Crusaders and Invaders: How Islamic State and the Christchurch Shooter Portray Their Enemies in Propaganda
(2021) CMEM01 20211Centre for Middle Eastern Studies
- Abstract
- Research comparing the ideological beliefs, radicalization pathways, and extremist rhetoric of both Salafi jihadists and militant white supremacists has become increasingly prevalent over the past decade. However, there has not yet been an in-depth comparison of how those extremists portray the communities they incite violence against. In light of this gap in the existing research, the author of this thesis conducted a qualitative content analysis comparing two prominent cases of extremist propaganda. One was Dabiq, Islamic State’s first major English-language magazine. The other was The Great Replacement, a manifesto written by the Christchurch shooter. This analysis found that both Dabiq and The Great Replacement portray those they call... (More)
- Research comparing the ideological beliefs, radicalization pathways, and extremist rhetoric of both Salafi jihadists and militant white supremacists has become increasingly prevalent over the past decade. However, there has not yet been an in-depth comparison of how those extremists portray the communities they incite violence against. In light of this gap in the existing research, the author of this thesis conducted a qualitative content analysis comparing two prominent cases of extremist propaganda. One was Dabiq, Islamic State’s first major English-language magazine. The other was The Great Replacement, a manifesto written by the Christchurch shooter. This analysis found that both Dabiq and The Great Replacement portray those they call for violence against as enemy soldiers in a global war, insidious threats to their own communities, and traitorous elites with selfish agendas. While each text also portrays its targets in unique ways, these findings hint at a significant overlap between how Salafi jihadists and militant white supremacists conceptualize those they incite violence against. Understanding the means by which characteristic works of Salafi jihadist and militant white supremacist propaganda depict those their authors aim to victimize could be critical in formulating counter-narratives and deradicalizing extremists from both ideological camps. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9065008
- author
- Grzegorczyk, Shane LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- CMEM01 20211
- year
- 2021
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Dabiq, The Great Replacement, political violence, extremism, social identity theory, dehumanization, jihadism, Salafism, white supremacy, white nationalism
- language
- English
- id
- 9065008
- date added to LUP
- 2021-09-14 15:26:31
- date last changed
- 2021-09-14 15:26:31
@misc{9065008,
abstract = {{Research comparing the ideological beliefs, radicalization pathways, and extremist rhetoric of both Salafi jihadists and militant white supremacists has become increasingly prevalent over the past decade. However, there has not yet been an in-depth comparison of how those extremists portray the communities they incite violence against. In light of this gap in the existing research, the author of this thesis conducted a qualitative content analysis comparing two prominent cases of extremist propaganda. One was Dabiq, Islamic State’s first major English-language magazine. The other was The Great Replacement, a manifesto written by the Christchurch shooter. This analysis found that both Dabiq and The Great Replacement portray those they call for violence against as enemy soldiers in a global war, insidious threats to their own communities, and traitorous elites with selfish agendas. While each text also portrays its targets in unique ways, these findings hint at a significant overlap between how Salafi jihadists and militant white supremacists conceptualize those they incite violence against. Understanding the means by which characteristic works of Salafi jihadist and militant white supremacist propaganda depict those their authors aim to victimize could be critical in formulating counter-narratives and deradicalizing extremists from both ideological camps.}},
author = {{Grzegorczyk, Shane}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Crusaders and Invaders: How Islamic State and the Christchurch Shooter Portray Their Enemies in Propaganda}},
year = {{2021}},
}