Page 155 - Šolsko polje, XXIX, 2018, no. 5-6: Radicalization, Violent Extremism and Conflicting Diversity, eds. Mitja Sardoč and Tomaž Deželan
P. 155
Povzetki/Abstracts
Kosta Bovan, Marko Kovacic and Milica Vuckovic
BEING MAINSTREAM, BEING RADICAL: HOW DO YOUNG PEOPLE
UNDERSTAND RADICALISM IN CROATIA
Motivated by the lack of theoretical concepts to grasp the shock of 9/11,
social scientists put forward the concept of radicalisation. Since then, it
has become one of the buzz concepts in social sciences, particularly in
security and terrorist studies. However, recent critiques point out the
need to reconceptualise radicalisation so that it can be used outside its
dominant, Western home-grown violent terrorism context. Following
those critiques, we adopt a relative approach to radicalisation and use it
empirically in the context of South-Eastern Europe and youth studies.
More concretely, the goal of this paper is to analyse how the terms “rad-
ical” and “mainstream” are understood by Croatian youth. To do this,
we employed qualitative methodology, namely focus groups conducted
in urban and rural settings on a sample of young people. We wanted to
uncover where the line between the “radical” and “mainstream” is for
young people. By answering these questions, we sought to confirm the
assumption that in Croatia, although the term “radical” cannot be un-
derstood in the context of violence, it may have dangerous repercussions
for social and individual development of young people and society as a
whole. Our results show that young people in Croatia conceptualise rad-
icalism as a relative, neutral, and context dependent term. At the same
time, they describe both the mainstream and radical individuals in neg-
ative connotations.
Keyword: Croatia, mainstream, terrorism, radicalism, mainstream, youth
153
Kosta Bovan, Marko Kovacic and Milica Vuckovic
BEING MAINSTREAM, BEING RADICAL: HOW DO YOUNG PEOPLE
UNDERSTAND RADICALISM IN CROATIA
Motivated by the lack of theoretical concepts to grasp the shock of 9/11,
social scientists put forward the concept of radicalisation. Since then, it
has become one of the buzz concepts in social sciences, particularly in
security and terrorist studies. However, recent critiques point out the
need to reconceptualise radicalisation so that it can be used outside its
dominant, Western home-grown violent terrorism context. Following
those critiques, we adopt a relative approach to radicalisation and use it
empirically in the context of South-Eastern Europe and youth studies.
More concretely, the goal of this paper is to analyse how the terms “rad-
ical” and “mainstream” are understood by Croatian youth. To do this,
we employed qualitative methodology, namely focus groups conducted
in urban and rural settings on a sample of young people. We wanted to
uncover where the line between the “radical” and “mainstream” is for
young people. By answering these questions, we sought to confirm the
assumption that in Croatia, although the term “radical” cannot be un-
derstood in the context of violence, it may have dangerous repercussions
for social and individual development of young people and society as a
whole. Our results show that young people in Croatia conceptualise rad-
icalism as a relative, neutral, and context dependent term. At the same
time, they describe both the mainstream and radical individuals in neg-
ative connotations.
Keyword: Croatia, mainstream, terrorism, radicalism, mainstream, youth
153
