Social Intervention as Key to Prevent and Intervene in Violent Radicalization

Abstract:

The construction of radicalism is based on the confluence of social, economic and personal factors, where social exclusion of individuals can generate optimal conditions that favor the radicalization process. Two elements for prevention and detection of radicalization are: 1) The analysis of risk factors in social intervention strategies, together with the offline and online scenarios where the process takes place; 2) The analysis of public policies that foster full social inclusion. The objective of this article is to review the adaptation and inclusion of preventive measures aimed at fighting radical and terrorist violence, typical of social intervention, in the different relationship settings of individuals, including the digital universe. For this purpose, a qualitative methodology is applied for descriptive content analysis. We have first described the socio-technological context and its use for the dissemination of radicalism; then, we have reviewed the actions of the EU in terms of prevention; ending with the contributions of social intervention, which result from its methodology, can impact the prevention and eradication of radicalism. The findings of the analysis shows that the intervention in the tangible reality of the individual, the family, the group, and the community, can facilitate a digital and audio-visual narrative capable of generating a trend within public opinion against radical and terrorist violence. Furthermore, improving and reinforcing social interventions of professionals and social agents to prevent radicalization is shown to be a necessary good practice for the fight against terrorism.