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Disinformation in France: A Strategy of Information Warfare in the Digital Age
Bourdas, Annabelle Marie Amelie ; Střítecký, Vít (advisor) ; Scotto, Thomas (referee)
Political elections are a fertile ground for disinformation campaigns to prosper as have shown studies on Brexit and the 2016 US elections. The 2022 presidential French elections took place in a particular setting due to the social and political context marked by the rise of far-right parties and movements as well as the succession of crises such as the 2015 terrorist attacks, 2018 yellow vests movement, the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. This context and the health crisis in particular have given a new lease of life to far-right movements. Indeed, they spread disinformation, mainly on social media, on the pandemic and fuelled anti-system feelings to advance their agenda. In this context, the far-right political candidate to the 2022 elections, Éric Zemmour, a famous polemicist, thrived and managed to impose himself in the national political landscape. He did so notably by using discursive practices and his media presence. As a result, there has been a banalisation of far-right rhetoric and conspiracy theories in society. This has two major consequences: first, the undermining of democratic and electoral processes and second, the risk of a resurgence of domestic terrorism. Therefore, disinformation is a threat for democracies as they exacerbate social tensions and divisions which can...
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Teachers' recognition and behavior toward the violent radicalisation of students
Kasalová, Petra ; Lukavská, Kateřina (advisor) ; Viktorová, Ida (referee)
This diploma thesis deals with the topic of the potential risk of radicalization in the school environment. It is based on a foreign research study focused on the ability to recognize the risks of radicalization of teachers and the degree of their reaction to the situation. The first part defines terms such as radicalization, extremism and terrorism, defines the trend of prevention of radicalization in the Czech Republic and describes radicalization in children. The second part is focused on the factors and levels of the radicalization process, radicalization processes and models of recognizing radicalization processes. The third part deals with the description and analysis of a foreign questionnaire adapted to the Czech environment. The research questions are concerned with the frequency of different reactions of teachers to the potentially demanding radicalization process of a student, the confidence of teachers in solving the problem of the potential radicalization process of a student, the attitude of teachers with current anti-radicalization measures and the level of concern. The conclusions of the diploma thesis demonstrate the inadequate level of response of Czech teachers to the potential radicalization process of the student. KEYWORDS radicalisation, risk behavior, risk factors, school...
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Radicalization of the Czech society in reaction to occurence of COVID-19 disease
MINAŘÍK, Dominik
The submitted diploma thesis deals with the issue of radicalization of the population in the Czech Republic, which is a constantly evolving phenomenon and the crisis caused by the COVID-19 epidemic could affect this process, when the submitted diploma thesis underlines important facts related to this phenomenon. The thesis contains a theoretical part, in which the author focuses onto the introduction and views of concepts related to the chosen topic, such as radicalism and extremism. The author briefly present the position of individual ideologies that create the process of radicalization of the population and have an affect to cause extremist manifestation of individuals or groups. The chosen problem points to the danger which point to the democratic society and the trend of so-called populists in the political spectrum, who come in times of crisis with an often simple but unfeasible solution to the situation. Within such a connection of the crisis in the form of COVID-19 and the impact of possible radicalization of the democratic civilian population, this theses monitors and evaluates such events when the current measures in the fight against the radical scene in the Czech Republic are summarized by the relevant state departments and the student suggest his own measures. As the last point of this theses the found data of security risks and measures are compared on an international scale.
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Framing of Indonesian Radicalisation Pathways in the Australian news media: A Comparison of Broadsheets and Tabloids
Jung, Hansol ; Conway, Maura (advisor) ; Prina, Federica (referee) ; Špelda, Petr (referee)
This study examines how radicalisation in Indonesia is treated in the Australian press. Radicalisation is widely defined as a dramatic shift in the belief system of an individual or a group, denial of democratic means, and justifying the use of violence to achieve the political aims in this paper. Although there are various types and drivers of radicalisation, the researcher limited this research to identifying the framing of six pathways of Islamic radicalisation in Indonesia identified by Hwang and Schulze and Idris. For this purpose, 301 articles from selected Australian broadsheets and tabloids, dating up to 8 May 2020, were collected. Using quantitative and qualitative content analysis to generate the frequency of terms and metaphors used to describe radicalisation pathways in Indonesia, the study finds that the securitising and stigmatising frames are mainly employed in the Australian press in portrayal of radicalisation in Indonesia. In addition, the study explores the different style of coverage employed in Australian broadsheets and tabloids. Before conducting the comparative study, the researcher surmised that broadsheets will cover radicalisation in Indonesia with neutral tone while tabloids will sensationalise the issue. However, the outcome revealed that the framing employed by...
