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How can we make young people more resilient to radicalisation? "A sense of injustice can also drive people to change the world." William Stephens, postdoc at the DoY Becoming Adults in a Changing World community, has always been driven to help young people. He recently addressed the UN Least Developed Countries (LDC5) conference on resilience and radicalisation.

Williams' interest in resilience was sparked by a multicultural group of youths who regularly meet under the supervision of a friend of his who works as a coach. William supports the coach where necessary. "I noticed something changed in the group around the time of the Paris attacks. They were seen as a potential threat in the country they considered home. They started getting angry and frustrated. In the end, the coach's support helped to change their response. I consider that as a form of resilience."

Resilience and radicalisation

"Young people have to deal with all kinds of setbacks. Some more so than others. They can end up taking a path that leads to violence, or they can take a path to what I'd call resilience." Stephens isn't referring to resilience in the sense of a static trait or a skill you can develop. "Resilience is much broader than a skill or a trait. The relationships we form with young people and the environment we create around them are really important in that sense. That could take the form of a young adult friend who takes them seriously and appreciates their talents."

Resilience is much broader than a skill or a trait. The relationships we form with young people and the environment we create around them are really important in that sense

Interventions

So why is it so important to reflect on radicalisation? As Stephens explains, we have been trying different kinds of interventions to counter radicalisation over the past few years, but proving their effectiveness is challenging. "Some of those interventions actually turned out to be counterproductive or harmful. Unfortunately, they do have a direct impact on young people's lives. They impact their identity, their future and their self-esteem. That leaves policymakers with the challenge of finding an approach that will do more good than bad. In many cases, there isn't enough time to take a step back and reflect on what we're doing."

Pedagogical response

Het meest contraproductieve element van deze interventies is volgens William de sterke link tussen islam en radicalisering. “Dit leidde ertoe dat mensen bijvoorbeeld hun buren anders gingen bekijken. Er woonde opeens een potentiële bedreiging naast je, in plaats van gewoon de buurman.” Bij het nadenken over deze vraagstukken denkt William dat we niet alleen door de ogen van veiligheid moeten kijken, maar ook het pedagogische en ontwikkelingsaspect moeten meenemen. “Jeugdprofessionals werden gevraagd om jongeren eruit te pikken die misschien voldoen aan bepaalde criteria waardoor ze gevoelig zijn voor radicalisering. Maar wat je ziet in de praktijk is dat het een beetje oppervlakkig wordt en dat mensen hun expertise niet meer gebruiken, maar puur die voorgeschreven checklist erbij pakken. De beste aanpak zou naar mijn idee een pedagogische reactie zijn, waar jeugdprofessionals door hun ervaring al goed in zijn.”

In William's view, the most counterproductive aspect of these interventions is the strong link between Islam and radicalisation. "Among other negative effects, this link changed people's perceptions of their neighbours. Suddenly, you had a potential threat living next door, instead of just another neighbour." Rather than simply thinking about these issues from a security perspective, William believes we need to factor in the pedagogical and developmental aspects. "Youth care professionals were asked to pick out young people who might meet certain criteria that make them susceptible to radicalisation. It all tends to get a bit superficial in practice, though. People just focus on the checklist they've been given rather than drawing on their own expertise. I think our response should be a pedagogical one, which is something youth workers already have a lot of experience in."

I think our response should be a pedagogical one, which is something youth workers already have a lot of experience in.

Stephens concludes his presentation with a suggestion for the future. "When we talk about prevention, we don't usually focus on alternatives to radicalisation. What are we going to offer in its place? We're so focused on preventing violence, but we don't want people to become apathetic either: 'The world is full of injustice, that's just how things are. Go to school, give it your best shot. And most of all, keep your mouth shut.' The thing is, we should want young people to engage with those issues too, right? No matter what we do, we can't just focus on the qualities we want young people to develop. We also need to address the broader systemic issues that can make extremist narratives seem appealing to young people in the first place. We need to empower young people to respond to injustices." The researcher is a strong advocate of civic initiatives. "They give young people a real sense of the impact they can have on society."

"So," Williams concludes, "We should not only think on what we want to stop, but also on what we want to build. Figuring out what form that will take will require an ongoing dialogue. I think most people would like to see a world where differences of opinion aren't a source of conflict, a place where we can live in harmony. A place where young people can make the most of their talents and where we feel connected to one another."

We should not only think on what we want to stop, but also on what we want to build