A Constructivist-Process View of

(De-)Radicalisation:
A Person-Context Diagram
Guillem Feixas (UB) and David A. Winter (UH)
January, 2016

The Person
Construing
processes

Polarised &
Undifferentiated
Construct System

Massive
Invalidation
Uncertainty

Cohesive Social Validation

Lack of Social Validation

Identity/
Religious conflict

Turning
points

Infancy

Adolescence

Identification/
Identity Fusion

Crisis

Dysfunctional family processes

Perceived
Grievance

Situational
factors

Humiliation
Trauma/Neglect

Unidimensional
Construing
Total Certainty

Conversion

Engagement

Contact with
radicalised
people &
charismatic
leaders
(Internet,
phone, etc)

Militancy:
- support
- terrorism
- recruitment

Indoctrination

Social Rejection/
Isolation
Family/Personal Adversity

High construct
Differentiation

Massive
Invalidation
Lack of
Social
Validation

Towards
an Alternative
Life Project
Social
Validation

DisappointDisengagement
ment

Conflict with
organization

Escape/
Repatriation

Enrolment
in de-radicalisation
programs

Familial-like
bonds with
organization
members

Disconnection from family & friends

The Context

Feixas & Winter, 2016

All this happens in a broader

context .

International political conflicts

Religious confrontation between fundamentalisms

(vs. respect, ecumenism)

Social Marginalisation & Stigmatization

(vs. social integration)

Social Conflict & Economic inequalities

(vs. socioeconomic justice)
Feixas & Winter, 2016