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Essay on Terrorism and group radicalisation-Weather Underground Organisation case study

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Terrorism and counter-terrorism

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London Metropolitan University (LMU)

3700-word essay that critically explores the reasons why groups become radicalised in academic literature and demonstrates through the use of an empirical case the most important causes of a group’s radicalisation. Delves through psychological and sociological theories of terrorism and radical...

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Uploaded on January 25, 2025
Number of pages 8
Written in 2023/2024
Type Essay
Professor(s) Unknown
Grade A

Critically explore the reasons why groups become radicalised in academic literature and
demonstrate through the use of an empirical case the most important causes of a
group’s radicalisation.

Group radicalization is the process through which members of a group start to
increasingly adopt radical beliefs in opposition to a political or social status quo (Hedges,
2017). Radical groups are dynamic systems that originate from a broad social desire for
change in society and can result in both violent and nonviolent outcomes. Groups
radicalize through a gradual process, progressing from the less to the more extreme, in
an environment characterized by shared sentiments of injustice, real or perceived,
exclusion and humiliation (Borum, 2011). The case study proposed in this paper is the
one of the Weather Underground Organization (WUO). Why did the Weatherman
radicalize? And how did the group become progressively more radical until its move
underground? To fully address these questions, this research integrates the key
mechanisms that lead to group radicalization proposed by McCauley and Moskalenko
(2011) with groupthink characteristics presented by Janis (2011, cited in Tsintsadze-
Maass and Maass, 2014, p. 738). The paper proceeds as follows. First, it introduces
group grievances as the fertile ground on which radicalisation can flourish: the
Weathermen shared political grievances and selected violent policies they expected to
best redress them. Furthermore, it focuses on external threats. The society in which the
Weather Underground developed was defined by political violence. Soon after the Days
of Rage, they became targets of U.S. intelligence agencies: the dichotomy "us" versus
"them" maximized. Finally, the paper examines how group polarisation led to the gradual
isolation and insulation of the Weatherman. With high levels of cohesion, group
members become more homogenous and shift towards more extreme ideologies.
Additionally, the WUO exhibited excessive optimism derived from what Janis (2011, cited
in Tsintsadze-Maass and Maass, 2014, p. 738) defines as illusions of invulnerability and
illusions of unanimity. Moreover, the isolation from outside influences minimized the
group's exposure to alternative perspectives, reinforced through the use of censorship.
The radicalisation of the group culminated with their decision of moving underground.
Group radicalisation is a gradual process, in which several interacting mechanisms lead
the members to adopt increasingly extreme worldviews (Hedges, 2017; Borum, 2011).
Shared feelings of injustice, humiliation, and exclusion foster radical attitudes (Alimi,
Bosi and Chares Demetriou, 2015). In response to such grievances, radical behaviour
can culminate in acts of terror. There is no major, single factor to guide a group towards
radicalization pathways. However, most of the literature seems to agree on three
elements underlying group radicalisation. Antagonism towards a specific group or
organisation, legitimizing the group's violent actions and inhibiting social obstacles that
might prevent the members from acting violently are common features in the
radicalisation process (Borum, 2011). Hafez and Mullins (2015), conceptualized group

, radicalisation as a jigsaw puzzle composed of four elements that, interacting with each
other, empower group dynamics. Cultural marginalization, feelings of victimisation and
policies' disagreements constitute the first piece of the puzzle, shared grievances. The
group is cohesive and determined to make its hurt voices heard. The second piece of the
puzzle, ideology, drives and unify members in their fight against threats and
discriminations. Through ideology, the group justify its violence and feels entitled to
dehumanize the enemy, in favour of a greater cause (Hafez and Mullins, 2015). Adding to
the puzzle are networks, through which already radicalised members share their extreme
beliefs. It is thanks to these kinships that dynamics of groupthink and pressure for
cohesion come into action. Enabling environments complete the puzzle. It is in these
support structures that new vulnerable individuals are recruited and that members
deepen their radical beliefs (Hafez and Mullins, 2015). A different conceptualisation has
been proposed by McCauley and Moskalenko(2011), according to whom group
radicalisation processes can be exemplified by the layers in the opinion pyramid, and by
those in the action pyramid. Group members can move within the different layers; at the
base of both pyramids are neutrals and inert members, while at the apex are terrorists
and members who feel a moral obligation to defend their group (Ionescu et al., 2017).
Other factors have been proposed to influence the process of group radicalisation. For
instance, internal or external elements, namely activators and catalysts, can facilitate
the advancement towards more radical beliefs (Ionescu et al., 2017). On the other hand,
inhibiting factors or external interventions can prevent further radicalisation. To drive the
radicalisation process are, as in accordance with McAdam et al. (2001, cited in Alimi,
Bosi and Demetriou, 2015, p. 10), cognitive, relational, and environmental mechanisms.
The group, in its path towards radicalisation, is affected by a critical change in the
connection among members, together with changes in a shared ideology and changes in
the environment in which the group operates. Although such forces are distinct and
operate in different ways, they are constantly influencing each other, resulting in a deep,
progressive radicalisation of the group (Alimi, Bosi and Demetriou, 2015). Group
dynamics that influence the radicalisation process have been studied by Janis (2011,
cited in Tsintsadze-Maass and Maass, 2014, p. 738), who suggested that the groupthink
phenomenon obfuscates the rational thinking of a group. In this way, the group further
radicalises through the choice of a violent policy to address external threats, gradually
stereotyped as unhuman; persevering in keep employing the same strategies even when
resulting in failures; ignoring the associated risks of their plans; filtering outside
information and influences, focusing solely on the group beliefs, through the use of
censorship (Tsintsadze-Maass and Maass, 2014). Such groupthink dynamics are present
in the radicalisation of the Weather Underground, a leftist organisation formed by young
Americans at the end of the 1960s. Born inside the Students for a Democratic Society
(SDS) organization and guided by Mark Rudd, James Mellen, and Bernardine Dohrn, the
Weathermen aimed to destroy the imperialist U.S. government. The Weatherman
referred to their enemy with extreme stereotypes, convinced of their inherent morality.

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