Abstract
To tackle the phenomenon of terrorism, especially the attacks carried out by homegrown terrorists, since 2005 all the EU's member states have adopted the Global Strategy to Combat Terrorism. Focusing on four pillars (prevention, protection, persecution, and response), the strategy provides for security measures to protect against terrorism as a criminal act. What if, instead, we consider terrorism as a social phenomenon, strictly connected to radicalization and resulting from discriminatory experiences and discomfort young second generation immigrants suffer within the European society? Moving in this direction, through the application of the PESTLE analysis to the specific context of Belgium, this study elaborates a counterterrorism policy which takes into account the root and activating factors of radicalization by filling Belgium's gaps in terms of integration policies and which could help reducing the likelihood of occurring radicalization and terrorist attacks episodes.
TopIntroduction
The Global Strategy to Combat Terrorism was issued by the European Union in 2005 and it is focused on 4 pillars: prevention, protection, persecution and response. To tackle the phenomenon of terrorism and in order to try to reduce its frequency, especially the attacks carried out by homegrown terrorists, the first pillar of the strategy deals with the increased border and weapons market control, the constant monitoring of the online propaganda and the criminalization of every action and monetary support to foreign fighters. Terrorism is considered by the European Union as a criminal act, uncoupled from radicalization. What if we consider it as a social phenomenon, resulting from radicalization and originating from discriminatory experiences and discomfort young second generation immigrants suffer within the European society? If we move in this direction, we can elaborate counterterrorism policies which take into account the root causes of terrorism and which could help reducing the likelihood of occurring radicalization and terrorist attacks episodes. Through the application of the PESTLE analysis to the specific context of Belgium, we have analysed the living condition of the young Muslims of second generation within the European society and its emergence in the political, economic, social, technological and legal discriminations which they experience on a daily basis and which, functioning as predisposing factors, enable them to tackle the path of extremism as the only way out of the isolation and poverty they experience. From this study we aim to provide the possibility to develop a counterterrorism strategy which addresses the root and activating factors of radicalization considering Belgium as a case. We identify the gaps in terms of integration policies, thus helping diminishing radicalization and terrorism phenomenon.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Second-Generation Children: Children of immigrants. They are born, raised and citizens of the host country of their parents.
Discrimination: It is a differentiated and disparaging treatment on the basis of physical details, age, gender or race.
Counterterrorism: Set of strategies and security measures implemented by a government to protect the country from terrorist attacks and to prevent terrorists from using their resources.
Parochialism: It is the practice adopted by public organizations and institutions which consist in not exchanging information and working on their own. This tendency creates state’s functioning problems. In fact, it works more slowly, with incorrect or incomplete communications and in an uneven way.
Jihadist Propaganda: Series of documents, videos, images, and files posted online and translated into various languages that serve as a means for terrorist organizations to recruit followers and foreign fighters around the world.
Homegrown Terrorist: It is a person of Middle Eastern origin but born or lived since childhood in the West who, suddenly, decides to commit a terrorist act against his country.
Jihad: It is the term used by terrorist groups and organizations to denote the holy war the faithful Muslim extremist must carry out against the infidel Westerns.
Radicalization: Process by which an individual, following a personal crisis, rejects the system of Western values and adopts an extremist view of world which culminates in the acceptance of violence as a form of expression towards the contemptuous West.
Cyberterrorism: Particular type of terrorism which uses the Internet as the main means of attack. It can cause economic losses, damage infrastructure or cause people’s death through the use, for example, of malware and viruses.