Ethical Concerns Regarding Use of Formers in "Countering Extremism"
Location
Sasquatch Room 124 C
Start Date
21-4-2023 2:25 PM
End Date
21-4-2023 3:40 PM
Publication Date
2023
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | Law | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Description
This panel looks at issues of ethics and social justice related to involvement of former members of hate groups (“formers”) in “counter-extremism” and “deradicalization” organizations, projects, and campaigns. Formers are often assumed to have expertise and skills in preventing recruitment into, or disengaging individuals from, violent groups. However, a lack of transparency and oversight of programs makes formers’ skillsets difficult to assess. We argue that the fame, leadership roles, and expert status often conferred on formers is doing harm in several respects. Formers are sometimes less reformed than assumed. In some cases, they have continued to promote hate or have even gotten involved in far-right groups. Even in less concerning cases, centering formers as experts and conferring quasi-celebrity status on them, can serve to further marginalize and disempower those most impacted by hate groups. Rather than a victim/survivor-centered model, use of formers feeds an offender-centered model that tasks communities of color and other targeted populations with “compassionate” outreach to “heal” haters; this emphasis can undermine necessary boundaries that help protect communities from hate groups. The involvement of formers in government-funded Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) programs further contributes to a model that centers the individual psychology of members of hate groups, seeing life trauma as the cause of hate and relying on a securitized and medicalized theoretical framework, rather than addressing social injustice through activism.
Description Format
html
Recommended Citation
Braune, Joan; Nguyen, Nicole; and Kelly, Megan, "Ethical Concerns Regarding Use of Formers in "Countering Extremism"" (2023). International Conference on Hate Studies. 35.
https://repository.gonzaga.edu/icohs/2023/seventh/35
Full Text of Presentation
wf_no
Media Format
flash_audio
Type
Panel
Ethical Concerns Regarding Use of Formers in "Countering Extremism"
Sasquatch Room 124 C
This panel looks at issues of ethics and social justice related to involvement of former members of hate groups (“formers”) in “counter-extremism” and “deradicalization” organizations, projects, and campaigns. Formers are often assumed to have expertise and skills in preventing recruitment into, or disengaging individuals from, violent groups. However, a lack of transparency and oversight of programs makes formers’ skillsets difficult to assess. We argue that the fame, leadership roles, and expert status often conferred on formers is doing harm in several respects. Formers are sometimes less reformed than assumed. In some cases, they have continued to promote hate or have even gotten involved in far-right groups. Even in less concerning cases, centering formers as experts and conferring quasi-celebrity status on them, can serve to further marginalize and disempower those most impacted by hate groups. Rather than a victim/survivor-centered model, use of formers feeds an offender-centered model that tasks communities of color and other targeted populations with “compassionate” outreach to “heal” haters; this emphasis can undermine necessary boundaries that help protect communities from hate groups. The involvement of formers in government-funded Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) programs further contributes to a model that centers the individual psychology of members of hate groups, seeing life trauma as the cause of hate and relying on a securitized and medicalized theoretical framework, rather than addressing social injustice through activism.