How Certain Features of Autism Spectrum Disorder May Provide the Context of Vulnerability to Radicalization towards Lone-actor Terrorism, Violent Extremism and Other Forms of Public Mass Violence

Rather than being the perpetrators of offending, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are more likely to be the victim of crime. However, there is nevertheless a small subset of individuals with ASD who do offend. In this presentation I will provide some understanding of how certain features of ASD may provide the context of vulnerability to radicalization towards lone-actor terrorism, violent extremism and other forms of public mass violence. It has been previously highlighted in the literature the role that autistic special interests, fantasy, obsessionality, the need for routine/predictability, social and communication difficulties, cognitive styles, local coherence, systemizing, and sensory processing may play in terrorism pathways and modus operandi. In this presentation I will also introduce the Terrorist Radicalization Assessment Protocol (TRAP-18). The purpose of the TRAP-18 is not to predict acts of lone-actor terrorism rather to prevent them by efficiently and effectively managing risk. The TRAP-18 is a collection of 18 behaviour-based warning signs for terror incidents. There are eight proximal characteristics and 10 distal characteristics. The eight proximal characteristics are those which typically are exhibited closer in time to the incident. On the other hand, the 10 distal characteristics are those which are usually developed over time and are more distantly related to the act for which there is concern. In this presentation we will cover some contemporary cases of extreme violence involving individuals with a diagnosis of ASD including: Adam Lanza, Dylann Roof and Anton Lundin Pettersson.

Bio

Clare Allely is a Professor of Forensic Psychology at the University of Salford in England and is an affiliate member of the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre at Gothenburg University, Sweden. Clare is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow. She is a Consultant for the Irish Prison Service and also acts as an expert witness in criminal cases involving defendants with autism spectrum disorder. She is author of the book “The Psychology of Extreme Violence: A Case Study Approach to Serial Homicide, Mass Shooting, School Shooting and Lone-actor Terrorism” and “Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Criminal Justice System: A Guide to Understanding Suspects, Defendants and Offenders with Autism”.

The non-occurrence of terrorist violence in polarizing societies

Despite widespread concerns over the threats posed by increasing extremism and polarization, terrorist violence has remained remarkably rare in European societies. Scholars have long recognized that the majority of radicalized groups and individuals will never engage in the violence that their extremist worldviews encourage. Crucially, however, empirical and theoretical work on what separates extremists willing to use terrorist attacks from those who do not, has been limited. Research has overwhelmingly focused on the small number of extremists who engage in terrorist violence, essentially looking for needles while ignoring the haystack. Despite decades of work on why some individuals radicalize and commit acts of terrorism, the current state-of-the-art is only beginning to explain why most people who adopt extremist views will never actually engage in the terrorist violence that such convictions encourage.

During his keynote lecture, Bart Schuurman will share the results of a groundbreaking multi-year study on precisely this question. What differentiates radicalized individuals who use terrorism from the vast majority of extremists who do not? How can such insights advance our academic understanding of the causes of terrorism and, more importantly, help propel a research agenda that can contribute to safeguarding our societies in times of mounting (extremist) threats to liberal democracy? Among several key findings is the surprising role that membership in certain types of extremist groups can play in lowering the likelihood that radicalization will result in terrorist violence.

Bio

Bart Schuurman is Professor of Terrorism and Political Violence at Leiden University’s Institute of Security and Global Affairs. He hold an MA in history from Utrecht University (2009) and a doctorate from Leiden University (2017), which he obtained with a dissertation on how and why people become involved in homegrown jihadism. His research focuses on understanding contemporary forms of terrorism, extremism and radicalization. In particular, he has studied why most extremists will not engage in terrorist violence. Recent work also includes an analysis of Russian sabotage and influence operations against Europe since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Social media

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bartschuurman

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Politicians in the United States, in addition to attacking their partisan rivals, have increasingly attacked the political system itself. This rise in anti-system rhetoric has played a key role in the erosion of democratic norms and principles. Troublingly, this trend is not isolated to the U.S. case; similar patterns have emerged across democracies. Despite the dangers posed by these retrograde processes, many questions remain about how leaders with authoritarian tendencies cultivate popular support to erode the foundations of democracy. In this talk, Professor Uscinski will seek to explain contemporary political maladies by making and providing evidence in favor of four arguments: (1) That the attitudes and behaviors most concerning to researchers and government officials stem, at least in part, from an under-explored dimension of mass opinion labeled ‘anti-establishment,’ and characterized, at its extreme, by a deep-seated antagonism toward mainstream institutions, leaders, and norms; (2) That anti-establishment views are undergirded by resource deprivation and dark personality traits; (3) That politicians, by employing vitriolic, anti-system rhetoric, can reshape electoral coalitions with citizens from across the left-right spectrum who share anti-establishment worldviews; (4) That when these “anti-establishment” citizens, become politically engaged, they may fervently support authoritarian figures, seek to tear down pluralist democratic systems, and even engage in political violence; (5) That this process may be cyclical, such that as more anti-establishment citizens are activated into politics, the more incentive there is for politicians to cater to the anti-establishment worldviews.  

Bio

Joseph Uscinski is Professor of Political Science at University of Miami where he studies public opinion and political behavior, with a focus on conspiracy theories. He is coauthor of American Conspiracy Theories (Oxford, 2014) and Conspiracy Theories: A Primer (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023), and editor of Conspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them (Oxford, 2018).