Journal section PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Radicalisation in prison: social identity approach
Bovin B. G., Kazberov P. N., Bovina I. B. Radicalisation in prison: social identity perspective. Penitenciarnaya nauka = Penitentiary Science. 2020; 14 (3):415–424. (In Russ.). DOI 10.46741/2686-9764-2020-14-3-415-424.
The article analyzes research on the spread of extremist ideology in prisons
and uses the theory of social identity to understand the mechanism of radicalization in
conditions of isolation. The urgency of addressing this problem is explained by the fact that
since the events of September 11, 2001, it is the radicalization in prisons that has turned
into a serious threat to the security of different countries. In addition measures to counter
terrorism necessarily rely on knowledge of the psychological laws by which radicalization
occurs; equally, like the development of preventive measures aimed at convicts as well
as the creation of deradicalization programs, are based on an understanding of the
mechanisms of social behavior. The focus of the work is on the concept of modern terrorism
proposed by J. Baudrillard, the problem of radicalization and the spread of the ideology
of extremism in prisons is studied, the importance of social identity in connection with the
process of radicalization in a situation of isolation is demonstrated. A special role is given
to the ideas of M. Hogg’s theory of uncertainty-identity (the motivational direction of the
approach of social identity). According to her, experiencing uncertainty, people become
inclined to the division of radical ideas and membership in the corresponding groups,
because in this way they receive direct and unambiguous answers to their questions.
The way to reduce uncertainty is belonging to a group, since the latter is the basis
for self-determination, that is, individuals in it acquire the desired social identity,
receive norms and rules of behavior, direction of thoughts and feelings. In conclusion
the possibilities of the social identity approach for diagnosing persons vulnerable to
involvement in terrorist activities are explained.
Keywords: terrorism; radicalization; counter-terrorism; social identity; convicts; uncertainty
-
Leading Researcher of the Research Institute of the Federal Penal Service of Russia, Moscow, Russian Federation, PhD. in Psychology, Associate Professor.
ORCID 0000-0001-9255-7372
, e-mail bovinbg@yandex.ru
-
Candidate of Sciences (Psychology), Senior Lecturer at the Psychology Department of the Russian State Social University, Moscow, Russian Federation
ORCID 0000-0003-2233-0230
, e-mail opodnii@yandex.ru
-
Professor of the Department of Clinical and Forensic Psychology of the Legal Psychology Faculty of the Moscow State Psychological and Pedagogical University, Dsc. in of Psychology, Associate Professor.
ORCID 0000-0002-9497-6199
, e-mail innabovina@yandex.ru
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14. YAspers K. Razum i ekzistenciya [Mind and Existence]. Moscow, 2013. 336 p.
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16. Conesa P., Huyghe F. B., Chouraqui M. La propagande francophone de Daech: la mythologie du combattant
heureux. Paris, 2016. 265 p. Available at: http://www.fmsh.fr/sites/default/files/rapport_propagande_bdef.pdf (accessed
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x=54&sa.y=3 (accessed 16.05.2020). (In English).
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(In English).
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23. Hogg M. A., Kruglanski A., Van den Bos K. Uncertainty and the Roots of Extremism. Journal of Social Issues, 2013, vol.
69, no. 3, pp. 407–418. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.1202. (In English).
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society, 2014, no. 16 (1), pp. 74–103. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1462474513506482. (In English).
26. Kende A., Ujhelyi A., Joinson A., Greitemeyer T. Putting the social (psychology) into social media. European Journal of
Social Psychology, 2015, vol. 45 pp. 277–278. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2097. (In English).
27. King M., Taylor D. M. The Radicalization of Homegrown Jihadists: A Review of Theoretical Models and Social
Psychological Evidence. Terrorism and Political Violence, 2011, no. 4, pp. 602–622. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/095465
53.2011.587064. (In English).
28. Knudsen R. A. Measuring radicalisation: risk assessment conceptualisations and practice in England and Wales.
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(In English).
29. Millana L. Terrorism and violence is Spanish prisons: A Brief Glimpse into Prison Environment: Personal Experiences
and Reflections. Cross-Cultural Dialogue as a Conflict Management Strategy. Verlag, 2018, pp. 138–153. (In English).
30. Moliner P., Bovina I., Tikhonova A. Images propagatrices et textes propagandistes dans la communication islamiste.
12ème Congrès International de Psychologie Sociale en Langue Française, Louvain-La-Neuve, 4–6 juillet 2018. Available
at: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02891359 (accessed 16.05.2020). (In French).
