Date
12-2016
Document Type
Capstone Project (Open Access)
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
Department
Social, Behavioral & Global Studies
First Advisor
Juan Jose Gutiérrez
Abstract
This paper is an attempt to use various theories in the social sciences as a tool to understand the mechanisms employed in ISIS indoctrination and recruitment tactics. There is a discussion of theories that have been developed in the field of influence psychology, rationalizing the context of indoctrination within this area of study. There is a discussion of proposedly relevant materials in philosophy, specifically simulacrum and linguistic deconstruction. These components are extrapolated to interpret a first person account of ISIS indoctrination, the first-ever ISIS recruitment film, and a Radical-Islamist periodical Inspire Magazine. Using a form of propaganda film analysis, and a comparative analysis, this research found that ISIS recruitment tactics rely on a scheme that is similar to cult indoctrination: deconstructing a target's social reality, reconstructing their social reality, and preventing outsider influence once their reality has been reconstructed.
Recommended Citation
Hawkins, Trevor, "A Theoretical Analysis of ISIS Indoctrination and Recruitment" (2016). Capstone Projects and Master's Theses. 7.
https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/caps_thes_all/7
Included in
Other Political Science Commons, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons, Other Sociology Commons, Political Theory Commons, Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons, Social Psychology Commons, Theory and Philosophy Commons
