Mobilization for Violent Politicized Islam

Motivations of Former Participants in al-Shabaab
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-032-39146-5
Verlag: Taylor & Francis

Buch, Englisch, 174 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 254 g

Reihe: Political Violence

This book focuses on the involvement of some Kenyans in al-Shabaab, an affiliate of Al-Qaeda based in Somalia, despite their country’s relative stability compared to Somalia.

It discusses the origin of the Kenyan state and how colonization created social stratification that benefited elites closer to the center, while excluding marginalized groups at the periphery. The argument is that this pattern still prevails, despite attempts to enhance equality, such as the adoption of a new constitution in 2010 promoting the devolution of power and resources. The persistence of this condition, it is argued, is what initially handed al-Qaeda and later al-Shabaab opportunities for mobilization, enabled by its creative politicization of religion. The heavy-handed tactics employed by security forces under the auspices of the ‘War on Terror’ further catalyzed this process, resulting in more Kenyan individuals joining the group. Using an historical and political process approach, the book shows how the interplay of structural conditions and al-Shabaab’s mobilization strategy linked with individuals’ motivations for joining the group. Based on individuals’ own narratives about their participation, the latter is empirically demonstrated to be non-linear, incorporating motivations beyond rational ones, contrary to the overemphasis on ideology in the literature on participation in groups similar to al-Shabaab.

This book will of much interest to students of political violence, African politics, Islamic studies and International Relations.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate, Professional, and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Noor, Hawa

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Militärgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Afrikanische Geschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Militärwesen Nationale und Internationale Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Kultur Staatsbürgerkunde, Staatsbürgerschaft, Zivilgesellschaft
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik Innen-, Bildungs- und Bevölkerungspolitik
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Gewalt Terrorismus, Religiöser Fundamentalismus
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen
• Rechtswissenschaften Öffentliches Recht Verwaltungsrecht Verwaltungspraxis Polizei

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction 2. The Kenyan State, its Muslim Citizens and their Early Reaction to Exclusion and State Repression  3. On al-Shabaab 4. Pathways to Al-Shabaab 5. Returning From Al-Shabaab and Issues of Kenyan Returnees: Excursus 6. Conclusion

Über Autor(innen)

Hawa Noor is an independent researcher, currently affiliated with the University of Bremen’s Institute for Intercultural and International Studies.