Analyzing Radicalization Tendencies among Pakistani Youth
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Date
2017
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UMT.Lahore
Abstract
A rise in radicalization across the world has posed a serious threat to human development and the state machinery. The increase in the phenomenon is linked to Jihadist ideology of non-state actors, such as Al Qaeda, which allures youngsters towards radicalization owing to an abusive interpretation of Islam. This study aims to analyze the phenomenon of radicalization among Pakistani youth from a social-psychological perspective having theoretical underpinning of social identity theory. The social psychology of radicalization explains radicalization as a group phenomenon, and encourages the approach that does not restrict the analysis of radicalization tendencies to religion as a sacred doctrine only. Unlike previous studies, this study takes religion as a social identity group and addresses the concerns that are related to group dynamics. These group dynamics are social categorization and perceptions of threat to group identity. The social psychological approach towards radicalization also deals with these dynamics.