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The Determinants of Religious Radicalization: Evidence from Kenya

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  • Rink, Anselm
  • Sharma, Kunaal

Abstract

A variety of theories attempt to explain why some individuals radicalize along religious lines. Few studies, however, have jointly put these diverse hypotheses under empirical scrutiny. Focusing on Muslim–Christian tensions in Kenya, we distill salient micro-, meso-, and macro-level hypotheses that try to account for the recent spike in religious radicalization. We use an empirical strategy that compares survey evidence from Christian and Muslim respondents with differing degrees of religious radicalization. We find no evidence that radicalization is predicted by macro-level political or economic grievances. Rather, radicalization is strongly associated with individual-level psychological trauma, including historically troubled social relations, and process-oriented factors, particularly religious identification and exposure to radical networks. The findings point to a model of radicalization as an individual-level process that is largely unaffected by macro-level influences. As such, radicalization is better understood in a relational, idea-driven framework as opposed to a macro-level structural approach.

Suggested Citation

  • Rink, Anselm & Sharma, Kunaal, 2018. "The Determinants of Religious Radicalization: Evidence from Kenya," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 62(6), pages 1229-1261.
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:172490
    DOI: 10.1177/0022002716678986
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Abadie, Alberto & Gardeazabal, Javier, 2008. "Terrorism and the world economy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 1-27, January.
    2. Mary Beth Altier & Christian N Thoroughgood & John G Horgan, 2014. "Turning away from terrorism," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 51(5), pages 647-661, September.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Mustafa Emre ÇAĞLAR, 2020. "Why does intellectuality weaken faith and sometimes foster it?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 7(1), pages 1-17, December.
    3. Henrique, 2024. "The Power of Dialogue: Forced Displacement and Social Integration amid an Islamist Insurgency in Mozambique," HiCN Working Papers 405, Households in Conflict Network.
    4. Kikuta,Kyosuke, 2022. "Rainy Friday: religious participation and protests," IDE Discussion Papers 859, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    5. Gustave Adolphe Messanga & Marios Yannick Duclair Tajeugueu, 2021. "The Role of Radio-Télévision Libre Des Mille Collines in The Rwandan Genocide : An Analysis From The Theoretical Perspectives of Intergroup Threat and Aggression," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 5(09), pages 154-163, September.
    6. Schutte, Sebastian & Ruhe, Constantin & Linke, Andrew, 2020. "How indiscriminate violence fuels religious conflict: Evidence from Kenya," SocArXiv kngq2, Center for Open Science.
    7. Kiran M. Sarma & Sarah L. Carthy & Katie M. Cox, 2022. "Mental disorder, psychological problems and terrorist behaviour: A systematic review and meta‐analysis," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(3), September.
    8. Karell, Daniel & Freedman, Michael Raphael, 2019. "Rhetorics of Radicalism," SocArXiv yfzsh, Center for Open Science.

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