Page 35 - Šolsko polje, XXIX, 2018, no. 5-6: Radicalization, Violent Extremism and Conflicting Diversity, eds. Mitja Sardoč and Tomaž Deželan
P. 35
ow Schools Can Reduce Youth Radicalization
Dianne Gereluk and Carol-Ann Titus
Introduction
Arguably, youth radicalization, extremism and terrorism are among
the most divisive issues in the public discourse internationally. We
do not wish to create an apocalyptic panic about the rise of such
activities. Extremism and terrorism have been a part of history since the
test of time. Yet the very public nature of such events that are proliferated
on social and news media makes it accentuated in our public lives, mak-
ing it seemingly more present and unnerving. This said, the terrorist at-
tacks of 9/11, and subsequent attacks that have ranged in scope since then,
created an unprecedented rise in the issue on interrelated aspects of ter-
rorism and extremism. The increasing fear and anxiety about terrorism fil-
ters commonly into other issues and influences debates such as immigra-
tion and refugee policies, the rise of fundamentalist ideologies, typologies
of those individuals who may be predisposed to carry out terrorist attacks,
and the polarization among diverse populations who may undermine and
threaten the stability of democratic societies. The educational response is
not unlike these broader political debates and the range of responses to
these issues appear to be both sporadic and limited in scope about how to
best respond to these complex issues (Gereluk, 2012).
There has been a subtle but perceptible shift in discourse from the
actual terrorist acts in terms of the response from societies to looking at
the preconditions of what makes individuals become radicalized in the
first place. The nature of many of the terrorist attacks over the last decade
suggests that the characteristics of individuals are not homogenous, and
33
Dianne Gereluk and Carol-Ann Titus
Introduction
Arguably, youth radicalization, extremism and terrorism are among
the most divisive issues in the public discourse internationally. We
do not wish to create an apocalyptic panic about the rise of such
activities. Extremism and terrorism have been a part of history since the
test of time. Yet the very public nature of such events that are proliferated
on social and news media makes it accentuated in our public lives, mak-
ing it seemingly more present and unnerving. This said, the terrorist at-
tacks of 9/11, and subsequent attacks that have ranged in scope since then,
created an unprecedented rise in the issue on interrelated aspects of ter-
rorism and extremism. The increasing fear and anxiety about terrorism fil-
ters commonly into other issues and influences debates such as immigra-
tion and refugee policies, the rise of fundamentalist ideologies, typologies
of those individuals who may be predisposed to carry out terrorist attacks,
and the polarization among diverse populations who may undermine and
threaten the stability of democratic societies. The educational response is
not unlike these broader political debates and the range of responses to
these issues appear to be both sporadic and limited in scope about how to
best respond to these complex issues (Gereluk, 2012).
There has been a subtle but perceptible shift in discourse from the
actual terrorist acts in terms of the response from societies to looking at
the preconditions of what makes individuals become radicalized in the
first place. The nature of many of the terrorist attacks over the last decade
suggests that the characteristics of individuals are not homogenous, and
33
