Abstract
The third chapter builds on the second by applying an understanding of identity theory to some of the core questions at the heart of contemporary security studies in Western, metropolitan societies such as Britain; namely the somewhat contested notions of radicalization, extremism and terrorism. The chapter begins by noting that “radicalization” has become a firmly-established and normative notion in Western security policy, but is not a universally understood or accepted process. Similarly, because the words radical and extreme are essentially relative concepts, the question of Britishness and the degree to which a person can deviate from it in radical ways is also relative and subjective. In this way, it is argued, identities in a security context cannot be easily described as essentialist factors.
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- 1.
For an empirical study of the media and portrayals of Islam and Muslims in the UK, see Moore et al. (2008).
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Richards, J. (2017). Radicalization, Extremism, Terrorism. In: Extremism, Radicalization and Security. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55203-3_3
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