Details
Authors: Sarah Carthy and Kiran Sarma
Date of Publication: September 2nd, 2021
Journal/Publisher: Terrorism and Political Violence
Purpose of Study
Key Questions Addressed
This study presents the findings of a laboratory-based experiment testing hypothesised processes implicated in the prevention of violent radicalisation through counter-narratives.
Design of Study
Approach
Two counter-narrative strategies were evaluated against a dominant terrorist narrative. Considering the role of cognition in the processing of narrative-related information, participants’ (n = 150) Cognitive Reflection and Need for Cognition were measured before they were randomly assigned to a narrative that legitimized terrorist violence, one of two counter-narratives, or a control.
Key Findings
Returning autonomy to the target by having them actively counter terrorist rhetoric themselves was found to be more effective than offering generic counter-narratives. Notwithstanding the challenges and limitations associated with measuring violent radicalization-related constructs, the findings of the experiment demonstrate the extent to which individuals vary in their susceptibility to violent, terrorist narratives, as well as attempts to counter them.
Key Recommendations
If resistance to the idea of a counter-narrative is reduced, and autonomy returned to the target, the skills are surely there to challenge terrorist rhetoric. However, depending on the embeddedness of the rhetoric to begin with, reducing this resistance may be the focal task.
It is an important point to note that even crafted propaganda attempts are not a “silver bullet” for manipulating audiences, and individual differences are likely to play a proportionate role.