It’s become a truism of counterterrorism that one must understand how and why individuals become militants in the first place. But almost nobody is studying the flip side of radicalization — understanding those who leave terrorist organizations.
Figuring out why individuals walk away from terrorist groups can help governments predict whether an individual — or even a cell — is likely to go through with a plot.
Understanding the dropouts should also make it easier for governments to determine which terrorists might be induced to switch sides, help stop radicalization and craft messages that could peel away people already in terrorist organizations.
Jacobson illustrates his argument with reference to a number of Al-Qaeda operatives who did de-select themselves. He identifies a number of factors which in the past have caused individuals to break with militant organisations such as Al-Qaeda, some of which are ’strikingly prosaic’. Common reasons include:
* Disillusionment with the group’s tactics and strategy.
* Lack of respect for the group’s leadership, particularly their lack of battlefield military experience.
* Money, particularly when inadequate compensation is perceived as unfair treatment towards an individual.
* Petty slights and personal animosities between operatives and leadership figures.
* Family ties and personal connections, particularly as experienced by an operative following his re-insertion into society following a period of detachment in a training camp or other retreat.
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