Violent extremism is a global threat. Researchers and governments have documented different pathways to understand what leads individuals to this behavior. Pathways to violent extremism have not yet holistically studied the impacts of trauma. Trauma, I argue, is an understudied pathway to violent extremism that needs to be examined further—not only because individuals exposed to trauma are more likely to become violent extremists but because of how extremist organizations have leveraged and reframed trauma to pull individuals into extremist groups. This dissertation investigates the relationship between violent extremism and the Social Ecology of Trauma (author’s term). The culmination of personal, collective, intergenerational, and historical trauma create the Social Ecology of Trauma (SET). This dissertation aims to examine the holistic impact of the SET on violent extremism as a push (motivating) and pull (recruiting) factor. A mixed methods approach is employed here. Chapter two consists of a statistical analysis of the Profiles of Radicalized Individuals in the United States (PIRUS) dataset which revealed the statistically significant impact of SET on violent extremism. Chapter three consists of a plausibility probe of Hamas suicide attacks and highlights the complex interplay between trauma and the intervening variables--dissociation and the cycle of violence--in the context of Hamas suicide attacks. The results indicate that we need to understand further the multifaceted impact of the SET on violent extremism. The findings from this research highlight the urgent need for comprehensive interventions that address the social ecology of trauma.
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Details
Title
Violent Extremism and the Social Ecology of Trauma
Creators
Helary Yakub
Contributors
Martha Cottam (Advisor)
Anthony Lopez (Advisor)
Tom Preston (Committee Member)
Awarding Institution
Washington State University
Academic Unit
Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, School of
Theses and Dissertations
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University