Since 2011, more than 1,150 people have left Germany for areas controlled by the so-called Islamic State. Approximately 25 percent of these individuals are women. Furthermore, Islamist supporters and terrorists have emerged within Germany. The causes of their radicalization remain largely unexplored. The research project FEMRA (Female Radicalization) aims to investigate the radicalization of women more deeply. In the project's first phase, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with formerly Islamist-radicalized women. These interviews focused on the women's biographies, their individual radicalization processes, and the radical acts they initiated. This talk summarizes the findings regarding their biographical trajectories. Analysis of the interviews using MAXQDA revealed that women who became radicalized by Islamist behavior later in life increasingly reported problematic circumstances during their childhood and adolescence. These issues included abuse, strained relationships with their parents, and psychological issues affecting both the parents and the participants. This talk provides under-researched insights into the biographies of female radicalization, making a relevant contribution to gender-sensitive radicalization research. Furthermore, it opens up possibilities for developing prevention and deradicalization strategies.

While there has been significant research on the radicalisation of men, comparatively little research has been conducted on the radicalisation processes of women. It is widely acknowledged that women assume a variety of roles within extremist organisations, including recruitment, weapons procurement, financial provision, familial roles and, in some cases, direct participation in terrorist activities. The FEMRA (Female Radicalisation) research project aims to investigate the psychological processes behind female radicalisation. A mixed-method approach was selected for the present purpose. In the initial phase of the project, qualitative interviews were conducted with 14 radicalised women from Islamist and right-wing extremist contexts, as well as with 15 experts. In the subsequent phase of the project, judgments of women convicted of relevant offences in German-speaking countries were coded. Preliminary findings indicate that group dynamic processes are crucial in the radicalisation of women. The data suggest that social mechanisms within the in-group act as a driving force that intensifies both attitudinal and behavioural radicalisation and can lead to a willingness to use violence. These findings carry significant implications for the development of effective prevention and deradicalisation strategies.

Social exclusion makes people feel deprived in their fundamental psychological needs and more susceptible to social influence. Deprivation of basic psychological needs and susceptibility to social influence are, in turn, risk factors for radicalism, which suggests a possible link. Previous research does indeed point to such a connection between exclusion and radicalism. However, the conditions under which this relationship emerges remain unknown. We investigated how radicalism among socially excluded individuals manifests not only compared to included individuals, but also to a neutral condition. We examined whether the relationship between social exclusion and radicalism emerges for radical intentions and radical behaviours alike and whether the effect persists when excluded individuals are offered alternative response options to react. This was investigated in two online experiments. Participants from Germany (Study 1) and the U.S. (Study 2) were included, excluded, or assigned to a neutral condition using the Cyberball- and the Ostracism-Online-Paradigm. Then, radical intentions and behaviours – in some cases additionally to other response options – were measured. Initial results were unable to replicate the link between social exclusion and radicalism. The chosen behavioural measure revealed a strong floor effect. However, a link did emerge between inclusion and radical intentions, especially among individuals at the edges of the political spectrum. The findings expand the fundamental understanding of the relationship between exclusion and radicalism and therefore significantly contribute to identifying risk factors for radicalism.

Why does terrorism exist? Especially when it comes to homegrown terrorism, the concept of radicalization plays an important role. Radicalization is a gradual process that involves socialization into an extremist belief system that prepares individuals to use violence, even if violence is not necessarily used. A wide variety of theoretical and empirical studies have attempted to shed light on this process. However, there is currently no comprehensive model of radicalization and no thorough differentiation between ideologies. The EMRA research project aimed to investigate these outstanding issues. A mixed-methods approach was used, coding archive data from 370 radicalized actors, taken from case files of the German domestic intelligence service on the one hand and from publicly available sources on the other. A large number of variables drawn from theories, past findings, and practical experience were included, allowing for a comprehensive model of radicalization to be examined. It was evident across ideologies that certain factors can make people open to extremism, but that need-oriented and especially group and disinhibitory processes drive radicalization. In terms of specific risk factors, overlaps were particularly evident between religiously motivated and right-wing extremism. EMRA closes several gaps in the field of terrorism research, which suffers from a lack of quantitative research findings and differentiation between radicalization factors in different ideologies. The patterns in the biographies of radicalized individuals identified in the data could be useful both for predicting radicalization processes and for developing approaches to prevention and deradicalization.