 2005; Schmid, 2005; Koomen & Van Der Pliget, 2016). It is essential to recognise that this term remains contested (Coolseat, 2011, p.208). Therefore, when female radicalisation is the focus, it suffers from, not just the problems of the research, it takes a double hit in being gendered and sensationalised. This is then further sensationalised in the media with little evidence - readily open to the public sphere for interpretation. The assumption that gender and sexuality are a cause of female radicalisation warrants systematic social science engagement to critically analyse the underpinning assumptions, evidence base and settings which give rise to these phenomena. There is a limited amount of research regarding English language media reporting, and even less focusing on the European context. A text analysis by Nacos (2005) found gender stereotypes, such as physical appearance, romance and ideals of women's liberation, to be dominant themes within media representation of female terrorists. Likewise, Brunner's research (2005) suggests that the media represent female participation through corporeality: motherhood, virginity and their bodies. Brown's (2011) quantitative media analysis found that women considered to be 'religious subjects' are denied agency in the public realm. Across these studies, the media regularly failed to recognise women as independent agents in terrorism and a focus on their sexuality is central. Thus, this area of research is both topical, and is a key critical area for contemporary critical engagement that uniquely links with the aims of the citizenship, governance & security thematic cluster pathway. In contrast to previous focal points around gender, this moves from the area's general female participation in support roles, beyond that of "female suicide terrorism", to critical engagement of an issue that cannot be addressed within national boundaries. There is a continued dependence on a stringent male/female dichotomy that does not do justice to the autonomy of women, and this dichotomy is amplified in government policy and sensualised in the media - based on very little research, and dangerously open to public interpretation. This research area will build towards doctoral study by critically assessing the media representations of women, gathering both quantitative and qualitative evidence from a wide range of European media reports, an area mapping exercise, interviews with the press and comparing these representations across different European country contexts. It will build an evidence base of how the media portray women a