Online forums such as 4chan and 8chan have grown in notoriety following a number of high-profile ... more Online forums such as 4chan and 8chan have grown in notoriety following a number of high-profile attacks conducted in 2019 by right-wing extremists who used their "/pol" boards (dedicated to "politically incorrect" discussions). Despite growing academic interest in these online spaces, little is still known about them; in particular, their similarities and differences remain to be teased out, and their respective roles in fostering a certain far-right subculture need to be specified. This article therefore directly compares the content and discussion pace of six different /pol boards of "chan" forums, including some that exist solely on the dark web. We find that while these boards constitute together a particular subculture, differences in terms of both rate of traffic and content demonstrate the fragmentation of this subculture. Specifically, we show that the different /pol boards can be grouped into a three-tiered architecture based upon both at once how popular they are and how extreme their content is.
Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism & Political Aggression, 2020
This paper analyses the impact of a series of mass shootings committed in 2018-2019 by right-wing... more This paper analyses the impact of a series of mass shootings committed in 2018-2019 by right-wing extremists on 8chan/pol, a prominent far-right online forum. Using computational methods, it offers a detailed examination of how attacks trigger shifts in both forum activity and content. We find that while each shooting is discussed by forum participants, their respective impact varies considerably. We highlight, in particular, a 'Tarrant effect': the considerable effect Brenton Tarrant's attack of two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, had on the forum. Considering the rise in far-right terrorism and the growing and diversifying online far-right ecosystem, such interactive offline-online effects warrant the attention of scholars and security professionals.
Recent years have seen a substantial increase in far-right inspired attacks. In this context, the... more Recent years have seen a substantial increase in far-right inspired attacks. In this context, the present article offers an analytical framework for the study of right-wing extremists' multifaceted and fast-growing activity on the Internet. Specifically, we conceptualize the far-right online presence as a dynamic ecosystem, teasing out four major components that correspond to the different levels of analysis available to future research. We illustrate the benefits of this framework with key illustrative examples from the English-, French-, and German-speaking far-right, revealing the worrying size and breadth-but also heterogeneity-of today's far-right online ecosystem.
This paper offers an original theoretical framework for the study of insults in international rel... more This paper offers an original theoretical framework for the study of insults in international relations (IR). Bringing into IR the two main theoretical approaches to aggravating language, slurs and dysphemisms, we conceptualize insults’ disruptive impact on international interactions in a way that explains their logic, consequences, and risks. Specifically, we argue that insults constitute both at once tactical tools used by international actors to achieve their interests by disrupting an interaction and modifying the payoffs associated with it and linguistic artifacts constructing and sharpening self- and other identities. The components of our theoretical framework are illustrated with a wide range of empirical cases of international insults.
In the past two decades calls for International Relations (IR) to 'turn' have multiplied. Having ... more In the past two decades calls for International Relations (IR) to 'turn' have multiplied. Having reflected on Philosophy's own linguistic turn in the 1980s and 1990s, IR appears today in the midst of taking-almost simultaneously-a range of different turns, from the aesthetic to the affective, from the historical to the practice, from the new material to the queer. This paper seeks to make sense of this puzzling development. Building on Bourdieu's sociology of science, we argue that while the turns ostensibly bring about (or resuscitate) ambitious philosophical, ontological, and epistemological questions in order to challenge what is deemed to constitute the 'mainstream' of IR, their impact is more likely to be felt at the 'margins' of the discipline. From this perspective, claiming a turn constitutes a position-enhancing move for scholars seeking to accumulate social capital, understood as scientific authority, and become 'established heretics' within the intellectual subfield of critical IR. We therefore expect the proliferation of turns to reshape more substantively what it means to do critical IR, rather than turning the whole discipline on its head.
