{"id":399,"date":"2014-09-19T15:34:57","date_gmt":"2014-09-19T15:34:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/?p=399"},"modified":"2015-10-13T19:04:22","modified_gmt":"2015-10-13T19:04:22","slug":"good-kids-gone-guerrilla-why-flee-to-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/2014\/09\/19\/good-kids-gone-guerrilla-why-flee-to-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"Good Kids Gone Guerrilla: Why Flee to Fight?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fears of\u00a0a \u201cterror pipeline\u201d running from Western countries to ISIL and other militant groups are on the rise. The New York Times<\/em> reports<\/span><\/a> that at least a dozen men have left Minnesota to join radical Islamist groups. Community leaders and FBI officials suggest that cultural isolation, social discontent, and economic challenges drive recent immigrants abroad to fight, and expert accounts in the media argue solving these local problems is the best means of curbing the trend. <\/span><\/p>\n

Social science has two things to say about this: first, \u00a0sincere religious belief, political ideology, and rationalistic behavior may play a stronger role than the media recognize. Second, Western media and governments may have an interest in portraying the motivations for militancy in particular ways.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ethnographic research shows that the incentive structures of fundamentalist Islam make militancy an appealing choice. Young men who spend hundreds of hours per year in prayer groups and become leaders in their local mosque communities come to view radicalism as the only sure path to Heaven. They don\u2019t join militant organizations because they are confused, isolated, or have no other choices, but because they sincerely believe that doing so is the right path.<\/h5>\n