By Scott H. Decker

This study identified and analyzed convergence and differences between gang membership and terrorist groups, with attention to organizational structure, group process, the use of social media, and imprisonment in the process of radicalization.

After identifying points of convergence and differences between terrorist groups and gangs, this review of relevant literature found little evidence that American street gangs are becoming increasingly radicalized or that their members are being actively recruited by terrorist groups. Most gang members are characterized by the lack of a political or religious orientation. … Prison is a place to look for signs of radicalization among gang members into terrorist commitments; however, while in prison, street-gang members tend to affiliate with prison gangs largely along racial and ethnic lines influenced by criminal codes, not religious or political ideologies that advocate ideologically based violence.

El Paso, TX: Center for Law & Human Behavior, The University of Texas at El Paso, 2016. 111p.

By Alava Séraphin, Divina Frau-Meigs and Ghayda Hassan

Does social media lead vulnerable individuals to resort to violence? Many people believe it does. And they respond with online censorship, surveillance and counter-speech. But what do we really know about the Internet as a cause, and what do we know about the impact of these reactions? All over the world, governments and Internet companies are making decisions on the basis of assumptions about the causes and remedies to violent attacks. The challenge is to have analysis and responses firmly grounded. The need is for a policy that is constructed on the basis of facts and evidence, and not founded on hunches – or driven by panic and fear mongering. It is in this context that UNESCO has commissioned the study titled Youth and Violent Extremism on Social Media – Mapping the Research. This work provides a global mapping of research (mainly during 2012-16) about the assumed roles played by social media in violent radicalization processes, especially when they affect youth and women. The research responds to the belief that the Internet at large is an active vector for violent radicalization that facilitates the proliferation of violent extremist ideologies. Indeed, much research shows that protagonists are indeed heavily spread throughout the Internet. There is a growing body of knowledge about how terrorists use cyberspace. Less clear, however, is the impact of this use, and even more opaque is the extent to which counter measures are helping to promote peaceful alternatives. While the Internet may play a facilitating role, it is not established that there is a causative link between it and radicalization towards extremism, violent radicalization, or the commission of actual acts of extremist violence.

Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2019. 168p.

By John G. Horgan, Paul Gill, Noemie Bouhana, James Silver and Emily Corner

Lone actor terrorists (sometimes referred to as ‘lone wolves’) and mass murderers are more often than not assumed to be distinct, with little validity for comparison. Yet, both engage (or attempt to engage) in largely public and highly publicized acts of violence and often use similar weapons. - Using a series of bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses, we compared demographic, psychological and offense-related behavioral variables across and between 71 lone actor terrorists and 115 solo mass murderers. - Results indicate there is little to distinguish these offender types in terms of their socio-demographic profiles. However, their behaviors significantly differ with regards to (a) the degree to which they interact with co-conspirators (b) their antecedent event behaviors and (c) the degree to which they leak information prior to the attack.

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 2016. 122p.

By Marc Sommers

Most youth are peaceful. Even if the field known as “countering violent extremism” (CVE) did not exist, most young people still would not join a violent extremist organization (VEO). At the same time, the overwhelming majority of people who become violent extremists are youth — most of whom are male. The challenge at the center of CVE is thus an unusual one: identifying the fraction of youth populations most likely to enter a VEO and thwarting that option. This paper investigates that challenge, with analysis featuring interviews with 21 experts and over 400 publications on violent extremism, CVE, and youth. Two correlations inform this work: the direct relationship between nations with “youth bulge” populations and state repression, and the connection between state repression and increased violent extremism, with repressive states usually targeting male youth.

Washington, DC: Promundo-US. 2019. 50p.