Rasmussen, Maria J.

The Minerva project entitled “Who Does Not Become a Terrorist, And Why?” generated the largest standardized study of radical militants conducted so far. In that study, we sought to gather the life histories and views of radicals with two different profiles: 1) supporters of violence who will work for the cause without engaging in violence; and 2) those we call repentant terrorists, who initially join organizations of violence, have second thoughts and leave their groups, but continue to support violence from the sidelines. Our Minerva study generated a codebook of variables, and some important conclusions that challenge many assumptions in the field of radicalization. In this follow-on project, we propose to adapt the codebook of variables derived from the interviews and use it to analyze a set of book-length memoirs by supporters of violence and repentant terrorists, including many who became informers. This study will contribute to an exploratory discussion of integration, identity, and the role of social and political institutions in shaping those processes.
National Security Affairs
Office of Naval Research
Navy
2017