EXPERT
Scott Atran has spent decades engaging directly with Islamic extremists, and he is one of the only researchers to be carrying out fieldwork in Iraq. Atran’s research into the methods and circumstances under which radicalisation occurs is underpinned with theory and tested through robust research. This video series with Scott Atran explores his research and challenges the narratives around radicalisation.
SCOTT’S STORY
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, a ten-year-old Scott Atran was told by his father, a missile engineer, that there was a one-in-three chance of an imminent nuclear Armageddon. This early brush with the destructive potential of human irrationality set him on his career path as an anthropologist. By the time 9/11 happened, Atran was a respected anthropologist, working with the Maya people of Mesoamerica. The confused, emotive response of the Western World to the attacks inspired him to divert his attention to the jihadi movement, to build a clear picture of their motivations.
APPLYING ANTHROPOLOGY
Scott Atran argues that the West’s muddled understanding of the jihadi movement stems from the vast disconnect between Western analysts and policy makers and the militants themselves. Atran combines prior and current experiences of travelling through the Middle East with methods drawn from anthropology to help bridge this gap.
SACRED VALUES
Why do counter-radicalisation efforts often fail? Why do some ongoing conflicts appear impossible to resolve? Scott Atran describes his research, explaining that political violence is underlaid by a system of intractable values which motivates extreme beliefs and practices.
DEVOTED ACTORS
Why do young men and women martyr themselves? Scott Atran explains that the concept of ‘sacred values’ gives an insight into the psychology of suicide attacks, but that new theories are required to truly understand this phenomenon of those dying in the name ISIS and Al Qaeda.
FIELD STUDIES
First-hand research is the foundation of Scott Atran’s work, but how can radicalised militants like ISIS fighters and suicide bombers be studied? Atran describes his research methods, honed during a long career in anthropology, ranging from on the frontline in Iraq to impoverished neighbourhoods in Sulawesi.
THE RISE AND FALL OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD
How do we understand the end-goal of the jihadis? The history of Islam is broad, dynamic and captivating. It presents a vision of cultural stability and prosperity that is painfully absent in the modern Islamic World. Atran explains that jihadis draw from a warped re-telling of Islam’s origin story which gives their narratives power and validity.
THE PATH TO JIHAD
Scott Atran has conducted in-depth studies into groups such as the 9/11 hijackers, the Madrid train bombers, and the Bali nightclub attackers. In most cases, these mass-murderers start out as ordinary young men. His interviews with detained jihadis paint a consistent picture of how a search for significance and meaning can bring impressionable young people into contact with jihadi movements.
THE MANAGEMENT OF SAVAGERY
Are terrorist atrocities in the West just random violence?Are they better described as a nihilistic expression of anger or petty revenge? Is there an underlying logic to how Jihadi movments deploys its radical converts? Scott Atran explains how the core concept that underpins attacks in the West can actually be traced back to the early Cold War: the guerrilla philosophy of ‘leaderless resistance’.
JIHAD AND THE WORLD SYSTEM
Scott Atran explains how the similarities between anarchists and Jihadists are striking, yet many analysts can’t penetrate the thick layer of religiosity that surrounds Islamist movements to recognise that. He notes that both of these movements erupted within rapid, disruptive periods of globalisation, that give rise to deep, structural social tensions.
FAITH, HOPE AND YOUNG PEOPLE
The current situation shows little hope for improvement, but there are solutions: we just need to know where to look for them. Scott Atran explains that by giving hope to young people, we can rob the jihadists of their most powerful recruiting tool: the humiliation and despair that poisons the lives of so many young Muslims around the world.