Niklas Altermark
Associate professor
Crafting the "Well-rounded citizen" : Empowerment and the government of counterradicalization
Author
Summary, in English
In recent years, counterradicalization work has come to focus on empowering vulnerable communities and individuals through programs implemented by local governments and welfare services. This article examines this new regime of counterradicalization, focusing on how such programs seek to immunize people allegedly susceptible to radicalization by making them "active citizens." In contrast to the stated ambitions of these programs and much scholarly work on prevention, we do not see counterradicalization by citizenship empowerment as a way of giving back power to the communities where terrorism emerges. Rather, these programs are set up to manage the self-image and behaviors of individuals perceived as "risky," which means that they operate by shaping subjects. Undertaking an in-depth analysis of two programs of prevention through empowerment, we outline the rationalities underpinning this new way of countering radicalization, showing how they make use of "citizenship" as a political technology.
Department/s
- Department of Political Science
Publishing year
2018-03-01
Language
English
Pages
53-69
Publication/Series
International Political Sociology
Volume
12
Issue
1
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Topic
- Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalization Studies)
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1749-5679