LEC 6 - Narratives Flashcards
What are the two types of violence?
**1. Instrumental violence
**a. Goal-oriented violence
b. Violence as a means to an end
**2. Performative violence
**a. Expressive in nature (audience-oriented)
b. Violence as an end in itself
c. Performative/expressive violence: “Performative violence is the construction of identity or position through active expression. It is not directed so much against the world, but clamors for attention from audiences. It demands audiences to look intently to the actor/perpetrator and by doing so recognizing and acknowledging the actor/perpetrator in its very existence and uniqueness.” (Van Buuren, 2012, p.18)
Whether violence is instrumental or performative is dependent on the motivation and context
What are narratives?
Narratives are stories
- Explicit: series of events/experiences
- Implicit: ideologies, beliefs, worldviews
- Tacit: what is not being said
Not limited to language: emotions, humor, irony and sarcasm, symbolism, metaphors, rituals
What is Hiyard and Kreuter’s type of narratives?
- Personal narratives (personal experiences)
- Organizational narratives (official accounts by organizations)
- Cultural narratives (narratives rooted in cultural beliefs and traditions)
- Master narratives: “deeply embedded in a culture, provides a pattern for cultural life and social structure, and creates a framework for communication about what people are expected to do in certain situations.” (Halverson et al., 2011, p.7)
What is Narrative Criminology?
The study of the role the telling and sharing of stories plays in the committing, upholding and effecting desistance from crime and other harmful acts
“Studying extremism without studying stories is like studying the brain without studying the neurons.” (Ebner, 2017)
What is Kruglanski’s 3-n model?
The 3N model of radicalization, developed by social psychologist Arie W. Kruglanski, proposes that three interconnected factors contribute to the process of radicalization:
1. Need (Significance Quest):
- Core Motivation: The fundamental driver of radicalization is the human need for significance, the desire to feel valued, respected, and important.
- Quest for Significance: When individuals experience a loss of significance, such as social alienation, unemployment, or discrimination, they may seek to regain it through radical ideologies and actions.
2. Narrative:
- Meaningful Stories: Radical groups often provide individuals with compelling narratives that offer simple explanations for complex problems and promise a better future.
- Sense of Purpose: These narratives provide a sense of purpose and belonging, reinforcing the individual’s identity within the group.
3. Network:
- Social Influence: Radicalization often occurs within social networks where like-minded individuals reinforce each other’s beliefs and attitudes.
- Group Pressure: The pressure to conform to the group’s norms and values can lead individuals to adopt increasingly extreme views.
Interconnectedness:
The three factors are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. For example, a person’s need for significance may be activated by a particular narrative, leading them to seek out a network of individuals who share that narrative. Within the network, the individual’s need for significance is further reinforced, leading to a deeper commitment to the radical ideology.
Key Points:
- Individual Motivation: The 3N model emphasizes the individual’s motivation to seek significance as the primary driver of radicalization.
- Social and Psychological Factors: The model considers both social and psychological factors, including group dynamics, cultural narratives, and individual needs.
- Dynamic Process: Radicalization is not a static process but a dynamic one that involves ongoing interaction between the individual and their social environment.
By understanding the 3N model, we can better identify the factors that contribute to radicalization and develop strategies to prevent and counter it.
What are typical narrative plots?
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Rags
to riches: a poor protagonist gains power and wealth, loses it, but grows as a
person as a result (Oliver Twist)
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Quest: a protagonist sets out to acquire an important object where they face many
obstacles along the way (Lord of the Rings)
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Voyage and return: A protagonist travels to another place, overcomes the threats
they face and returns with a lifetime of experience (The Odyssey)
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Overcoming the monster: the protagonist defeats an antagonistic force which
threatens the protagonist and/or his surroundings (James Bond)
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Tragedy: the protagonist is a good person but bad things happen to them (Romeo &
Juliet)
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Comedy: the story is about a funny protagonist and the story has a happy ending
(Seinfeld)
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Rebirth: the protagonist is a villain, but redeems theselves over the course of the
story (A Christmas Carol
What is a common narrative in violent groups?
What are the three common types of narratives in violent groups?
