5 - Who Are Extremist Side-Switchers and What Drives Them?

Summary

This chapter focuses on defectors to Islamic extremist environments, such as Salafi-jihadists. The side-switcher storylines presented here come from individuals who were far-right or far-left extremists before undergoing a religious conversion and continuing their extremist career. Key motives that appear in the narratives in this chapter are a particular fascination with violence and hypermasculinity, as well as the strong desire to belong to a more coherent and stronger collective identity. In addition, one section discusses the psychological similarities and differences between religious conversion and extremist radicalization processes, and the implications of assessing side-switcher storylines. Since the narratives presented by defectors necessarily blend with religious conversation stories, specific side-switching components (such as conflicts in the old group) are usually subordinated. Furthermore, it is noted that almost no cases of defectors from Islamic extremist groups to other forms of extremism could be identified and the potential reasons for this are explored.