The role played by the media throughout the Rwandan Genocide has justifiably attracted substantia... more The role played by the media throughout the Rwandan Genocide has justifiably attracted substantial attention from scholars. Since 1994, the increasing availability of transcripts of radio broadcasts online has helped produce a rich and fruitful body of research into the extremist propaganda of pre-, early-and late-genocide Rwanda. Through constructive engagement with the existing literature, we identify four common limitations that characterize studies to date: the tendency to solely analyze the broadcasts of Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM), inconsistent/ convenient sampling from mismatched databases, a reliance on translations, and a lack of effort to design valid and reliable methods. By examining these methodological shortcomings and identifying solutions for each, this reflection argues that efforts to document the role of the radio in the Rwandan genocide are far from over and seeks to enhance future research into extremist communications both in the Rwandan case and further afield. This reflection seeks to identify the methodological shortcomings usually characterizing research on radio broadcasts during (and prior to) the Rwandan genocide, in order to pave the way for a more rigorous and systematic research programme on the topic. While the existing literature has proved fruitful in many ways and has displayed an increasing awareness of taking research design seriously, we outline a series of recurring meth-odological problems that continue to limit our understanding of radio's influence on the genocide and advance several potential solutions. Addressing these issues matters far beyond the Rwandan case: with emerging talks of an international tribunal for ISIS officials including media operatives, 1 and in the midst of booming extremist online communications , it is important to identify common methodological pitfalls associated with research on violent political actors' propaganda. To be sure, a richer understanding of the Rwandan case is critical to fully understanding the role of communication in inciting violence. The role of the radio-Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) in particular-in accompanying, encouraging, triggering, or legitimizing violence in the build-up and
This paper combines qualitative and quantitative content analysis to map and analyze the “Incel” ... more This paper combines qualitative and quantitative content analysis to map and analyze the “Incel” worldview shared by members of a misogynistic online community ideologically linked to several recent acts of politically motivated violence, including Alek Minassian’s van attack in Toronto (2018) and Elliot Rodger’s school shooting in Isla Vista (2014). Specifically, the paper analyses how support and motivation for violence results from the particular structure this worldview presents in terms of social categories and causal narratives.
This article articulates the concept of "conspiratorial narratives"-defined as stories which inte... more This article articulates the concept of "conspiratorial narratives"-defined as stories which integrate a large range of events and archetypal characters from past and present in a single teleological explanation for the alleged suffering of a given social group-and argues that this particular linguistic construct is a key marker of extremist language. Using three different cases to illustrate our theoretical contribution (Nazi propaganda, Rwandan genocidaires' radio, IS' messaging), we show that paying attention to conspiratorial narratives leads us to significantly revise classic accounts of violent actors' language, and provides a better understanding of the link between that language and violence itself-more precisely, why violence happens, how much violence is directed to whom, and when it occurs.
Violent extremist groups regularly use pictures in their propaganda. This practice, however, rema... more Violent extremist groups regularly use pictures in their propaganda. This practice, however, remains insufficiently understood. Conceptualizing visual images as amplifiers of narratives and emotions, the present article offers an original theoretical framework and measurement method for examining the synchronic and diachronic study of the manipulative use of images by violent extremist groups. We illustrate this framework and method with a systematic analysis of the 2,058 pictures contained in the Islamic State's propaganda magazines targeting Western audiences, exposing the “visual style” of the group, and highlighting the trends and shifts in the evolution of this style following developments on the ground.
Depictions of the West abound in the propaganda produced by the self-proclaimed “Islamic State,” ... more Depictions of the West abound in the propaganda produced by the self-proclaimed “Islamic State,” presenting to potentially sympathetic audiences an overwhelmingly negative image of a supposedly homogeneous political entity. Combining quantitative and qualitative language and visual analysis, we systematically expose the various facets of this image and analyze the overall picture. Drawing on the “clash of civilizations” literature as well as on research on extremist language, we conceptualize this presentation of the West as a powerful radicalizing voice shaping today’s global civilizational politics.
Many scholars and practitioners claim that labelling groups or individuals as “terrorists” does n... more Many scholars and practitioners claim that labelling groups or individuals as “terrorists” does not simply describe them but also shapes public attitudes, due to the label’s important normative and political charge. Yet is there such a “terrorist label effect”? In view of surprisingly scant evidence, the present paper evaluates whether or not the terrorist label – as well as the “Islamist” one – really impacts both the audience’s perception of the security environment and its security policy preferences, and if yes, how and why. To do so, the article implements a randomized-controlled vignette experiment where participants (n=481) first read one out of three press articles, each depicting a street shooting in the exact same way but labelling the author of the violence with a different category (“terrorist”/“shooter”/“Islamist”). Participants were then asked to report on both their perceptions and their policy preferences. This design reveals very strong effects of both the “terrorist” and “Islamist” categories on each dimension. These effects are analysed through the lenses of social and cognitive psychology, in a way that interrogates the use of the terrorist category in society, the conflation of Islamism with terrorism, and the press and policymakers’ lexical choices when reporting on political violence.