Historical narrative
- Problem: society has changed for the worse
- Solution: re-establish old norms through violence
Territorial narrative
- Problem: this land belongs to us
- Solution: reclaim it through violence
Gender/masculinity narrative
- Problem: our masculinity is repressed
- Solution: violent disruption of feminism/oppression of women
How to other the targeted group?
By making the other malevolent:
(1) Threat-framing: ‘deviant’, ‘treacherous’, ‘hypocrites’, ‘shirki’, ‘foolish’, ‘wicked’
(2) Drama: “drowning themselves in the depths of apostasy” (Dabiq 12, p.54), “pouring the lava of death upon Muslims” (Dabiq 10, p.47)
(3) Dehumanization: comparing the Enemy to ‘pigs’, ‘dogs’, and ‘helpless little lambs’
Giving themselves a alternative identity
Alternative Identity
- “the lions of the Islamic State” (Dabiq 2, p.42)
- “O heroes of jihad” (Dabiq 5, p.31)
- “people who can never be defeated” (Dabiq 4, p.7)
- “brave and selfless warriors” (Dabiq 8, p.6)
**Group Identity/Belonging
**“It is a state where the Arab and the non-Arab, the white man and black man, the easterner and westerner are all brothers. Their blood mixed and became one, under a single flag and goal, in one pavilion, enjoying this blessing, the blessing of faithful brotherhood.” (Dabiq 1, p.7)
How is Narrative shaping language in the Dabiq case?
- Positive framing: ‘Freedom fighters’ vs. ‘terrorists’
- In-group language and the use of plural pronouns (Haslam, 2001)
- Self-identification and familiarization (‘our comrades’, ‘our brothers’)
- Hyperboles and metaphors
What is the role of narratives? Glazard
Narratives as aesthetics and affects
- “by seeing terrorist propaganda as aesthetic texts, we can understand that they may work in ways other than by ideological indoctrination, or simple persuasion” (p. 15)
(1) Narratives not only persuade, but can inspire
(2) Narratives shape culture, which, in turn, shape ideology
(3) The appeal of narratives are more complex and subtle than the messages they contain
What is the Subcultural Approach to propaganda?
- ‘Jihadi-cool’ or ‘Jihadi-chique’ (Picart, 2015)
- Jihadism rebranded as aesthetic/subculture
- Jihadi street culture and rap
- Thug masculinity
- The role of internet and virtual communities
- Gamification of JIhad and ‘Jihobbyism’ (Brachman, 2008)
- “On one side is the ‘bling’ culture of ostentatious consumption, alcohol, drugs, and easy sex. On the other is an austere and unforgiving worldview that seeks to recreate seventh-century Arabia.” (Khan, 2014)
- “The positive narrative […] is always more powerful, especially if it involves dressing in black like a ninja, having a cool flag, being on television, and fighting for your people.” (Cottee, 2015)
What is Ecofascism?
Ecofascism
- Brenton Tarrant (Christchurch 2019)
- “I am an ethnonationalist ecofascist”
- “Return to our Roots” narrative (the idea that we can all return to how it once used to be)
- Anti-technology, anti-immigration
- Pro-eugenetics and white nativist nationalism
- From Climate Change (CC) denial to CC exploitation
- From globalism to localism
- Emphasis on authenticity, simplicity, and romanticism
What is the role of counter-narratives?
- Glazzard (2017): “more compelling and truthful narratives that promote humane values” (p. 3)
- Demystifying, deconstructing, delegitimising (Tuck and Silverman, 2016)
- Alternative stories to reduce the appeal of extremist narratives (“authentic voices”) (former extremists, former drug addicts, former detainees, etc.)
- Widely accepted and engrained in CVE policy
Not without critique (Glazzard, 2017)
- Over-emphasis on the online sphere (when in reality people are affected by their direct environment)
- Shaky metrics and sparse empirical foundations
- A superficial solution to a complex phenomenon
- Literary studies as a key approach
- Counternarratives ‘underplay’ the significance of identity, grievances, and trust (individuals that are vulnerable to radicalization)
- Counternarratives neglect the role of the affective and the aesthetic (it is not just by the rationale that people are convinced to join IS, the images are well made, the texts are well written, appealing to emotional needs that need to be recognized if you want to counter them)
- Counternarratives often place content over form (are often about the rationale, the arguments, whereas in reality we need to acknowledge that IS is really good at putting out appealing form, convincing and inspiring)