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Perspectives on Terrorism, 2017, vol. 11 (5). Available at: http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/index.php/pot/article/
view/640/html (accessed 16.05.2020). (In English).
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p. (In Russ.).
2. Ermasov E. V. Psihologicheskij stress v usloviyah izolyacii [Psychological stress in isolation]. Razvitie lichnosti –
Development of person, 2009, no. 2, pp. 84–99. (In Russ.).
3. Zinchenko YU. P., Surnov K. G., Thostov A. SH. Motivaciya terrorista [Motivation of a terrorist]. Vestnik Moskovskogo
universiteta. Seriya 14. Psihologiya – Bulletin of the Moscow University. Serie 14. Psychology, 2007, no. 2, pp. 20–34. (In Russ.).
4. Kazberov P. N., Bovin B. G. Obshchaya harakteristika lic, osuzhdennyh za prestupleniya ekstremistskoj i terroristicheskoj
napravlennosti [General characteristics of persons convicted of crimes of extremist and terrorist orientation]. Psihologiya i
pravo – Psychology and Law, 2019, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 36–53. doi: 10.17759/psylaw.2019090103. (In Russ.).
5. Kazberov P. N., Bovin B. G., Fasolya A. A. Psihologicheskij profil’ terrorista [Psychological profile of a terrorist].
Psihologiya i pravo – Psychology and Law, 2019, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 141–157. doi: 10.17759/psylaw.2019090311. (In Russ.).
6. Kompleksnyj plan protivodejstviya ideologii terrorizma v Rossijskoj Federacii na 2019–2023 gody [Comprehensive
plan for countering the ideology of terrorism in the Russian Federation for 2019–2023]. Available at: https://www.mchs.gov.
ru/dokumenty/2632 (accessed 16.05.2020). (In Russ.).
7. Mel’nikova D. V., Debol’skij M. G. Penitenciarnyj stress i osobennosti ego proyavleniya u osuzhdennyh, podozrevaemyh,
obvinyaemyh [Penal stress and peculiarities of its manifestation among convicts, suspects, accused]. Psihologiya i pravo –
Psychology and Law, 2015, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 105–116. doi: 10.17759/psylaw.2015100208. (In Russ.).
8. Novikova O. N. Inostrannye boeviki-terroristy: oni vozvrashchayutsya [Foreign terrorist fighters: they return].
Evropejskaya bezopasnost’: sobytiya, ocenki, prognozy – European security: events, assessments, forecasts, 2018,
no. 49, pp. 2–4. (In Russ.).
9. Oganesyan S. S., Bovin B. G., Kazberov P. N., Dikopol’cev D. E. Problema rasprostraneniya religioznogo ekstremizma v
mestah lisheniya svobody [The problem of the spread of religious extremism in places of detention]. Vedomosti ugolovnoispolnitel’noj sistemy – Journal of the Penal System, 2019, no. 3, pp. 51–59. Available at: http://or.fsin.su/vedomosti/
detail.php?ELEMENT_ID=462214 (accessed 01.06.2020). (In Russ.).
10. Sundiev I. YU., Smirnov A. A., Kundetov A. I., Fedorov V. P. Teoriya i praktika informacionnogo protivodejstviya
ekstremistskoj i terroristicheskoj deyatel’nosti [Theory and Practice of Information Counteraction to Extremist and Terrorist
Activities]. Vologda, 2014. 240 p. (In Russ.).
11. Tihonova A. D. Social’nye media i molodezh’: risk radikalizacii [Social media and youth: the risk of radicalization].
Psihologiya i pravo – Psychology and Law, 2018, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 55–64. doi: 10.17759/psylaw.2018080406. (In Russ.).
12. Tihonova A. D., Dvoryanchikov N. V., Ernst-Vintila A., Bovina I. B. Radikalizaciya v podrostkovo-molodezhnoj srede:
v poiskah ob»yasnitel’noj skhemy [Radicalization in adolescents and youth: in search of an explanatory scheme].
Kul’turno-istoricheskaya psihologiya – Cultural-historical psychology, 2017, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 32–40. doi: 10.17759/
chp.2017130305. (In Russ.).
13. CHajnikov YU. V. Hosrohavar F. Kiber-Halifat IGIL. Khosrokhavar F. Le cyber-califat de Daech // Carnet du CAPS. –
Paris, 2018. – N 26 – R. 89–100 [Khosrokhavar F. ISIS Cyber Caliphate. Khosrokhavar F. Le cyber-califat de Daech // Carnet
du CAPS. – Paris, 2018. – N 26 – P. 89–100]. Social’nye i gumanitarnye nauki. Otechestvennaya i zarubezhnaya literatura.