Securitization theory has developed into a fruitful research program on the construction of secur... more Securitization theory has developed into a fruitful research program on the construction of security threats. The theory has experienced growing sophistication, and empirical studies have produced stimulating insights on issues as varied as the politics of immigration, health, climate change or cybersecurity. Understanding how social issues become perceived as threats seems timelier than ever given the rise in securitizing narratives in recent political elections across the globe. We propose that this research agenda would benefit from broadening its methodological diversity. In particular, the use of experiments could complement existing methods in securitization theory, mitigate some of the program's methodological weaknesses, and help explain when securitizing moves are likely to succeed or fail.
Numerical arguments are increasingly present in security communication and are widely assumed to ... more Numerical arguments are increasingly present in security communication and are widely assumed to possess a distinct capacity to make an argument convincing, thereby contributing to the dynamics of securitization. Yet, does the inclusion of numbers really enhance the strength of rhetorical attempts to convince an audience that something or someone is a security problem? We examine this question by developing an experimental design that connects cognitive theories of information processing with theories of security and risk communication. Contrary to a widely shared view, our results suggest that numbers do not have a direct, unambiguous, or unconditional impact on the strength of security rhetoric. Quantitative information only enhances direct attempts to securitize issues under very specific circumstances and, even in these cases, has ambiguous effects. Factors such as the legitimacy of the individual who makes the argument may play an important role in determining the impact of numbers in security communication.
This paper draws attention to the ethical issues accompanying empirical research on security, off... more This paper draws attention to the ethical issues accompanying empirical research on security, offering a framework for ethical assessment. Speaking to the various subfields and schools of applied security studies broadly conceived, we classify the many ethical issues specific to empirical research on security, conflict and political violence into researcher-related problems, subject-related problems and result-related problems, we evaluate their importance and variations, and highlight potential mitigation pathways. This effort brings together an existing but fragmented literature and builds upon the authors’ own experiences in several subfields and schools of “hands-on” research on security and political violence.
The use of numbers has been remarkably effective at pressing global claims. Whilst research has d... more The use of numbers has been remarkably effective at pressing global claims. Whilst research has documented the historical processes through which numbers gained such prominence, and has examined the political and ethical consequences of this omnipresence, very little is known regarding the specific ways in which numbers create the outcomes that sustain governance. This article proposes to close that gap. Building on the literature that acknowledges that numbers not only describe things but also have profound impacts on things themselves, this paper offers an integrated account of the working dynamics of numbers in the governance of security. To do so, the article identifies three distinct but connected vectors of power through which numbers shape security governance: persuasion, (de)politicization, and standardization. These insights are exemplified through the prism of different empirical examples, the variety of which aims to display the advantages of the approach we propose.
This paper situates academic metrics (journal, institutions, and individual scholars’ rankings an... more This paper situates academic metrics (journal, institutions, and individual scholars’ rankings and ratings) within the broader logic of neoliberal government, in order to better identify and understand the impact of these metrics on political scientists’ perceptions, behaviours and identities. The results of a pilot survey conducted among political scientists in the UK and Belgium are used in order to further expose this impact. See paper at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0263395716685727
Lone-actor terrorists are very often presented as emotionally and/or cognitively impaired – yet i... more Lone-actor terrorists are very often presented as emotionally and/or cognitively impaired – yet is it really the case? The present article provides the first rigorous assessment of the hypotheses according to which a high level of negative emotions, especially anger, and a lack of cognitive flexibility and complexity play a role in lone-actor terrorists’ violent actions. Using a sample of lone-actor terrorists’ writings, we use the LIWC (a fully automated language use analysis software) to compare terrorists’ cognition and emotion with those of other control groups, most notably non-violent radical activists. Results strongly support the first hypothesis but clearly refute the second one, suggesting that lone-actor terrorists are in fact characterized by a specific combination of high anger and high cognitive complexity. These method and results lay the groundwork for a more systematic and nuanced analysis of the psychology of terrorists, which is currently in a deadlock. See article at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pops.12365/abstract
Has immigration been securitized at the EU level? The question has been hotly discussed, but no c... more Has immigration been securitized at the EU level? The question has been hotly discussed, but no consensus has been reached. The present paper claims that two shortcomings – one methodological, one theoretical – in the empirical conduct of securitization theory (ST) have provoked this lack of consensus. Taking this situation as an opportunity, we introduce a quantitative method that addresses these two shortcomings, therefore helping to reach a stronger claim on the securitization of immigration at the EU level. By measuring the intensity of the security framing in EU legislation on immigration, our method helps avoiding simplistic binary statements of (non-)securitization and encourages the scholar to acknowledge the complex, multifaceted reality of vast political fields. Our results contribute to accredit the thesis according to which immigration has been securitized at the EU level, but nuance it by demonstrating a significant variation between the various subfields of the policy (e.g. asylum, legal immigration).
