Psychological Mechanisms of Youth Involvement in Extremist and Terrorist Organizations (Using the Example of Social Networks)

The work describes the signs of recruitment and the psychological mechanisms of youth involvement in extremist and terrorist organizations in the Internet. A structural analysis of materials containing communication aimed at involving youth in extremist or terrorist organizations and/or communities with extremist goals. The object of the study are cases received for a comprehensive psychological and linguistic study at the Moscow State Budgetary Institution “Moscow Research Center”. The purpose of the work was to describe the signs of recruitment and the basic psychological mechanisms of youth involvement in extremist and terrorist organizations in the Internet. The basis for the methodological substantiation of the identified psychological mechanisms of involvement were the ideas of A.A. Leontiev on the concept of communication; scientific ideas of G.M. Andreeva about social communication. Using the intent analysis method, the psychological mechanisms of youth involvement in the Internet were identified, which are based on the impact on the motivational-need and value spheres of the individual. The described mechanisms allow us to deepen our understanding of the involvement of young people in extremist and terrorist communities.

1. Ananin O.Yu., Basulina A.A., Zhulanov A.V. Verbovka molodezhi v terroristicheskie organizatsii posredstvom sotsial’nykh setei: problemy profilaktiki [Recruitment of youth into terrorist organizations through social networks: problems of prevention] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Vestnik ekonomicheskoi bezopasnosti = Bulletin of Economic Security, 2022, no. 5, pp. 290–295. doi:10.24412/2414-3995-2022-5-290-295 (In Russ.).
2. Andreeva G.M. Sotsial’naya psikhologiya: Uchebnik. 5th ed. Moscow: Aspekt Press, 2010. 290 p. (In Russ.).
3. Badamshin S.K. Prestupleniya terroristicheskoi napravlennosti, sovershaemye s ispol’zovaniem elektronnykh i informatsionno-telekommunikatsionnykh setei: ugolovno-pravovaya i kriminologicheskaya kharakteristika: Diss. kand. yurid. nauk. Moscow, 2018. 275 p. (In Russ.).
4. Gaivoronskaya I.B., Fomina T.F., Amanzholova B.A. Verbovka v ekstremistskie i terroristicheskie organizatsii posredstvom seti Internet [Online Recruitment into Extremist and Terrorist Organizations] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Psikhologiya i parvo = Psychology and Law, 2020. Vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 152–165. doi:10.17759/psylaw.2020100411 (In Russ.).
5. Davydov V.O. O sposobakh skloneniya, verbovki i inogo vovlecheniya litsa v terroristicheskuyu deyatel’nost’ s ispol’zovaniem IT-tekhnologii [About methods of declination, recruitment and other involvement of the person into terrorist activities using IT-technologies] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Izvestiya Tul’skogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Ekonomicheskie i yuridicheskie nauki = Izvestiya Tula State University. Economic and Legal Sciences, 2022, no. 2, pp. 14–25. doi: 24412/2071-6184-2022-2-14-25 (In Russ.).
6. Dvoryanchikov N.V., Bovin B.G., Melnikova D.V., Lavreshkin N.V., Bovina I.B. Legitimizatsiya terrorizma v podrostkovo-molodezhnoi srede: ot mekhanizmov radikalizatsii k modeli otsenki riska [The Legitimization of Terrorism in Adolescence and Youth: from Radicalisation Mechanisms to Risk Assessment Model] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Psikhologiya i pravo = Psychology and Law, 2022. Vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 154–170. doi:10.17759/psylaw.2022120412 (In Russ.).
7. Enikolopov S.N., Mkrtchyan A.A. Psikhologicheskie posledstviya terrorizma i rol’ SMI v protsesse ikh formirovaniya [Psychological consequences of terrorism and the role of mass media in the process of their formation]. Natsional’nyi psikhologicheskii zhurnal = National Psychological Journal, 2010, no. 2 (4), pp. 41–46. (In Russ.).
8. Kroz M.V., Ratinova N.A., Onishchenko O.R. Kriminal’noe psikhologicheskoe vozdeistvie. Moscow: Yurlitinform, 2008. 200 p. (In Russ.).
9. Kukushkina O.V., Safonova Yu.A., Sekerazh T.N. Metodika provedeniya sudebnoi psikhologo-lingvisticheskoi ekspertizy materialov po delam, svyazannym s protivodeistviem ekstremizmu i terrorizmu [Method of conducting complex forensic psychological and linguistic examination on cases related to counteraction to extremism and terrorism] [Elektronnyi resurs]. 2nd Moscow: Federal’noe byudzhetnoe uchrezhdenie Rossiiskii federal’nyi tsentr sudebnoi ekspertizy pri Ministerstve yustitsii Rossiiskoi Federatsii Publ., 2022. 108 p. doi:10.30764/978-5-91133-245-7-2022-11 (In Russ.).
10. Leontiev A.A. Psikhologiya obshcheniya: Uchebnoe posobie. 4th ed. Moscow: Smysl; Akademiya, 2007. 412 p. (In Russ.).
11. Oshevsky D.S. Kliniko-psikhologicheskie aspekty vkhozhdeniya podrostkov v ekstremistskuyu i terroristicheskuyu deyatel’nost’ [Clinical and psychological aspects of adolescent involvement in extremist and terrorist activities] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Psikhologiya i parvo = Psychology and Law, 2017. Vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 123–132. doi:10.17759/psylaw.2017060210 (In Russ.).
