What is it about?
The literature on terrorism suggests a strong link between criminal offending and terrorism – the crime-terror nexus. Building upon a strain theory perspective, we suggest that devalued socio-economic status (i.e. limited education and unemployment) and criminal past define the pool of people from which violent and terror offenders may be recruited.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
Majority of Dutch violent offenders, foreign fighters, and European terrorists has only completed secundary school (or less) and was unemployed in the year of offending. One in two of recent European terrorists have previously been involved in violent crimes and/or had joined jihadi groups abroad. The findings inform us about the background conditions under which violent and terrorist crime can originate, and suggests one of the mechanism that shapes the crime-terror nexus.
Perspectives
Whether relative deprivation is a direct cause, or merely an amplifying factor in criminal motivation needs to be scrutinized in future research. However, its consideration may have great implication for policy and law enforcement agencies.
Dr Vanja Ljujic
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Beyond the crime-terror nexus: socio-economic status, violent crimes and terrorism, Journal of Criminological Research Policy and Practice, September 2017, Emerald,
DOI: 10.1108/jcrpp-02-2017-0010.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