Whilst recent research has demonstrated the key role played by emotion in conflicts, the interpla... more Whilst recent research has demonstrated the key role played by emotion in conflicts, the interplay between the individual and collective dimensions of this variable has not yet been fully conceptualized and satisfyingly measured. Focusing on the 2011 Palestinian statehood bid at the UN and the UNESCO, the present article highlights the circular character of group-based emotional dynamics, and stresses the importance of “emotional worldviews” and “emotional configurations”. We subsequently provide an innovative, robust, and repeatable quantitative method for the direct measuring of these two components. This threefold contribution – theoretical, methodological, empirical – completes recent models (chiefly the appraisal-based framework) and unfolds new research avenues for the study of the role of individual and collective emotions in conflicts. See paper at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022002714550083 .
Online forums such as 4chan and 8chan have grown in notoriety following a number of high-profile ... more Online forums such as 4chan and 8chan have grown in notoriety following a number of high-profile attacks conducted in 2019 by right-wing extremists who used their "/pol" boards (dedicated to "politically incorrect" discussions). Despite growing academic interest in these online spaces, little is still known about them; in particular, their similarities and differences remain to be teased out, and their respective roles in fostering a certain far-right subculture need to be specified. This article therefore directly compares the content and discussion pace of six different /pol boards of "chan" forums, including some that exist solely on the dark web. We find that while these boards constitute together a particular subculture, differences in terms of both rate of traffic and content demonstrate the fragmentation of this subculture. Specifically, we show that the different /pol boards can be grouped into a three-tiered architecture based upon both at once how popular they are and how extreme their content is.
Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism & Political Aggression, 2020
This paper analyses the impact of a series of mass shootings committed in 2018-2019 by right-wing... more This paper analyses the impact of a series of mass shootings committed in 2018-2019 by right-wing extremists on 8chan/pol, a prominent far-right online forum. Using computational methods, it offers a detailed examination of how attacks trigger shifts in both forum activity and content. We find that while each shooting is discussed by forum participants, their respective impact varies considerably. We highlight, in particular, a 'Tarrant effect': the considerable effect Brenton Tarrant's attack of two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, had on the forum. Considering the rise in far-right terrorism and the growing and diversifying online far-right ecosystem, such interactive offline-online effects warrant the attention of scholars and security professionals.
Recent years have seen a substantial increase in far-right inspired attacks. In this context, the... more Recent years have seen a substantial increase in far-right inspired attacks. In this context, the present article offers an analytical framework for the study of right-wing extremists' multifaceted and fast-growing activity on the Internet. Specifically, we conceptualize the far-right online presence as a dynamic ecosystem, teasing out four major components that correspond to the different levels of analysis available to future research. We illustrate the benefits of this framework with key illustrative examples from the English-, French-, and German-speaking far-right, revealing the worrying size and breadth-but also heterogeneity-of today's far-right online ecosystem.
