Making De-Radicalisation: The Framing of De-Radicalisation in the Uk and Nigeria

This chapter focuses on how de-radicalization is understood in Nigeria and the UK by identifying the themes associated with the term de-radicalization in mainstream newspapers within these countries, in order to illustrate the differences in framing between programs in democratic and partially democratic countries. This chapter argues that the ideational constitution of de-radicalization—specifically, its bridging of a (conservative) security logic with a (liberal) rehabilitative-community logic—influences the framing process. In analyzing the framing of de-radicalization over a period of ten years, it shows how these two hybrid ideational elements come to the fore in how de-radicalization is initially constructed as an effective policy. As a result, this hybridity allows de-radicalization to be sold as an effective policy regardless of evidence in Nigeria, while in the UK the gradual optimism splits along ideological fault lines which could potentially undermine public support for de-radicalization. Prior to outlining this concept of hybridity, the chapter presents a framework for conceptualising de-radicalization programs, which is important for identifying the different elements in a program.