Poverty as a Factor of Terrorist Recruitment Essay

Introduction

In spite of the fact that there is no evidence to state that the relationships between poverty and terrorist recruitment are positive, direct, and causal in their nature, researchers still pay much attention to analyzing this factor in the context of its impact on terrorism (Hunter et al. 2017; Okeyo 2016). The reason is that poverty is one of the aspects that are discussed as uniting features for terrorists all over the globe, and poverty is often observed in states where terrorist organizations develop and recruit their representatives (Chassman 2016; Gottlieb 2013). According to Daskon (2016, p. 27), “With respect to the relationship between terrorism and poverty, the United Nations, for instance, supports the belief that terrorism is a predictable consequence of poverty, and inequality of wealth and resource distribution.” Annually, thousands of new recruits join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as an actively expanding terrorist organization (Otterbacher 2016). Applying different recruitment models, terrorists can also refer to the socioeconomic status of recruits for ISIS.

The problem is that, despite researchers’ debates on discussing socioeconomic status of individuals as an influential factor for their recruitment to terrorist organizations and poverty as the root cause for developing terrorism in general, there is no clear answer to the question on whether poverty can be directly related to terrorism and terrorists’ recruiting strategies (Bhatia and Ghanem 2017; Richardson 2014). Therefore, additional research is required in order to examine the topic and associated trends in detail. More research is also necessary to address the formulated problem or research puzzle with reference to the case of ISIS.

Research Question

The following research question can be formulated to be addressed with the help of this study while referring to the problem statement or research puzzle that was earlier discussed in this paper:

How can poverty influence terrorist recruitment with reference to the case of ISIS?

Importance of Research

The theoretical significance of this study is in the fact that it will contribute to the theory and knowledge regarding the relationship between poverty and terrorist recruitment. This research will provide the in-depth analysis of the role of poverty in influencing terrorist recruitment with the focus on the ISIS’s strategies and approaches. It is important to focus on the discussed problem and address the research question because the number of persons recruited by ISIS increases each year, and this number includes citizens of both developing and developed countries (Bhatia and Ghanem 2017; Bloom 2017; Gates and Podder 2015).

As a result, it is possible to assume that disadvantaged, low-income, poorly educated, and vulnerable members of communities are no more the only target audience for terrorist recruiters. However, the percentage of foreign recruits with low socioeconomic status from developing countries is still high, and more research is required in order to examine this trend in detail and conclude whether poverty and socioeconomic status of some individuals can make them at risk of being attracted by terrorist recruiters (Jung and Lee 2015). The practical significance of this research is in its contribution to the activities of policymakers and administrators to prevent the spread of terrorist recruiting materials among the population with the focus on such factor as socioeconomic status of individuals who are at risk of being affected by terrorist recruiters (Perliger, Koehler-Derrick and Pedahzur 2016; Softness 2016).

Literature Review

The existing research on the relationship between poverty and terrorism, as well as between poverty and terrorist recruitment, provides definitions of these terms and findings regarding possible correlations or dependencies. However, this topic and associated issues can be discussed as highly debatable in the sphere of political science. This section of the paper presents a summary of the scholarly literature on the topic of this research and provides the discussion of the constructivist perspective as a theoretical framework for this project.

Definitions of Terrorism and Poverty

There are many definitions of terrorism in the literature, including its description as the threat of violence and as politically affected violence, but these definitions are biased in terms of their focus on political aspects (Daskon 2016; Simpson 2014). According to Daskon (2016, p. 27), terrorism is “an organized terror activity or strategic criminal violence or a tactic against people or property.” This definition of terrorism is general in its nature and covers not only political but also social and legal aspects. Poverty is defined in studies as the lack of material resources that can be used to meet people’s basic needs, including shelter, food, healthcare, and clothing among others (Bhatia and Ghanem 2017; Krueger 2018). Those people who live in poverty suffer from inadequate access to primary medical and educational services, and they also lack security and support. Consequently, such people are deprived of opportunities to become effective members of society, they suffer from isolation and powerlessness (Hoffman and Reinares 2014). These factors make these individuals use any opportunity to improve their state and address their needs, and terrorist recruiters’ propositions can be viewed as attractive to them.

Relationships between Poverty and Terrorism

The current literature provides two opposite views regarding the relationships between poverty and terrorism or terrorist recruitment. Supporters of the correlation between these phenomena state that unemployment, low income status, and social inequalities based on economic factors contribute to developing armed conflicts, increasing crime rates, and even developing civil wars (Desmarais et al. 2017; Ekici, Akdoğan and Ragab 2016). As a result, such situations create favorable conditions for the development of terrorism in certain regions of the world. Moreover, the lack of political freedom associated with high poverty levels in the country can also lead to the progress of such form of political violence as terrorism (Daskon 2016). While focusing on terrorist recruitment, disadvantaged categories of populations can become terrorists because of experienced social exclusion, unemployment, dissatisfaction, and discrimination associated with their status (Argomaniz and Lynch 2015). These factors can potentially lead to accepting radical and violent extremist ideas (Bhatia and Ghanem 2017). Furthermore, high levels of poverty in states are also associated with high corruption rates, and this aspect is important for developing terrorist networks (Bhatia and Ghanem 2017; Eager 2016). Still, there are also opposite researchers’ views.