12. Zhuravlev A.L., Pavlova N.D. (Eds.). Psikhologicheskoe vozdeistvie: Mekhanizmy, strategii, vozmozhnosti protivodeistviya. Moscow: Institut psikhologii RAN Publ., 2012. 368 p. (In Russ.).
13. Reshetnikov M.M. (Ed.). Psikhologiya i psikhopatologiya terrorizma. Gumanitarnye strategii antiterrora: Monografiya [Psychology and psychopathology of terrorism. Humanitarian strategies of antiterror]. 2nd ed. Moscow: Yurait, 2024. 257 p. (In Russ.).
14. Rusina T.S. Otsenka masshtabov vovlecheniya molodezhi v ekstremistskuyu i terroristicheskuyu deyatel’nost’ (na osnove dannykh sotsial’noi i ugolovno-pravovoi statistiki) [Assessment of the scales of the involvement of youth in extremist and terrorist activities (based on social and criminal-legal statistics)]. Vestnik Krasnodarskogo universiteta MVD Rossii = Bulletin of Krasnodar University of Russian MIA, 2023, no. 4 (62), pp. 87–91. (In Russ.).
15. Sekerazh T.N. Sudebnaya psikhologicheskaya ekspertiza informatsionnykh materialov: teoriya i praktika: Monografiya [Psychological forensic examination of information material: theory and practice] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Moscow: Federal’noe byudzhetnoe uchrezhdenie Rossiiskii federal’nyi tsentr sudebnoi ekspertizy pri Ministerstve yustitsii Rossiiskoi Federatsii Publ., 2021. 406 p. doi:10.30764/978-5-91133-231-0-2021-13 (In Russ.).
16. Sosnin V.A. Psikhologiya sovremennogo terrorizma: Uchebnoe posobie. 2nd ed. Moscow: FORUM; INFRA-M, 2017. 160 p. (In Russ.).
17. Sosnin V.A. Sovremennyi terrorizm i problema verbovki lyudei v terroristicheskie seti: psikhologicheskie aspekty [Contemporary terrorism and the problem of recruitment to terrorist nets: psychological aspects]. Prikladnaya yuridicheskaya psikhologiya = Applied legal psychology, 2015, no. 4, pp. 20–28. (In Russ.).
18. Sundiev I.Yu. Evolyutsiya verbovochnykh tekhnologii v tsifrovuyu epokhu [The Evolution of Recruitment Technologies in the Digital Age]. Nauchnyi portal MVD Rossii = Scientific Portal of the Russia Ministry of the Interior, 2018, no. 1 (41), pp. 67–76. (In Russ.).
19. Tarbagaev A.N., Moskalev G.L. Problemy ugolovno-pravovoi reglamentatsii skloneniya, verbovki ili inogo vovlecheniya v osushchestvlenie terroristicheskoi deyatel’nosti (chast’ 1 stat’i 205.1 UK RF) [Issues of criminal law regulation of inducement, recruitment or other involvement in terrorist activities (Part 1 of article 205.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)] [Elektronnyi resurs]. Vserossiiskii kriminologicheskii zhurnal = Russian Journal of Criminology, 2017. Vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 350–360. doi:10.17150/2500-4255.2017.11(2).350-360 (In Russ.).
20. Alava S., Frau-Meigs D., Hassan G. Youth and violent extremist on social media: mapping the research. UNESCO, 2017. 161 p.
21. Aly A., Macdonald S., Jarvis L., Chen T.M. Introduction to the Special Issue: Terrorist Online Propaganda and Radicalization. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 2016. Vol 40, no. 1. doi:10.1080/1057610X.2016.1157402
22. Crayne M.P., Hunter S.T., Ligon G.S., Shortland N.D. Recruitment and selection in violent Extremist Organizations: exploring what industrial and organizational psychology might contribute. American Psychologist, 2017. Vol. 72, no. 3, pp. 242–254. doi:10.1037/amp0000089 (In Russ.).
23. González I., Moyano M., Lobato R.M., Trujillo H.M. Evidence of Psychological Manipulation in the Process of Violent Radicalization: An Investigation of the 17-A Cell. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2022. Vol. 13. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.789051
24. Miller-Idriss C. Extremist recruitment and extremist sentiment normalization // The Journal of Intelligence, Conflict, and Warfare. 2022. Vol. 5(3). P. 164–168. doi:10.21810/jicw.v5i3.5190
25. Trip S., Bora C.H., Marian M., Halmajan A., Drugas M.I. Psychological Mechanisms Involved in Radicalization and Extremism. A Rational Emotive Behavioral Conceptualization. Frontiers in Psychology, 2019. Vol. 10. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00437
26. Weisburd D.L., Savona E.U., Hasisi B., Calderoni F. (Eds.). Understanding Recruitment to Organized Crime and Terrorism. Springer, 2020. 346 p. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-36639-1