The established understanding of radicalisation should be supplemented with other approaches

The established understanding of radicalisation revolves around ideology as crucial to the use of violence. This understanding not only dominates political and public debate - it also defines the frameworks in which authorities and practitioners can work with prevention of terrorism.

A closer look at the persons who have been involved in recent terror attacks in the West, however, reveals that the vast majority had a violent criminal past, and that violence was part of their lives before being framed within an Islamist ideology.

Against this backdrop, a new DIIS policy brief proposes that the established radicalisation-concept be supplemented with the understanding that one type of violence may be transformed into another. As an alternative to radicalisation, the authors introduce the concept of thepoliticisation of violence.