This paper offers an original theoretical framework for the study of insults in international rel... more This paper offers an original theoretical framework for the study of insults in international relations (IR). Bringing into IR the two main theoretical approaches to aggravating language, slurs and dysphemisms, we conceptualize insults’ disruptive impact on international interactions in a way that explains their logic, consequences, and risks. Specifically, we argue that insults constitute both at once tactical tools used by international actors to achieve their interests by disrupting an interaction and modifying the payoffs associated with it and linguistic artifacts constructing and sharpening self- and other identities. The components of our theoretical framework are illustrated with a wide range of empirical cases of international insults.
In the past two decades calls for International Relations (IR) to 'turn' have multiplied. Having ... more In the past two decades calls for International Relations (IR) to 'turn' have multiplied. Having reflected on Philosophy's own linguistic turn in the 1980s and 1990s, IR appears today in the midst of taking-almost simultaneously-a range of different turns, from the aesthetic to the affective, from the historical to the practice, from the new material to the queer. This paper seeks to make sense of this puzzling development. Building on Bourdieu's sociology of science, we argue that while the turns ostensibly bring about (or resuscitate) ambitious philosophical, ontological, and epistemological questions in order to challenge what is deemed to constitute the 'mainstream' of IR, their impact is more likely to be felt at the 'margins' of the discipline. From this perspective, claiming a turn constitutes a position-enhancing move for scholars seeking to accumulate social capital, understood as scientific authority, and become 'established heretics' within the intellectual subfield of critical IR. We therefore expect the proliferation of turns to reshape more substantively what it means to do critical IR, rather than turning the whole discipline on its head.
The role played by the media throughout the Rwandan Genocide has justifiably attracted substantia... more The role played by the media throughout the Rwandan Genocide has justifiably attracted substantial attention from scholars. Since 1994, the increasing availability of transcripts of radio broadcasts online has helped produce a rich and fruitful body of research into the extremist propaganda of pre-, early-and late-genocide Rwanda. Through constructive engagement with the existing literature, we identify four common limitations that characterize studies to date: the tendency to solely analyze the broadcasts of Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM), inconsistent/ convenient sampling from mismatched databases, a reliance on translations, and a lack of effort to design valid and reliable methods. By examining these methodological shortcomings and identifying solutions for each, this reflection argues that efforts to document the role of the radio in the Rwandan genocide are far from over and seeks to enhance future research into extremist communications both in the Rwandan case and further afield. This reflection seeks to identify the methodological shortcomings usually characterizing research on radio broadcasts during (and prior to) the Rwandan genocide, in order to pave the way for a more rigorous and systematic research programme on the topic. While the existing literature has proved fruitful in many ways and has displayed an increasing awareness of taking research design seriously, we outline a series of recurring meth-odological problems that continue to limit our understanding of radio's influence on the genocide and advance several potential solutions. Addressing these issues matters far beyond the Rwandan case: with emerging talks of an international tribunal for ISIS officials including media operatives, 1 and in the midst of booming extremist online communications , it is important to identify common methodological pitfalls associated with research on violent political actors' propaganda. To be sure, a richer understanding of the Rwandan case is critical to fully understanding the role of communication in inciting violence. The role of the radio-Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM) in particular-in accompanying, encouraging, triggering, or legitimizing violence in the build-up and
This paper combines qualitative and quantitative content analysis to map and analyze the “Incel” ... more This paper combines qualitative and quantitative content analysis to map and analyze the “Incel” worldview shared by members of a misogynistic online community ideologically linked to several recent acts of politically motivated violence, including Alek Minassian’s van attack in Toronto (2018) and Elliot Rodger’s school shooting in Isla Vista (2014). Specifically, the paper analyses how support and motivation for violence results from the particular structure this worldview presents in terms of social categories and causal narratives.
This article articulates the concept of "conspiratorial narratives"-defined as stories which inte... more This article articulates the concept of "conspiratorial narratives"-defined as stories which integrate a large range of events and archetypal characters from past and present in a single teleological explanation for the alleged suffering of a given social group-and argues that this particular linguistic construct is a key marker of extremist language. Using three different cases to illustrate our theoretical contribution (Nazi propaganda, Rwandan genocidaires' radio, IS' messaging), we show that paying attention to conspiratorial narratives leads us to significantly revise classic accounts of violent actors' language, and provides a better understanding of the link between that language and violence itself-more precisely, why violence happens, how much violence is directed to whom, and when it occurs.
