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How the Search for Significance is Exploited by Extremists

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How are ordinary young people drawn into extremism? Why would someone whose future could be bright turn toward terrorism and violence? When we look at extremist groups we often see only hatred and irrational violence. But if this is all there is to it, how are we to understand the appeal of extremism and develop ways to prevent recruitment? In the video below, psychologist Jocelyn Belanger, (whose work is applied at the Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization leading to Violence in Montreal), discusses The Psychology of Martyrdom and sheds light on the why extremist groups are able to co-opt the normal quest for significance that every young person goes on. Key to understanding the success of extremist groups are what Belanger refers to as the 3 N’s: need, network, and narrative. Need – Belanger states that humans most profound motivation is the need to feel significant. Its what we crave, its what drives us to achieve great things and persist when things get tough. The nee...
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Guide for People Concerned about Extremism in a Friend or Family Member

            Challenging Extremism Inkblot , a challenging extremism initiative of Boston University students that Parents for Peace worked with this spring, has produced a toolkit aimed at helping young people engage in a productive way with a peer who may be turning toward extremism. Though it focuses on the scenario of helping a friend, many of the strategies and suggestions contained in the guide are equally relevant for a parent or anyone else concerned that a loved one is involved in extremism . Our shared approach is based on the understanding that the appeal of any form of extremism for many people lies in the illusion it presents of explaining and resolving all of their personal struggles: “Extremist ideas and groups become something people value, love and feel proud of. It gives them a sense of purpose, meaning, and belonging. Your loved one may be dealing with an internal crisis that the extremists claim they alone can fix. Your goal i...
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Strengthening Resilience to Agents of Radicalization

The Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence ( CPRLV ) in Montreal published a new radicalization prevention guide titled ‘ Strengthening Our Resilience to Agents of Radicalization and Their Rhetoric .’ According to this guide, an agent of radicalization is: “… a person who uses extremist rhetoric to attract individuals with different degrees of vulnerability and who may exhibit feelings of victimization or rejection, identity malaise, or certain personal or social vulnerabilities.” In response to the questions such individuals may have about their place in society, agents of radicalization offer a simplistic, black-and-white worldview that portrays certain beliefs as irreconcilable and diametrically opposed to one another. As a result, the agents rhetoric encourages listeners to progressively adopt an extremist logic incompatible with the principles of social togetherness, generating the sorts of rifts that lay the groundwork for the process of radicaliza...
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Myths and Realities of Online Radicalization

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What Can Be Done To Address Online Radicalization Peter Neumann of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence ( ICSR) recently talked about the myths and realities of online radicalization and what can be done to address it. In the video, Neumann focuses on jihadist radicalization because that is his area of expertise, but also says: A lot of the insights that I’m going to convey to you, you can easily transfer to other kinds of radicalization. So if you’re particularly interested in, for example, how people become far-right extremists then a lot of what’s in this presentation, even though it doesn’t deal directly with far-right extremism, is also relevant to you.   Neumann focuses on 5 important points for understanding and addressing online radicalization . The internet doesn’t (singlehandedly) cause people to become extremists or terrorist. However, the internet has changed how people radicalize . What extremists do online isn’t ...
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Video from Event: Who Becomes a Terrorist and Why?

On April 28th, Parents for Peace collaborated with the Inkblot Project from Boston University for an event featuring former white supremacist Arno Michaelis and former jihadi-sympathizer turned undercover operative Mubin Shaikh . A main focus of the discussion was explorng commonalities in the radicalization process across extremist movements. In introducing the speakers, Parents for Peace program coordinator David Phillippi made the following remarks: The word extremism brings up some very natural negative reactions: confusion, fear, anger, disgust. After each act of violence here at home, or when we hear about people leaving behind material comforts to travel overseas to a warzone, we ask How? How could anyone do that? Why? Why would anyone believe those things? We know that this issue is complicated, but we believe that there are answers to these questions. When we listen to the families whose loved ones took that path, when we listen to people who lived that life, and then lef...
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Reuters Story about Parents for Peace Helpline

The article, ‘ For Families of Radicalizing U.S. Youth, a Helpline ‘ touches on the story of Parents for Peace founder Melvin Bledsoe and why he was motivated to find a way to assist others struggling to reach loved ones being drawn into extremism. His own family’s experience, as they watched Carlos slip away from them, was one of isolation. He tells the reporter: “I didn’t have any help. I didn’t have no one to turn to, no one to lean on but my other family members. Out of the pain of this experience grew the desire to make a difference: Bledsoe, hoping to give parents in similar situations and fearful of calling the police more options than he had, founded the nonprofit Parents for Peace and launched what it bills as the first citizen-run U.S. telephone help line to counter the ideologies that lead to violent extremism . Carole Mansfield , whose granddaughter Nicole died in Syria in 2013, has also found solace in trying to serve others: “I’m battling cancer and I just hope and...
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Myths and Realities of Online Radicalization

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What Can Be Done To Address Online Radicalization Peter Neumann of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence ( ICSR) recently talked about the myths and realities of online radicalization and what can be done to address it. In the video, Neumann focuses on jihadist radicalization because that is his area of expertise, but also says: A lot of the insights that I’m going to convey to you, you can easily transfer to other kinds of radicalization. So if you’re particularly interested in, for example, how people become far-right extremists then a lot of what’s in this presentation, even though it doesn’t deal directly with far-right extremism, is also relevant to you.   Neumann focuses on 5 important points for understanding and addressing online radicalization . The internet doesn’t (singlehandedly) cause people to become extremists or terrorist. However, the internet has changed how people radicalize . What extremists do online isn’t ...
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