Divergent Paths to Martyrdom and Significance Among Suicide Attackers

This research used open source information to investigate the motivational backgrounds of 219 suicide attackers from various regions of the world. We inquired as to whether the attackers exhibited evidence for significance quest as a motive for their actions, and whether the eradication of significance loss and/or the aspiration for significance gain systematically differed according to attackers’ demographics. It was found that the specific nature of the significance quest motive varied in accordance with attackers’ gender, age, and education. Whereas Arab-Palestinians, males, younger attackers, and more educated attackers seem to have been motivated primarily by the possibility of significance gain, women, older attackers, those with little education, and those hailing from other regions seem to have been motivated primarily by the eradication of significance loss. Analyses also suggested that the stronger an attacker’s significance quest motive, the greater the effectiveness of their attack, as measured by the number of casualties. Methodological limitations of the present study were discussed, and the possible directions for further research were indicated.     

推理过程中非理性现象的新解释

人们在实际的推理过程中常违反形式逻辑标准,出现各种偏差现象,表现出非理性,原有理论无法对此作出合理解释.双重加工理论能更好地解释人们实际推理和标准推理(normative reasoning)之间的不一致,认为人类存在着两个完全不同的认知系统:系统1--执行快速、平行、自动化和启发式加工;系统2--执行需要意志努力和认知资源的、控制和分析式加工.当系统1占优势时,人们会违反逻辑形式标准,出现偏差,表现出非理性;而当系统2占主导地位时,人们的推理会符合逻辑形式标准.     

社会主义民主政治视角下网络监督的非理性隐忧及其化解——一项对系列“微博反腐”案件进行的语言与心理分析

“微博反腐”是网络监督的一种形式.本文从语言和心理的角度对近年来一系列“微博反腐”案件中转发与评论的内容进行分析后认为:“微博反腐”在成为一种新兴的外部监督方式的同时还存在一些非理性的隐患.其原因在于:微博自身及使用人群的特点,中国长期制度化监督的不足与民意的积存,集群行为的特点以及公众政治知识与民主能力和意识的欠缺.因此,通过建立和实施体制内外有效对接的制度化监督机制,规范民主程序,保障公众民主权利,推进社会主义民主的发展,重建社会价值体系等措施,可以消解网络监督非理性隐忧,使其成为一种有效的体制外监督方式.     

“That shit doesn't fly”: Subcultural constraints on prison radicalization

Many observers describe prison subcultures as inherently and irredeemably antisocial. Research directly ties prison subcultures to violence, gang membership, and poor reintegration. In extreme cases, research has also suggested that prison subcultures contribute to incarcerated people joining radical groups or embracing violent extremist beliefs. These claims, however, ignore key differences in the larger cultural and social context of prisons. We examine the relationship between prison subcultures and prison radicalization based on semistructured qualitative interviews with 148 incarcerated men and 131 correctional officers from four western Canadian prisons. We outline several imported features of the prison subculture that make incarcerated people resilient to radicalized and extremist messaging. These features include 1) national cultural imaginaries; 2) the racial profile of a prison, including racial sorting or a lack thereof; and 3) how radicalization allowed incarcerated men and correctional officers to act outside the otherwise agreed-to subcultural rules. Our research findings stress the importance of contemplating broader sociocultural influences when trying to understand the relationship between radicalization and prison dynamics and politics.     

Religious Radicalization and Lone‐Actor Terrorism: A Matter for Psychiatry?

This article discusses the place of the psychiatric field in the ongoing phenomenon of religious radicalization. First, the article provides an overview of the existing literature on lone‐actor terrorists and the link with mental illness. Current research is focusing increasingly on lone‐actor terrorists. This is the most recent and rising development on the global terrorism scene. The literature is currently developing a more precise and informed definition of lone‐actor terrorism. The article then describes and discusses the case study of a mentally ill patient arrested following his assault on a military serviceman on the grounds of religious radicalization. The patient, diagnosed with schizophrenia, is taken as an example of the specific case of religious radicalization in patients with schizophrenia. Finally, the article discusses the curative and preventive roles that can be played by psychiatrists and other professionals who are in contact with these types of patients.     

The Concept of Radicalization as a Source of Confusion

The ubiquity of use of the term “radicalization” suggests a consensus about its meaning, but this article shows through a review of a variety of definitions that no such consensus exists. The article then argues that use of the term is problematic not just for these reasons, but because it is used in three different contexts: the security context, the integration context, and the foreign-policy context. It is argued that each of these contexts has a different agenda, impacted in the case of the integration agenda by the rise of European “neo-nationalism,” and so each uses the term “radical” to mean something different. The use of one term to denote at least three different concepts risks serious confusion. The proposed solution is to abandon the attempt to use “radicalization” as an absolute concept.     

Hotbed of Radicalization or Something Else?: An Ethnographic Exploration of a Muslim Neighborhood in Ceuta

A series of police raids in Príncipe Alfonso, a Muslim neighborhood located in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, “confirmed” law enforcement officers' worst fears: the barrio, long considered a hotbed of Islamist radicalization, had succumbed to the influence of extremists, making Spain more vulnerable to terrorist attacks. However, the meager results of the raids, as well as delays in the ensuing criminal investigation, raised troubling questions about the alleged terrorist plot and outsiders' perceptions of the Muslim community. Seeking answers to these questions, I conducted ethnographic field work in Príncipe shortly after the raids, interviewing residents, activists, and officials and observing the community at length. The community I experienced did not match the neighborhood I had read about. This article, the first ethnographic study of Ceuta to focus on radicalization, challenges conventional understandings of Príncipe Alfonso and highlights the value of ethnographic field work in terrorism studies.     

司法假定理论基础的学科交叉透视

司法假定是法官在裁判过程中作出初步判断的基本思维方式,本质上为法官职业判断能力的体现.以司法假定问题为导向来聚合人文社会科学中的相关理论,各理论所采取的见解与态度给司法假定的理论基础研究带来有益启示.通过法学、心理学、哲学、经济学、历史社会学等多学科沟通意义上的描述及评价,就可很好地把握透视司法假定的理论来源.