Violent extremist groups regularly use pictures in their propaganda. This practice, however, rema... more Violent extremist groups regularly use pictures in their propaganda. This practice, however, remains insufficiently understood. Conceptualizing visual images as amplifiers of narratives and emotions, the present article offers an original theoretical framework and measurement method for examining the synchronic and diachronic study of the manipulative use of images by violent extremist groups. We illustrate this framework and method with a systematic analysis of the 2,058 pictures contained in the Islamic State's propaganda magazines targeting Western audiences, exposing the “visual style” of the group, and highlighting the trends and shifts in the evolution of this style following developments on the ground.
Depictions of the West abound in the propaganda produced by the self-proclaimed “Islamic State,” ... more Depictions of the West abound in the propaganda produced by the self-proclaimed “Islamic State,” presenting to potentially sympathetic audiences an overwhelmingly negative image of a supposedly homogeneous political entity. Combining quantitative and qualitative language and visual analysis, we systematically expose the various facets of this image and analyze the overall picture. Drawing on the “clash of civilizations” literature as well as on research on extremist language, we conceptualize this presentation of the West as a powerful radicalizing voice shaping today’s global civilizational politics.
Many scholars and practitioners claim that labelling groups or individuals as “terrorists” does n... more Many scholars and practitioners claim that labelling groups or individuals as “terrorists” does not simply describe them but also shapes public attitudes, due to the label’s important normative and political charge. Yet is there such a “terrorist label effect”? In view of surprisingly scant evidence, the present paper evaluates whether or not the terrorist label – as well as the “Islamist” one – really impacts both the audience’s perception of the security environment and its security policy preferences, and if yes, how and why. To do so, the article implements a randomized-controlled vignette experiment where participants (n=481) first read one out of three press articles, each depicting a street shooting in the exact same way but labelling the author of the violence with a different category (“terrorist”/“shooter”/“Islamist”). Participants were then asked to report on both their perceptions and their policy preferences. This design reveals very strong effects of both the “terrorist” and “Islamist” categories on each dimension. These effects are analysed through the lenses of social and cognitive psychology, in a way that interrogates the use of the terrorist category in society, the conflation of Islamism with terrorism, and the press and policymakers’ lexical choices when reporting on political violence.
Securitization theory has developed into a fruitful research program on the construction of secur... more Securitization theory has developed into a fruitful research program on the construction of security threats. The theory has experienced growing sophistication, and empirical studies have produced stimulating insights on issues as varied as the politics of immigration, health, climate change or cybersecurity. Understanding how social issues become perceived as threats seems timelier than ever given the rise in securitizing narratives in recent political elections across the globe. We propose that this research agenda would benefit from broadening its methodological diversity. In particular, the use of experiments could complement existing methods in securitization theory, mitigate some of the program's methodological weaknesses, and help explain when securitizing moves are likely to succeed or fail.
Numerical arguments are increasingly present in security communication and are widely assumed to ... more Numerical arguments are increasingly present in security communication and are widely assumed to possess a distinct capacity to make an argument convincing, thereby contributing to the dynamics of securitization. Yet, does the inclusion of numbers really enhance the strength of rhetorical attempts to convince an audience that something or someone is a security problem? We examine this question by developing an experimental design that connects cognitive theories of information processing with theories of security and risk communication. Contrary to a widely shared view, our results suggest that numbers do not have a direct, unambiguous, or unconditional impact on the strength of security rhetoric. Quantitative information only enhances direct attempts to securitize issues under very specific circumstances and, even in these cases, has ambiguous effects. Factors such as the legitimacy of the individual who makes the argument may play an important role in determining the impact of numbers in security communication.
This paper draws attention to the ethical issues accompanying empirical research on security, off... more This paper draws attention to the ethical issues accompanying empirical research on security, offering a framework for ethical assessment. Speaking to the various subfields and schools of applied security studies broadly conceived, we classify the many ethical issues specific to empirical research on security, conflict and political violence into researcher-related problems, subject-related problems and result-related problems, we evaluate their importance and variations, and highlight potential mitigation pathways. This effort brings together an existing but fragmented literature and builds upon the authors’ own experiences in several subfields and schools of “hands-on” research on security and political violence.
