Radykalizacja młodzieży do terroryzmu na przykładzie ‘zagranicznych bojowników terrorystycznych’ z regionu Kaukazu Północnego
Process of Youth Radicalization Towards Terrorism Demonstrated with the Example of Foreign Terrorist Fighters from the North Caucasus

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this article is to describe the processes that lead to the involvement of young people in terrorist activities undertaken by international jihadi organizations. The main research question was what kind of group and individual mechanisms pushed young people towards terrorism. A detailed research was aimed at addressing the following issues: 1) how do the theoretical models of radicalization, so far developed by social science, apply to explaining the current mobilization of fighters in Syria and Iraq?, 2) how – in the light of available knowledge – can the Islamist radicalization of young people from the Northern Caucasus be explained? The author applied the critical literature review method, as well as general methods, such as analysis, deduction and synthesis. The review of modern conceptions of radicalization allowed to formulate a thesis that this phenomenon could be explained with the “3P” Model, calling attention to push, pull, and personal factors. Whereas the analysis of the situation in the Northern Caucasus showed that most important in the last phase before making the decision to join a terrorist group are the pull factors: the influence of the closest social circle, the influence of the so-called radicalization vehicles, group dynamics and recruitment activities conducted by terrorist organizations.

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