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Countering Islamist Radicalisation: A Comparative Study of Bulgaria and France's Practices, Experiences and Challenges
Nocheva, Nikolena Hristova ; Anceschi, Luca (advisor) ; Hynek, Nikola (referee) ; Biagini, Erika (referee)
This study aims to contribute to Islamist radicalisation and terrorism research in the EU context. It compares and assesses the counter-radicalisation policies that Bulgaria and France adopt. In addition, it seeks to evaluate whether effective practices can be incorporated and adopted in the respective countries. This study grounds its theoretical criticism within Lindekilde's theoretical framework for policy effectiveness. To analyse and better comprehend the main ingredients in the countries' counter-radicalisation model, this study relies on a hermeneutic methodology. The study uses Lindekilde's four evaluative criteria (time, policy design & logic, reception and implementation) to determine whether the existing counter radicalisation policies are well suited to their national contexts. The findings from this study indicate that Bulgaria and France share similar struggles with the implementation of their proposed measures. The study argues that both countries could improve their counter-radicalisation practices provided they introduce measures from a soft character. More precisely, the findings suggest that effective counter radicalisation policies are those which are tailored to the population's local needs and those which benefit from engaging with the richness of their societies. Key words:...
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France's mal-être: Exploring the root causes and other explanatory factors behind the rise of radicalization in France.
Gallard, Alice Mathilde ; Aslan, Emil (advisor) ; Charvát, Jan (referee)
This thesis will provide readers with an in-depth understanding of the root causes and risks factors of Islamic radicalisation in France. It argues that Islamic radicalisation in France cannot solely be explained through one factor. This research argues that mental illnesses, deception, trauma and relative deprivation do not give a solid impetus for individuals to radicalize. Rather, radicalisation in France should be understood as an association of socio-economic, psychological, and political factors. Given the misuse of the term, the first chapter has been dedicated to its definition and to the differences between cognitive and behavioural radicalisation. Such differentiation is necessary for a thorough understanding of the topic. The second chapter gives a clear and concise overview of the different models and theories of radicalisation, contributing to a quick introduction to the different root causes and risk factors of radicalisation. The third chapter consists of a review and analysis of the available literature on the risk factors of radicalisation while the fourth and final chapter consists of an analysis of said factors in light of the French case, ultimately aiming to understand which root causes and risk factors are of high relevance in the case of France. All in all, this thesis sheds...
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Czech Militias: Motivations for Walking to the Edge
Kerhart, Miroslav ; Kocmanová, Markéta (advisor) ; Ludvík, Jan (referee)
A primary objective of this thesis is to identify, understand and explain motivations that lead individuals to join the National Militia. National Militia (Národní Domobrana) is a Czech paramilitary organisation that emerged in 2015 as a reaction to migration crisis and growing fear of "Islamisation". Shortly after its establishment, in July 2016, the organisation claimed to have over 2,500 members and began to regularly organise border patrols, military-like drills, but also political manifestations, openly criticising Czech foreign and domestic policies. Utilizing ethnographic methods of inquiry, the researcher conducted 11 semi-structured interviews with members of National Militia. In the subsequent analysis, the research identifies a set of push and pull factors as being most influential in individual's decision-making process, eventually being completed by a personal factor. Secondary findings identify also elementary demographical data, shared personality traits and militiamen mindset. From academical point of view, this study provides the reader with foundational data, necessary for further research, as the phenomenon is heavily understudied in Czech context. The specific contribution of the research resides not only in identifying the motivations, but also in offering the explanation for...
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Processes of Radicalisation: Foreign Fighters from Western Europe Who Fought for Islamic State
Truchlá, Jana ; Bureš, Oldřich (advisor) ; Nocheva, Nikolena Hristova (referee)
The awareness that the threat of terrorism is no longer linked only to the Middle East, but has home-grown nature and arisen from young people living on European soil, alarmed the public and subsequently provoked increased interest in radicalisation research. 9/11 or the European terrorist attacks in London or Madrid have led to the increasing media attention of the phenomenon of radicalisation occurring among young European Muslims. At the beginning of the new millennium, the threat stemming from terrorism embodied one of the most urgent security challenges, whether for politicians or scholars. The academic and political interest in research into factors that increase the risk of radicalisation to violent extremism has ended up in many efforts to grasp and properly define radicalisation, or to outline the expected pathways of radicalisation (Veldhuis, 2009: 1). In my thesis, I build on these efforts of prominent experts and I examine the effect of the factors contributing to violent radicalisation like social networks, dissatisfaction with current reality, moral outrage, family and individual characteristics including criminal backgrounds. I look at the impact of these factors in case studies of three Western European countries - Belgium, France, and the United Kingdom. Except discussing specific...
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Radicalization in Prison: Approaching the Issue
Dotlačil, Filip ; Ditrych, Ondřej (advisor) ; Aslan, Emil (referee)
In recent years Europe experienced several terrorist attacks on its soil. Some of these were committed by Jihadists radicalised in prisons. An issue already identified by scholars has thus become publicly known and attracted attention of policy makers. The combination of Islamic propaganda with jails imprisoning substantial amount of vulnerable inmates and incarceration of returning foreign fighters create a mixture threatening to produce more violent extremists. The aim of this thesis is to describe how Germany approaches the issue and connect its solution with existing radicalisation models and prison regime concepts. Because of the federal structure of Germany, this description is based on analysis of three levels: institutional analysis of the German framework (macro); comparison of state projects tackling the issue (meso); and a case study of practitioners of one federal state (micro). The thesis comes to a conclusion, that the German strategy is strongly decentralised, still not in its final form, applies the concept of dynamic security as its prison regime and approaches the issue from a holistic perspective, involving also non-state actors and other areas of radicalisation.
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