Seriya 9: Vostokovedenie i Afrikanistika – Social and Human Sciences. Domestic and foreign literature. serie 9: Oriental
and African Studies, 2019, no. 4, pp. 96–99. (In Russ.).
14. YAspers K. Razum i ekzistenciya [Mind and Existence]. Moscow, 2013. 336 p.
15. Borum R. Radicalization into Violent Extremism I: A review of definitions and applications of social science theories.
Journal of Strategic Security, 2012, no. 4, pp. 7–36. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/1944-0472.4.4.1. (In English).
16. Conesa P., Huyghe F. B., Chouraqui M. La propagande francophone de Daech: la mythologie du combattant
heureux. Paris, 2016. 265 p. Available at: http://www.fmsh.fr/sites/default/files/rapport_propagande_bdef.pdf (accessed
16.05.2020). (In French).
17. Gelfand M. J., LaFree G., Fahey S., Feinberg E. Culture and Extremism. Journal of Social Issues, 2013, vol. 69, no 3,
pp. 495–517. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12026. (In English).
18. Global Terrorism database. 2020. Available at: https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/Results.aspx?search=&sa.
x=54&sa.y=3 (accessed 16.05.2020). (In English).
19. Haslam C., Jetten J., Cruwys T., Dingle G., Haslam S. A. The new psychology of health. London, 2018. 510 p.
doi: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315648569. (In English).
20. Hogg M. A. Self-uncertainty, social identity and the solace of extremism. Extremism and psychology of uncertainty.
Oxford, 2012, pp. 19–35. (In English).
21. Hogg M. A. Social identity theory. Contemporary social psychological theories. Palo-Alto, 2006, pp. 111–136.
(In English).
22. Hogg M. A. To belong or not to belong: some self-conceptual and behavioural consequences of identity uncertainty.
Revista de Psicología Social, 2015, vol. 30, pp. 586–613. doi: 10.1080/02134748.2015.1065090. (In English).
23. Hogg M. A., Kruglanski A., Van den Bos K. Uncertainty and the Roots of Extremism. Journal of Social Issues, 2013, vol.
69, no. 3, pp. 407–418. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.1202. (In English).
24. Institute for Economics & Peace. Global Terrorism Index 2019: Measuring the Impact of Terrorism (Sydney, November
2019). Available at: http://visionofhumanity.org/reports (accessed 16.05.2020). (In English).
25. Jones C. R. Are prison really schools for terrorism? Challenging the rhetoric on prison radicalization. Punishment and
society, 2014, no. 16 (1), pp. 74–103. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1462474513506482. (In English).
26. Kende A., Ujhelyi A., Joinson A., Greitemeyer T. Putting the social (psychology) into social media. European Journal of
Social Psychology, 2015, vol. 45 pp. 277–278. doi: 10.1002/ejsp.2097. (In English).
27. King M., Taylor D. M. The Radicalization of Homegrown Jihadists: A Review of Theoretical Models and Social
Psychological Evidence. Terrorism and Political Violence, 2011, no. 4, pp. 602–622. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/095465
53.2011.587064. (In English).
28. Knudsen R. A. Measuring radicalisation: risk assessment conceptualisations and practice in England and Wales.
Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, 2020, vol. 12, pp. 37–54. doi: 10.1080/19434472.2018.1509105.
(In English).
29. Millana L. Terrorism and violence is Spanish prisons: A Brief Glimpse into Prison Environment: Personal Experiences
and Reflections. Cross-Cultural Dialogue as a Conflict Management Strategy. Verlag, 2018, pp. 138–153. (In English).
30. Moliner P., Bovina I., Tikhonova A. Images propagatrices et textes propagandistes dans la communication islamiste.
12ème Congrès International de Psychologie Sociale en Langue Française, Louvain-La-Neuve, 4–6 juillet 2018. Available
at: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02891359 (accessed 16.05.2020). (In French).
31. Silke A., Veldhuis T. Countering violent extremism in prisons: A review of key recent research and critical research gaps.
Perspectives on Terrorism, 2017, vol. 11 (5). Available at: http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/index.php/pot/article/
view/640/html (accessed 16.05.2020). (In English).
32. Wieviorka M. From the «classic» terrorism of the 1970s to contemporary «global» terrorism. Societies under threat.
Cham, 2020, pp. 75–85. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-39315-1. (In English).