The use of numbers has been remarkably effective at pressing global claims. Whilst research has d... more The use of numbers has been remarkably effective at pressing global claims. Whilst research has documented the historical processes through which numbers gained such prominence, and has examined the political and ethical consequences of this omnipresence, very little is known regarding the specific ways in which numbers create the outcomes that sustain governance. This article proposes to close that gap. Building on the literature that acknowledges that numbers not only describe things but also have profound impacts on things themselves, this paper offers an integrated account of the working dynamics of numbers in the governance of security. To do so, the article identifies three distinct but connected vectors of power through which numbers shape security governance: persuasion, (de)politicization, and standardization. These insights are exemplified through the prism of different empirical examples, the variety of which aims to display the advantages of the approach we propose.
This paper situates academic metrics (journal, institutions, and individual scholars’ rankings an... more This paper situates academic metrics (journal, institutions, and individual scholars’ rankings and ratings) within the broader logic of neoliberal government, in order to better identify and understand the impact of these metrics on political scientists’ perceptions, behaviours and identities. The results of a pilot survey conducted among political scientists in the UK and Belgium are used in order to further expose this impact. See paper at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0263395716685727
Lone-actor terrorists are very often presented as emotionally and/or cognitively impaired – yet i... more Lone-actor terrorists are very often presented as emotionally and/or cognitively impaired – yet is it really the case? The present article provides the first rigorous assessment of the hypotheses according to which a high level of negative emotions, especially anger, and a lack of cognitive flexibility and complexity play a role in lone-actor terrorists’ violent actions. Using a sample of lone-actor terrorists’ writings, we use the LIWC (a fully automated language use analysis software) to compare terrorists’ cognition and emotion with those of other control groups, most notably non-violent radical activists. Results strongly support the first hypothesis but clearly refute the second one, suggesting that lone-actor terrorists are in fact characterized by a specific combination of high anger and high cognitive complexity. These method and results lay the groundwork for a more systematic and nuanced analysis of the psychology of terrorists, which is currently in a deadlock. See article at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pops.12365/abstract
Has immigration been securitized at the EU level? The question has been hotly discussed, but no c... more Has immigration been securitized at the EU level? The question has been hotly discussed, but no consensus has been reached. The present paper claims that two shortcomings – one methodological, one theoretical – in the empirical conduct of securitization theory (ST) have provoked this lack of consensus. Taking this situation as an opportunity, we introduce a quantitative method that addresses these two shortcomings, therefore helping to reach a stronger claim on the securitization of immigration at the EU level. By measuring the intensity of the security framing in EU legislation on immigration, our method helps avoiding simplistic binary statements of (non-)securitization and encourages the scholar to acknowledge the complex, multifaceted reality of vast political fields. Our results contribute to accredit the thesis according to which immigration has been securitized at the EU level, but nuance it by demonstrating a significant variation between the various subfields of the policy (e.g. asylum, legal immigration).
Whilst recent research has demonstrated the key role played by emotion in conflicts, the interpla... more Whilst recent research has demonstrated the key role played by emotion in conflicts, the interplay between the individual and collective dimensions of this variable has not yet been fully conceptualized and satisfyingly measured. Focusing on the 2011 Palestinian statehood bid at the UN and the UNESCO, the present article highlights the circular character of group-based emotional dynamics, and stresses the importance of “emotional worldviews” and “emotional configurations”. We subsequently provide an innovative, robust, and repeatable quantitative method for the direct measuring of these two components. This threefold contribution – theoretical, methodological, empirical – completes recent models (chiefly the appraisal-based framework) and unfolds new research avenues for the study of the role of individual and collective emotions in conflicts. See paper at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022002714550083 .
Lone terrorists’ trials very often include long discussions on the mental health of the accused. ... more Lone terrorists’ trials very often include long discussions on the mental health of the accused. The present paper studies these discussions by offering a critical analysis of the mental health categories that are used in lone terrorists’ trials. By examining how the judicial concept of “insanity” collided with the psychiatric classification of mental illnesses in Breivik’s and Kaczynski’s trials, we suggest that lone terrorists’ trials can be understood as ritualistic devices whose latent function for society is to re-affirm its progressive values. This is done through the consolidation of a cognitive prototype of the category of the “insane reactionary terrorist”.
