The Deradicalization Process

Abstract

This chapter addresses the phenomenon of deradicalization, the reversal of radicalization. Is deradicalization even possible? Has it ever happened? If so, how can it occur? And what may prevent it from taking place? Addressing these questions, the authors propose that the movement toward moderation is determined by the same general factors as the movement toward extremism, though the specifics are different. In other words, deradicalization too is affected by variables in the need, narrative, and network categories of the 3N theory of radicalization, but the specific need, narrative, and network factors can be different from those that produced radicalization. From this perspective, the chapter examines spontaneous and systematic attempts to bring about deradicalization as these are implemented in various rehabilitation programs that have been instituted in the last decades in various countries and world locations.