Youth Recruitment and Mobilization to Violence
Download the Year 6 project summary.
What?
Youth are being recruited to engage in violence at an increasing rate, particularly due to their accessibility through social media and online spaces. How can we understand and prevent young people from mobilizing from radical thought to violent actions? To help keep kids safe, we need to examine the factors that lead them on the pathway to violence.
Project Summary
This project applies open-source data methodologies and qualitative research to examine characteristics of people under the age of 25 who have been convicted of engaging in acts of violent extremism and terrorism.
Purpose/Objectives
This project seeks to understand the drivers of terrorism by understanding factors that precede mobilization to violence and to support and protect youth and other vulnerable populations most susceptible to radicalization.
Method
This project uses a variety of methods, including content coding of cases involving charged and convicted individuals, surveys, focus groups, and interviews to help identify factors that contribute to youth violence and prevention and intervention strategies.
Media Reporting
- Violent online extremists are luring teens to their death | WORLD
- A fascinating case study of a (since recovered) minor who was radicalized online featuring project lead Bettina Rottweiler, Ph.D.
- 764: How online extremist content is reaching Arizona teens | AZFamily
- An exposé of 764, a prolific nihilistic violent extremist network, examining the founder and the impact the group is having on youth. Featuring project lead Bettina Rottweiler, Ph.D.
Reports and Publications
- Prosecuting Nihilistic Violent Extremism: An Examination of Federal and State Charges Against 764 and Related Networks
- The project team, along with NCITE's Prosecuting Illicit Threat Actors team, describe the nature of this emergent threat, including its origin, structure, and ideology, and summarize the current state of federal charges in the U.S. linked to 764.
- Children, Young People, and the Emerging Terrorism Threat Landscape
- This piece serves as an overview of the unique vulnerabilities of youth when exposed to violent extremist content.
- Nihilistic Violent Extremism | Landing Page
- This landing page was established to collect NCITE knowledge regarding "nihilistic violent extremism" (NVE), a new term being used to describe the motivations behind certain mass-violence attacks.
Research Team
Bettina Rottweiler, Ph.D.
- PI
- NCITE Research Associate
- University of Nebraska at Omaha
- Expertise: Youth radicalization and mobilization, risk and protective factors for violent extremism, the effects of conspiracy theories within violent extremist group and ideologies
Austin Doctor, Ph.D.
- Co-PI
- NCITE Director of Strategic Initiatives
- Assistant Professor of Political Science | University of Nebraska at Omaha
- Expertise: Militants, terrorism, irregular warfare, and emerging threats
Caitlin Clemmow, Ph.D.
- Co-PI
- University College London
- Expertise: terrorism, public health, causes and prevention of crime