Pathways Towards Radicalisation: What Role for Family? A Comparative Analysis of Violent and Non-Violent Extremism in the United States and the United

尽管对激进化的原因和机制有丰富的知识，但对家庭与暴力/非暴力极端主义之间复杂联系的实证研究在很大程度上仍然是现代学术研究的未知领域。传统观点认为，在某些情况下，家庭成员可以在激进化中发挥积极作用，因为他们可以直接传递极端主义和恐怖主义意识形态。其他案例表明，只有潜在的作用才会存在。也就是说，在某些情况下，不稳定的家庭状况可能在某种程度上为激进主义提供了肥沃的温床。最后，还有一些案例表明，家庭根本不会在激进化中发挥任何作用。在这种情况下，拟议的研究旨在通过实证研究家庭动态和背景可能影响激进化不同途径的程度，为解决这一难题做出重要贡献。根据对前英国和美国极端分子的中等样本的采访，拟议的研究将在顺序混合方法研究设计中使用模糊集/定性比较分析（fs/QCA）和社会网络分析（SNA）的组合。第一阶段将使用fs/QCA来分析样本个体的激进化过程，以便：确定是否存在可能的激进化模式，并阐明其驱动因素。2. 检查家庭可能对这些模式的影响。3. 生成更准确的假设以在第二阶段进行测试。根据第一阶段得出的结论，第二阶段将把国民核算体系应用于：1。比较抽样个体的家庭系统结构特征。2. 评估不同的家庭成员在他们所爱的人的激进化过程中所扮演的角色。通过揭示激进化的因果机制，这项调查将产生丰富的经验，说明极端主义是如何在代际之间和跨代传播的，来自不同意识形态背景的个人从事极端主义行为的方式的异同，以及家庭对激进化的直接和间接影响。这反过来可以被从业者用来帮助有风险的父母识别和应对激进化的迹象，也可以被政府用来制定特别的反激进和去激进化计划。

Despite an abundance of knowledge on the causes and mechanisms of radicalisation, empirical research on the complex links between family and violent/non-violent extremism largely remains a terra incognita to modern academic studies. Conventional wisdom indicates that in some cases family members can assume an active role in radicalisation, as they can directly pass on extremist and terrorist ideologies. Other cases show that only a latent role would exist. That is, in certain situations unstable family conditions might somehow provide a fertile breeding ground for radicalisation. Finally, there are also cases suggesting that family would not play any role in radicalisation at all. Within this picture, the proposed study is intended to contribute a significant piece of the puzzle by empirically examining the extent to which family dynamics and background may affect different pathways to radicalisation. Drawing from interviews with a medium sample of former British and American extremists, the proposed study will use a combination of fuzzy-set/Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fs/QCA) and Social Network Analysis (SNA) in a sequential mixed-methods research design. Phase one will employ fs/QCA to analyse the radicalisation process of the sampled individuals in order to: 1. Determine the existence of possible patterns of radicalisation and elucidate their drivers. 2. Examine the impact that family may have on such patterns. 3. Generate more accurate hypotheses to test in phase two. Based on the findings derived from phase-one, phase-two will apply SNA to :1. Compare the structural characteristics of the family system of the sampled individuals. 2. Assess the roles played by different familial actors in the radicalisation of their loved ones. By uncovering causal mechanisms of radicalisation, this investigation will produce a rich empirical account of how extremism is transmitted between and across generations, the similarities and differences in the way individuals from different ideological backgrounds engage in extremist behaviours, and the direct and indirect influence of family on radicalisation. This in turn might be used by practitioners to help at-risk parents to recognise and react to signs of radicalisation as well as by governments to develop ad-hoc counter- and de-radicalisation programs.