Willingness to sacrifice among convicted Islamist terrorists versus violent gang members and other criminals

Is terrorism just another form of criminal activity, as many nations’ justice systems assume? We offer an initial answer using face-to-face interviews and structured surveys in thirty-five Spanish prisons. Recent theories of extreme sacrifice inform this direct observational and comparative study. I...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Scientific reports Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 2596 - 15
Main Authors:	Gómez, Angel, Atran, Scott, Chinchilla, Juana, Vázquez, Alexandra, López-Rodríguez, Lucia, Paredes, Borja, Martínez, Mercedes, Blanco, Laura, Alba, Beatriz, Bautista, Hend, Fernández, Saulo, Pozuelo-Rubio, Florencia, González-Álvarez, José Luis, Chiclana, Sandra, Valladares-Narganes, Héctor, Alonso, María, Ruíz-Alvarado, Alfredo, López-Novo, José Luis, Davis, Richard
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	London Nature Publishing Group UK 16-02-2022 Nature Publishing Group Nature Portfolio
Subjects:	631/477 631/477/2811 Comparative studies Humanities and Social Sciences multidisciplinary Prisons Radicalism Science Science (multidisciplinary) Terrorism
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Is terrorism just another form of criminal activity, as many nations’ justice systems assume? We offer an initial answer using face-to-face interviews and structured surveys in thirty-five Spanish prisons. Recent theories of extreme sacrifice inform this direct observational and comparative study. Islamist terrorists display levels of self-sacrifice for their primary reference group similar to that of Latino gangs, but greater willingness to sacrifice for primary values than other inmates (non-radical Muslims, Latino gangs, and delinquent bands). This disposition is motivated by stronger perceived injustice, discrimination, and a visceral commitment to such values (risk/radicalization factors). Nevertheless, state authorities, prison staff, and families are (protective/de-radicalization) factors apt to reduce willingness to sacrifice and keep foreign fighters, now being released in large numbers, from returning to terrorism.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2045-2322 2045-2322
DOI:	10.1038/s41598-022-06590-0