According to another group of researchers, economic conditions alone cannot make people join terrorist organizations, and the combination of other factors is required. Well-educated persons and representatives of middle and upper classes become terrorists because of their inner motivation that is not related to such external factors as income (Hegghammer 2013). Furthermore, according to Krueger (2018), impoverished people usually do not demonstrate the desire to participate in different political processes and events, but terrorist activities are viewed as associated with them. Representatives of middle classes and educated persons usually more actively participate in political events (Richardson 2014). Other researchers also state that terrorists seldom can propose the improvement of economic conditions for an individual, and the major recruitment strategies are based on accentuating political, religious, and ideological aspects that are not significant for impoverished individuals (Daskon 2016; Hunter et al. 2017).

Terrorist Recruitment

It is possible to identify two types of terrorist recruitment. According to the first type, recruiters from terrorist organizations search for appropriate individuals. The second type is associated with the situation when persons voluntarily join these organizations. Recruiters often seek skillful individuals, and they prefer to find candidates in other terrorist or extremist organizations (Chassman 2016; Davis 2013). In both cases, the motivation associated with political and religious aspects contributes to joining an organization, and such external factors as the socioeconomic status of recruits are not widely discussed in the literature on the topic (Ekici, Akdoğan and Ragab 2016; Windsor 2018). Still, some researchers support the idea that young people are inclined to join terrorist organizations in order to improve the financial state of their families (Bloom 2017; Jung and Lee 2015). Recruiters use social media, online resources, and newspapers among other materials to attract the attention of young people and affect vulnerable categories of the population, including minorities and impoverished people.

ISIS and Recruitment Strategies

ISIS’s recruiting strategies include the use of the Internet and social media in order to publicize their activities and ideology. Propaganda and one-to-one interactions are used in order to attract and persuade recruits to join ISIS (Chassman 2016). In addition, they also use The Dabiq as a special online magazine published by the organization for recruiting purposes (Otterbacher 2016). The focus is on targeting those individuals who need to support their sense of community and realize their role as an activist in terms of taking certain steps to address political and religious debates. In this context, the socioeconomic status of a recruit can be significant because recruiters choose strategies for propaganda and manipulation accordingly (Bloom 2017; Gates and Podder 2015). The principles of recruiting new members for ISIS are described in the organization’s protocol known as A Course in the Art of Recruiting (Chassman 2016). More research is needed in order to understand how socioeconomic status and poverty can influence the selection of recruiting strategies used by ISIS.

Constructivist Perspective

The key assumption of the constructivist perspective is that reality should be viewed as the product of people’s interactions with each other and the world around them, it is also the product of an individual’s mind, and it is subjective in its nature (Goertz 2017; Lune and Berg 2016). In the context of this research, constructivism is used to explain how people form their vision of reality based on their experiences and perceptions with reference to the situation of recruiting and being recruited for terrorist organizations. Furthermore, the constructivist perspective is used to support the development of a qualitative study based on reviewing and interpreting data with reference to the positions of narrators and the researcher (Lune and Berg 2016; Schwartz-Shea and Yanow 2013).

Methodology

To provide the answer to the set research question, it is appropriate to apply the qualitative methodology with the focus on such research design as the case study. For the purpose of this research, a descriptive case study approach is selected because it allows for the in-depth understanding and description of terrorist recruitment in such organization as ISIS with the focus on the aspect of poverty of recruited persons (Lune and Berg 2016). Ontological and epistemological assumptions that guide the selection of the case study approach are the following ones: a) poverty can be a significant influential factor that affects terrorist recruitment; b) additional research on a particular case of a large terrorist organization like ISIS and its recruitment methods will add to the knowledge related to the problem. As a result, case study analysis allows for determining specific factors that are associated with terrorist recruitment with reference to the case of ISIS and concluding what role poverty or the socioeconomic status of potentially recruited persons can play in their selection by terrorist recruiters.

The case of ISIS’s terrorist recruitment has been chosen for this study in order to illustrate modern tendencies in the process and prove or disprove the prevailing opinions spread in the scholarly literature regarding the direct relationship between poverty and terrorist recruitment. The case of ISIS is chosen as a result of addressing the following criteria: a) the reference to a non-Western terrorist organization; b) the reference to a modern influential terrorist organization. The analysis of the case of ISIS is important to demonstrate whether recruiting strategies used in the organization are based on poverty or socioeconomic status that can influence the selection of candidates and whether it is possible to state that such influential terrorist organization as ISIS is inclined to mainly refer to the poverty factor. Another criterion for selecting the case of ISIS for discussing the research problem is the fact that the situation in this terrorist organization is well-documented and widely studied by researchers and experts, and this allows for accessing required data for analysis.

