“Operational” concepts in the phenomenon of Islamist radicalization: From the subject to the apocalypse

ABSTRACT

Taken from interviews with men having been incarcerated on the charge of criminal association with the intent of committing or aiding and abetting to terrorist acts, the central question of this article has thus emerged: which part does Islamist radicalization play on the psychic level of the self? Therefore, we have selected several theorical concepts, to guide us in this research, that became operative concepts, such as hatred, drive, melancholy and symptom. These have a converging point that is linked with the clinic of boredom and emptiness, or named otherwise, “off language”. The radicalization process seems to come as a way to fill this emptiness, and hence to avoid the risk of the collapsing of the self. However, this “solution” is only a lure, leading to destruction, while at the same time, the person is aiming to restore its identity.

“Operational” concepts in the phenomenon of Islamist radicalization: from the subject to the apocalypse. Based on interviews with men who have been incarcerated for the intention to commit or for aiding and abetting terrorist acts, the central question of this article is: what part does Islamic radicalization play on a psychic level? Drawing on concepts such as hatred, drive, and melancholy, the paper looks at how these are connected to boredom and emptiness - or “off language”. The radicalization process is a way of filling this emptiness and of avoiding the risk of the collapse of self. However, while the person aims to restore a sense of identity, the “solution” is a lure, leading only to destruction.

Concepts opératoires dans le phénomène de la radicalisation islamiste: du sujet à l'apocalypse. C'est à partir d'une recherche avec des hommes incarcérés pour association de malfaiteurs en relation avec une entreprise terroriste, appuyée sur une méthodologie clinique d'orientation psychanalytique et effectuée en milieu carcéral, que le questionnement central de cet article a émergé : quelle place occupe la radicalisation islamiste dans l'économie psychique du sujet ? Nous avons ainsi isolé des concepts théoriques qui sont devenus des concepts opératoires, à savoir la haine, la pulsion, la mélancolie et le symptôme. Le point de croisement de ces derniers serait le vide, autrement désigné ennui, blanc ou hors-langage. Le processus de radicalisation semble pouvoir combler ce vide, afin de contrer un risque d'effondrement subjectif. Toutefois, cette « solution » n'est qu'un leurre amenant à la destruction, tout en cherchant à réhabiliter le narcissisme et la recherche d'identification.

„Operationale“ Konzepte zum Phänomen islamistischer Radikalisierung: vom Subjekt zur Apokalypse. Aus Interviews mit Männern, die wegen ihrer Absicht, eine terroristische Straftat zu begehen oder wegen Beihilfe zu terroristischen Handlungen inhaftiert wurden, ergab sich die zentrale Frage dieses Beitrags: Welche Rolle spielt die islamische Radikalisierung auf der psychischen Ebene? Aus Konzepten wie Hass, Trieb und Melancholie schöpfend untersucht dieser Beitrag, wie diese mit Gefühlen von Langeweile und Leere – oder dem „Außersprachlichen“ – in Verbindung stehen. Der Radikalisierungsprozess ist ein Weg, um diese Leere zu füllen und das Selbst vor dem Zusammenbruch zu bewahren. Während die Person jedoch ein Identitätsbewusstsein wiederherstellen möchte, ist die „Lösung“ nur ein täuschendes Lockmittel, das unweigerlich in die Zerstörung führt.

Concetti operativi nel fenomeno della radicalizzazione islamica: dal soggetto all'apocalisse. È a partire da una ricerca condotta con uomini incarcerati per associazione a delinquere in relazione ad atti di natura terroristica - una ricerca impostata su una metodologia clinica di orientamento psicoanalitico ed effettuata in ambiente carcerario - che è man mano emersa la domanda centrale del presente lavoro: quale posto occupa la radicalizzazione islamica all'interno dell'economia psichica del soggetto? Dopo avere individuato una serie di concetti teorici da utilizzare come concetti operativi (ad es. odio, pulsione, melanconia e sintomo) abbiamo riconosciuto come nesso che li collega tutti il vuoto: un'entità designabile anche con i termini di noia o “fuori-dal-linguaggio”. Il processo di radicalizzazione rappresenta una strategia per colmare questo vuoto ed evitare il rischio di un collasso del soggetto: vero è però che, per quanto la persona miri a ricostituire in tal modo il proprio narcisismo e un senso di identità, la “soluzione” adottata è illusoria e conduce unicamente alla distruzione.

Conceptos “operatorios” en el fenómeno de la radicalización islamista: del sujeto al apocalipsis. A partir de entrevistas con varones que han sido encarcelados por intento de cometer o por ayudar y ser cómplices de actos de terrorismo, la pregunta central de este artículo es: ¿qué papel desempeña la radicalización islámica a nivel psíquico? Basándose en conceptos como odio, pulsión y melancolía, se analiza de qué modo están estos conectados con el hastío y el vacío –u hors-langage–. El proceso de radicalización es una manera de llenar este vacío y evitar el riesgo de colapso del self. Sin embargo, si bien la persona busca restaurar un sentido de identidad, la “solución” es un señuelo, que solo conduce a la destrucción.

KEYWORDS:

• Hatred
• melancholy
• drive
• symptom
• radicalization

MOTS CLÉS:

• haine
• mélancolie
• pulsion
• symptôme
• radicalisation

Notes

1 Both authors contributed equally to the writing of this article.

2 Let us remember that the participants were seen/followed, in interview, by the same clinician. Although this person was a woman, it should be remembered that the clinician should occupy a “neutral” place, beyond “gender”.

3 Personal details have been changed in order to preserve the confidentiality of the cases presented.

4 This was the object and the central hypothesis of the aforementioned thesis, whose title was “On some mainsprings of hate in Islamist radicalization: A psychoanalytic and clinical approach”.

5 Translator’s note: I am preserving the term passage à l’acte because later on in the current article the authors distinguish between acting-out and passage à l’acte.

6 Name of city removed for reasons of confidentiality.

7 As Freud said:

We have become aware of the “counter-transference”, which arises in [the physician] as a result of the patient’s influence on his unconscious feelings, and we are almost inclined to insist that he shall recognize this counter-transference in himself and overcome it. (Freud 1910, 145)

8 We are referring here to Anzieu’s conception of the skin-ego, which he defines as the first differentiation of the ego within the psychic apparatus based on the sensations of the skin and consisting of a symbolic representation of it (see Anzieu 1985; Anzieu et al. 1993).

9 This clinical case has already been the subject of an earlier publication (Jaccard 2017). Although some of the patient’s statements are the same, as are some concepts including that of emptiness, the case has been rewritten and reworked for this publication.

10 Translator’s note: Détenu particulièrement signalé.

11 “It’s a pity that I can’t kiss myself.”

12 This is how Zaltzman came to call this experience (consisting in destroying any fixed relation) “the fate of the borderline experience” (1998, 124). This term was inspired by the development of the borderline experience conducted by Maurice Blanchot (1969).

13 In this regard, Green believes that “the narcissist makes morality an autoerotic pleasure in which pleasure is suppressed” (Green 1983, 137).