Problematizations in Anti-Radicalization Policy: The Case of Aarhus
Author
Dahlgaard, Kirstine Hauge
Term
4. term
Publication year
2017
Submitted on
2017-05-31
Abstract
This thesis examines how radicalization is understood and addressed in the widely noted Aarhus Model. Motivated by scholarly disagreement about what radicalization is and criticism of an overemphasis on Islam that risks casting Muslims as ‘suspect communities,’ it asks: How is the problem of radicalization represented and approached in the Aarhus Model, and how does the city’s anti-radicalization policy relate to public discourses on radicalization? The theoretical framework reviews approaches to radicalization, process models, links to terrorism, islamophobia, and the concept of moral panic. Methodologically, the study applies Carol Bacchi’s WPR framework to analyze how policy constructs problems rather than merely solves them. The four-part analysis considers (1) Aarhus initiatives and their underlying assumptions, (2) the evolution of policy at national and local levels, (3) the model’s “silences,” and (4) the development of anti-Muslim and anti-immigration discourses and their influence on, and treatment within, Aarhus’s work. The findings indicate that Aarhus places particular emphasis on returning foreign fighters, offering exit programs to support leaving extremist milieus; frames radicalization primarily as linked to violent criminal activity rather than religion, targeting lawbreaking rather than beliefs; and acknowledges that islamophobic discourses shape the context while actively countering them through information efforts, pro-diversity and anti-discrimination initiatives aimed at the broader public.
Specialet undersøger, hvordan radikalisering forstås og håndteres i den såkaldte Aarhus-model, der har fået omfattende positiv opmærksomhed i Danmark og internationalt. Med udgangspunkt i uenigheden i forskningen om, hvad radikalisering er, og kritikken af et ensidigt fokus på islam, stilles forskningsspørgsmålet: Hvordan repræsenteres og adresseres problemet radikalisering i Aarhus-modellen, og hvilken relation har indsatsen til offentlige diskurser om radikalisering? Teoretisk gennemgås tilgange til radikalisering, procesmodeller, relationen mellem radikalisering og terror, islamofobi samt begrebet moralsk panik. Metodisk anvendes Carol Bacchis WPR-ramme til at analysere, hvordan politik skaber problemer, frem for blot at løse dem. Analysen er fire-delt: (1) antiradikaliseringsindsatserne i Aarhus og deres underliggende antagelser, (2) udviklingen af politik på nationalt og lokalt niveau, (3) modellens “tavsheder”, og (4) samspillet mellem anti-muslimske/anti-immigrationsdiskurser og arbejdet i Aarhus. Specialet finder, at Aarhus lægger vægt på hjemvendte fremmedkrigere og tilbyder exit-programmer, der hjælper med at forlade ekstremistiske miljøer; at radikalisering primært rammesættes som knyttet til voldskriminalitet frem for religion, så indsatsen retter sig mod lovbrud frem for holdninger; og at islamofobiske diskurser, som præger den offentlige debat, både påvirker arbejdet og samtidig imødegås i Aarhus gennem oplysning, mangfoldighedsfremme og anti-diskriminationsinitiativer rettet mod det bredere samfund.
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Keywords