This research also relates methodologically to the current literature on the topic of the impact of poverty on terrorist recruitment with the focus on the fact that this project will allow for applying the case study approach to examining the recruitment strategies and tendencies possibly associated with poverty of persons selected for ISIS. Although poverty as the factor influencing recruiting people for terrorist organizations is actively studied, there is a lack of case studies related to this topic (Hoffman and Reinares 2014; Krueger 2018). In addition, the application of the case study approach will contribute to the knowledge of the situation in ISIS as one of the most influential terrorist organizations today.

Data Collection and Analysis

This case study is based on collecting different types of data on terrorist recruitment with reference to ISIS, including statistical reports, governmental and non-governmental organizations’ reports, studies, available anonymous or insider information, accessible data provided by individuals, newspaper articles, surveys, and publicly available information from social media. These sources of information will be retrieved from websites and online databases of different types. The focus will be on collecting the data that cover the period of 2014-2018. The possibility to conduct personal interviews with individuals who can provide information on the topic is limited, and it is not discussed as the option for this project. Therefore, recruits’ and recruiters’ narratives accessible via other sources will be used in this study. The collected data will be reviewed and organized in password-protected digital folders because the early analysis of data allows for categorizing them for the further appropriate storage and manipulation.

At the stage of data analysis, the coding technique will be used. The collected data will be synthesized to use all the gathered evidence for the further analysis that will include reviewing data for the purpose of identifying themes and assigning codes (Lune and Berg 2016; Schwartz-Shea and Yanow 2013). The collected data will be reviewed, analyzed, and interpreted with reference to finding evidence and information on the impact of poverty on terrorist recruitment in the context of the constructivist approach (Lune and Berg 2016; Peters 2013). As a result, themes and codes related to different perspectives and points of view associated with the problem will be identified in order to guarantee that the researcher’s claims are based on the collected information, and all arguments are taken into account, including support for the relationship between poverty and terrorist recruitment and against this relationship (Toshkov 2016; Yin 2017).

It will be important to find information and identify themes related to such aspects as whether recruiters approach and attract only those persons whose socioeconomic status is low or who live in poverty, and whether low-income or poor individuals become recruits in ISIS oftener than middle-income individuals. Furthermore, the data will be analyzed to understand whether propaganda materials of ISIS are oriented to people living in poverty among other aspects. Accordingly, the interpretation of the coded data with the focus on determined major themes will allow for providing final propositions and conclusions to answer the question on how poverty can influence terrorist recruitment with the focus on the case of ISIS and their strategies.

Limitations

In spite of the fact that the selected methodology and research design are effective to provide the answer to the set research question and address the research problem, there are still limitations associated with this project. Firstly, there is no opportunity to include personal interviews conducted by the researcher with recruits or recruiters in the data required for collection. This limitation is addressed by referring to narratives that are available online or in studies conducted by other researchers on this topic.

Secondly, there is a risk that the collected data will not provide enough information to conclude on how poverty can influence terrorist recruitment in ISIS in contrast to the overall discussion of this situation typical of different terrorist organizations that is available online. It is possible to address this limitation while organizing the search process with the focus on keywords that will help retrieve data that are directly related to the problem of poverty. Therefore, the following search words will be used in addition to words related to ISIS and terrorism: “poverty,” “socioeconomic status,” “middle-class,” “low-class,” “low income,” and “disadvantaged” among others. As a result, it will be possible to contribute to the validity of research and its significance while addressing the identified limitations.

Evaluation of Research

The criteria against which this research based on a case study design should be evaluated are the following ones: the appropriateness of a research design to respond to the research question; the justification of the selected qualitative research design; the appropriateness of data collection and analysis strategies; and the discussion of limitations (Halperin and Heath 2016). Additional criteria include credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability (Lune and Berg 2016). The researcher has met the key criteria while selecting a qualitative research design depending on specifics of the formulated research question. Data collection and analysis procedures are discussed in detail, and limitations are also analyzed along with the strategy to address them.

The credibility of this study will be achieved with the focus on interpreting results with reference to two opposite views regarding the role of poverty in terrorist recruitment in order to avoid biased conclusions. Transferability will be guaranteed with reference to possibilities to analyze these findings in the context of other terrorist organizations to compare tendencies. Dependability is guaranteed with reference to the nature of the case study and the impossibility to change the data used for analysis. Confirmability will be provided with reference to the careful interpretation of data in order to ensure that narratives and information in documents are not misinterpreted.

Conclusion

This research design paper has provided the research question for the study in the field of political science with the focus on a review of the current literature. The importance of the discussed problem and the set question has been shown. This paper has also presented the methodology selected for this research with the focus on explaining specifics of using a case study design for this project. Limitations and evaluation criteria for qualitative research have also been discussed in this paper.

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