Cheering on the Jihad: An Exploration of Women’s Participation in Online Pro-jihadist Networks

TSAS WORKING PAPER

This paper poses the following questions:

  1. Can identifiable patterns of engagement by female posters be discerned based on content of posts?
  2. Does the type of the jihadist group studied have any appreciable effect on female members’ posting content?

This paper presents the findings of two separate, but inter-related, studies of the posting activities of women belonging to pro-jihadist online groups. To date, women’s online participation within pro-jihadist networks has generated few empirical studies. Thus, little has been known of the extent of women’s involvement in generating or otherwise supporting processes of radicalization. Drawing on analysis of women’s Twitter content, this paper provides needed insights into the role of women within pro-jihadist forms of ‘online radical milieux.’

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PUBLISHED IN 2016

Research Area(s):

Radicalization

TSAS WP16-07

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