The Role of Psychological Trauma in Terrorist Recruitment

Diplomsko delo raziskuje vpliv psihološke travme na teroristično rekrutacijo. Psihološko travmo opredeljujemo kot psihično poškodbo, ki nastane kot posledica izjemno močnega stresa. S pregledom literature preverjamo predpostavko, da takšen stresen dogodek ali stresno dogajanje v preteklosti posameznika vpliva na odločitev posameznika, da se pridruži terorističnemu gibanju. Pregled literature kaže, da je poskusov odkrivanja in dokazovanja tovrstnih vzrokov za teroristično rekrutacijo veliko, vendar pa povezave ni mogoče potrditi. Veliko posameznikov, ki se pridružijo terorističnemu gibanju namreč ne kaže značilnosti psihične travme, hkrati pa se večina posameznikov s psihično travmo ne odloča za sodelovanje v terorističnih aktivnosti. Tudi psihološko profiliranje ne daje odgovorov o skupnih psihičnih lastnostih teroristov, ki bi to skupino zločincev razlikovale od splošne populacije, čeprav je ista metoda uspešna pri identifikaciji drugih podobnih skupin kriminalcev, kot so na primer serijski morilci. Pregled literature tako nakazuje, da je uspeh rekrutacije teroristov odvisen od veliko bolj kompleksnega sestava dejavnikov, ki v veliki meri vključuje družbene dejavnike. Ti se nanašajo na odnos družbe do nekaterih marginaliziranih skupin in subkultur, na konflikte med različnimi kulturami in družbenimi skupinami, na vzgojo otrok in ponotranjanje družbenih norm in vrednot ter na psihosocialne faktorje vplivanja, manipulacije in indoktrinacije. Čeprav psihološki faktorji torej gotovo igrajo ključno vlogo pri odločitvi posameznika za priključitev terorističnemu gibanju, pregled literature kaže, da so ti faktorji v veliki meri pogojeni z dinamiko širše družbene realnosti in ne s konkretnimi travmatičnimi dogodki v preteklosti posameznika. Pri sprejemanju ugotovitev pa moramo izraziti tudi zadržek, da so rezultati študij večinoma pridobljeni na osnovi študij primerov in induktivnega sklepanja, saj je dostop do psihobiografij terorističnih rekrutirancev močno omejen in ne omogoča kvantitativnega statističnega preverjanja korelacije med psihološko travmo in odločitvijo posameznika za vstop v teroristično organizacijo.In this thesis, we explore the impact of psychological trauma on terrorist recruitment. We define psychological trauma as psychological damage that occurs as a result of exceptionally high stress. By reviewing the selected literature, we investigate the assumption that such a stressful event or events in the past have an impact on the individual\u27s decision to join a terrorist movement. Review of the literature shows that there are many attempts to detect and prove such causes for terrorist recruitment, but the connection cannot be confirmed. Many individuals who join terrorist movements do not show characteristics of psychological trauma, while most individuals with psychological trauma do not decide to participate in terrorist activities. Even psychological profiling does not give answers about common psychological characteristics of terrorists, which would differentiate this group of criminals from the general population, even if the same method is successful in identifying other similar groups of criminals, such as serial killers. Review of the literature also suggests that the success of terrorist recruitment depends on a much more complex structure of factors that largely involve social factors. These relate to the attitude of society towards some marginalized groups and subcultures, conflicts between different cultures and social groups, education of children, manifestation of social norms or values and psychosocial factors of influence, manipulation and indoctrination. Although psychological factors certainly play a key role in the decision of an individual to join a terrorist movement, review of the literature shows that these factors are largely conditioned by the dynamics of the broader social reality and not by specific traumatic events in the history of the individual. While reaching conclusions we must also express concern that the results of researches are mainly gained from case studies and inductive inference, as access to psycho-biographies of terrorists is severely limited and does not allow quantitative statistical verification of the correlation between psychological trauma and the decision of individuals to join a terrorist organization