The “discourse on radicalization” as a basis for the securitization of social policy

Abstract

The “discourse on radicalization” has currently become hegemonic
when it comes to approaching jihadist-inspired terrorism. In this
sense, this epistemological framework has not only been widely examined
in the academic field but has also been used to articulate a significant
number of public policies in this area. The main objective of this article is
to address the consequences of this hegemony from a very specific point of
view which connects with a much broader trend that can be traced from
the beginning of the seventies: the securitization of social policies. In order
to do so, the “discourse on radicalization” is deconstructed in the first place
from a critical perspective, showing that its mere existence contributes to
the criminalization of entire categories of the population that have nothing
to do with this phenomenon. Subsequently, how the anticipatory logic on
which this discourse is based and has led to the involvement of certain professionals
that work in the social field in the fight against terrorism is analyzed,
which has laid the foundations for an even greater securitization of
the social policy. To sum up, it is argued that the “discourse on radicalization”
does not offer an adequate framework to efficiently prevent terrorism.