Radicalization in Belgium and the Netherlands: Critical Perspectives on Violence and Security (Library of European Studies)

"The concept of 'radicalization' is now used to account for all forms of violent and non-violent political Islam. Used widely within the security services and picked up by academia, the term was initially coined by the General Intelligence and Security Service of the Netherlands (AIVD) after the 9/11 and Pentagon attacks, an origin that is rarely recognised. This book comprises contributions from leading scholars in the field of critical security studies to trace the introduction, adoption and dissemination of 'radicalization' as a concept. It is the first book to offer a critical analysis and history of the term as an 'empty signifier', that is, a word that might not necessarily refer to something existing in the real world. The diverse contributions consider how the term has circulated since its emergence in the Netherlands and Belgium, its appearance in academia, its existence among the people categorized as 'radicals' and its impact on relationships of trust between public officials and their clients. Building on the traditions of critical security studies and critical studies on terrorism, the book reaffirms the importance of a reflective approach to counter-radicalization discourse and policies. It will be essential reading for scholars of security studies, political anthropology, the study of Islam in the west and European studies."-- (Bloomsbury Publishing) Cover page Halftitle page Title page Copyright page CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS INTRODUCTION RADICALIZATION: TRACING THE TRAJECTORY OF AN ‘EMPTY SIGNIFIER’ IN THE LOW LANDS The focus on the Netherlands and Belgium The (inter)national trajectories of an ‘empty signifier’ Radicalization and/as Islam Outline of the chapters Notes Part I THE CIRCULATION OF A CONTESTED CONCEPT Chapter 1 RADICALIZATION: THE ORIGINS AND LIMITS OF A CONTESTED CONCEPT1 2001–4: The origins of a novel concept 2005: The institutionalization of competing paradigms A comet in the EU counterterrorism sky: The EC Expert Group on violent radicalization Pull and limits of a concept Conclusion Notes Chapter 2 TURNING ‘RADICALIZATION’ INTO SCIENCE: AMBIVALENT TRANSLATIONS INTO THE DUTCH (SPEAKING) ACADEMIC FIELD Radicalization and the BVD/AIVD: An overview Academic translations of radicalization Conclusion Notes Chapter 3 CONSIDERING INTERNAL DEBATES ON ‘RADICALISM’ WITHIN THE BRUSSELS’ ISLAMIC COMMUNITY A united Islamic ummah against a not-so-Islamic-problem ‘Salafism’ is radical Conclusion Notes Part II DE/RADICALIZATION POLICIES ON THE GROUND Chapter 4 FOREIGN FIGHTERS ON TRIAL: SENTENCING RISK, 2013-171 The precautionary turn in criminal law Trials as a performative space Criminal law meets radicalization theories Terrorism trials under scrutiny Sentencing as risk management Notes Chapter 5 PRE-EMPTIVE MEASURES AGAINST RADICALIZATION AND LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS IN ANTWERP Pre-emption and prevention Pre-emption and community engagement Different forms of pre-emptive community-based partnerships: Value-based and means-based Antwerp and its emerging threat: Sharia4Belgium Policy measures in Antwerp Possible Islamic partners for local authorities in Antwerp Reactions by other ‘radical’ Islamic groups in Antwerp towards Sharia4Belgium, and first steps in starting programmes Conclusion Notes Chapter 6 COUNTERING RADICALIZATION: HIJACKING TRUST? DILEMMAS OF STREET-LEVEL BUREAUCRATS IN THE NETHERLANDS Development and implementation of counter-radicalization policies in the Netherlands Trust and suspicion in countering radicalization Counter-radicalization and the incompatibility of trust and suspicion Conclusion Notes Chapter 7 (DE-)RADICALIZATION AS A NEGOTIATED PRACTICE: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC CASE STUDY IN FLANDERS Deradicalization and the anthropology of ‘the state’ Deradicalization as a ‘local affair’ Negotiating ‘radicalization’ Distinguishing oneself as an expert: ‘Our recipe to counter radicalization’ Establishing trust: Between formality and informality Conclusion Notes Part III DE/RADICALIZATION AND ITS EFFECTS Chapter 8 ROUTINIZATION AND MOBILIZATION OF INJUSTICE: HOW TO LIVE IN A REGIME OF SURVEILLANCE The racialization of danger in the Netherlands The regime of surveillance Soft surveillance: The experience of being marked as a problem Hard surveillance: ‘We are being watched’ The Hondius case: How mobilization and routinization interfere Conclusion Notes Chapter 9 CAN THE ‘MUHAJIR’ SPEAK? EUROPEAN SYRIA FIGHTERS AND THE DIGITAL UN/MAKING OF HOME Knowledge production on radicalization Methodology: Complementary practices of looking Discussion: Jihadi ego in new media Conclusion Notes Chapter 10 NO ESCAPE: THE FORCE OF THE SECURITY FRAME IN ACADEMIA AND BEYOND1 Our point of departure: Academic and public debates Methods used and insights gained Textual politics: From marriage to a ‘security issue’ Countering the security frame: An appeal to reason Authorship matters Positionality and the unequal division of distrust The research process: The vulnerability of anthropology A brief reflection: Overdetermined by the security discourse Notes CONCLUSIONS Chapter 11 FROM CONVERT TO RADICAL: MAKING CRITIQUE ILLEGIBLE Conversion is radical Dismissing liberal-secular critique Conclusion Notes Chapter 12 THE MAZE OF RADICALIZATION: JUSTIFICATION AND PROFESSIONAL INTERESTS Radicalization: A regime of justification used for preventive strategies The war on terror and the normalization of pre-emptive interventions The polysemy of a policy Radicalization as a folk theory and the responsibility of academics The art of asking the right question Notes AFTERWORD A DE/RADICALIZED FUTURE Notes BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX The concept of 'radicalization' is now used to account for all forms of violent and non-violent political Islam. Used widely within the security services and picked up by academia, the term was initially coined by the General Intelligence and Security Service of the Netherlands (AIVD) after the 9/11 and Pentagon attacks, an origin that is rarely recognised. This book comprises contributions from leading scholars in the field of critical security studies to trace the introduction, adoption and dissemination of 'radicalization' as a concept. It is the first book to offer a critical analysis and history of the term as an 'empty signifier', that is, a word that might not necessarily refer to something existing in the real world. The diverse contributions consider how the term has circulated since its emergence in the Netherlands and Belgium, its appearance in academia, its existence among the people categorized as 'radicals' and its impact on relationships of trust between public officials and their clients. Building on the traditions of critical security studies and critical studies on terrorism, the book reaffirms the importance of a reflective approach to counter-radicalization discourse and policies. It will be essential reading for scholars of security studies, political anthropology, the study of Islam in the west and European studies. - Información editorial