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Jihadism as a subcultural response to social strain: Extending Marc Sageman's "Bunch of Guys" thesis

Cottee, Simon (2011) Jihadism as a subcultural response to social strain: Extending Marc Sageman's "Bunch of Guys" thesis. Terrorism and Political Violence, 23 (5). pp. 730-751. ISSN 0954-6553. (doi:10.1080/09546553.2011.611840) (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:35740)

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2011.611840

Abstract

My aim in this article is to extend Marc Sageman's seminal research on Al Qaeda by re-articulating it through the prism of Albert Cohen's theory of delinquent subcultures, an approach which came to prominence in Criminology in the 1960s, but has since then been largely eclipsed by other approaches in that field. Drawing on Sageman's findings and observations, I suggest that Al Qaeda-affiliated or -inspired groups in the West can be best understood as a collective response or "solution" to the strains encountered by the members of these groups, and that these strains are imposed on them by the circumstances in which they find themselves. My broader aim is to show that although Criminology, with a few exceptions, ignores the subject of terrorism, terrorism studies can appreciably benefit from an engagement with Criminology as a source of theoretical inspiration. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1080/09546553.2011.611840
Additional information: Unmapped bibliographic data: PY - 2011/// [EPrints field already has value set] JA - Terrorism Polit. Violence [Field not mapped to EPrints]
Uncontrolled keywords: Al qaeda, Criminology, Jihadi subcultural style, Jihadist solution, Marc sageman, Social strain, Subculture, Terrorism studies
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
Depositing User: Mita Mondal
Date Deposited: 29 Oct 2013 10:17 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:12 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/35740 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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