In this blog post, I look at how extremist groups have integrated the Covid-19 pandemic into thei... more In this blog post, I look at how extremist groups have integrated the Covid-19 pandemic into their narratives.
As the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates its propagation across the world, extraordinary measures are... more As the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates its propagation across the world, extraordinary measures are being taken by every single government: drastic confinement is ordered, massive liquidities are injected in national economies, the army is deployed in the streets, borders are closed, and the State pays private sector salaries. These are unprecedented developments for peace time. In this blog post, I do not call into question the effectiveness of these measures to tackle the epidemic; rather, I build on Pandemipolitics' first post (Heathershaw) to further unpack the process by which they have been presented as necessary by governments, and widely accepted as such by populations. Specifically, I understand this as a clear case of securitization, which I suggest allows us to highlight some of the less obvious socio-political implications the pandemic will have on the longer run.
This new, voluminous addition to the literature on the rise of, and challenges associated with, P... more This new, voluminous addition to the literature on the rise of, and challenges associated with, Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) opens with the stern reminder that controlling force is of paramount importance: " Establishing orderly relations so that people may be in some measure secure against violence is elementary to civilization, " write volume editors Gary Schaub and Ryan Kelty, and " such relations require controlling those persons whose particular attributes make them proficient in the ways of violence and, furthermore, harnessing their skills for the good of the community " (p. 4). In this context, the book is an explicit and important attempt to expose and analyse the difficult question of how to effectively control PMSCs' activities, which have been growing in both range and quantity since the end of the cold war. Having gathered no less than 14 contributions on this single question, the editors " believe that this volume offers a uniquely holistic, theoretically informed synthesis that produces new insights into different aspects of the problem of controlling PMSCs and indicates the complexities that arise as they interact " (p. 33). The stakes are high, as is the promise, and overall the effort has paid off – however, the volume comes with a series of limitations…
In Balzacq T., Ramel F. (2013): "Traité des Relations Internationales". Paris, Presses de Sciences Po., Nov 1, 2013
[paper in French] In this chapter, I expose the various ways through which researches conducted i... more [paper in French] In this chapter, I expose the various ways through which researches conducted in Psychology may be useful for International Relations scholars. Key traditions and schools of thought of cognitive, behavioral and social Psychology are exposed in a way that highlights how their methods and objects could help the IR scholar to better understand issues of international politics. Topics covered in this essay include, among others, intergroup categorization, emotion in decision, public justification, personality, and obedience.
Presses Universitaires de Louvain - Émulations, 2012
Cet ouvrage est le premier volume entièrement consacré à la crise politique qu'a traversée l'État... more Cet ouvrage est le premier volume entièrement consacré à la crise politique qu'a traversée l'État belge entre 2007 et 2011. Au travers d'une série de contributions ancrées dans des disciplines scientifiques variées, l'ouvrage fait le pari de proposer une lecture complexe et inhabituelle de cet épisode, en le replaçant dans des dynamiques structurelles aux croisées de l'histoire, de la psychologie individuelle et de groupe, de la sociologie et bien sûr du politique. Dépassant les habituels commentaires descriptifs sur les rapports de force et d'influence entre factions et partis, les différents auteurs soulignent ainsi, en toile de fond, toute la difficulté qu'éprouvent les États contemporains à se transformer lorsqu'ils en ont pourtant besoin, entraînant une situation ou les épisodes de crise deviennent paradoxalement normaux. La Belgique connaît ce problème selon des spécificités qui lui sont propres et qui appellent donc des propositions de réforme innovantes mais réalistes, également évoquées dans ces pages.
Presses Universitaires de Louvain - Émulations, 2010
Toute politique repose sur un jeu de catégories ; c'est à partir de ce constat d’une simplicité t... more Toute politique repose sur un jeu de catégories ; c'est à partir de ce constat d’une simplicité trompeuse que s’ouvrent les différentes contributions réunies ici. Ensemble, elles explorent les dynamiques à l’oeuvre dans l’établissement, la pérennisation, et la disparition des catégories politiques. Émulations fait donc ici le pari d’une investigation collective de ce qui devrait être considéré comme le processus le plus fondamental du politique – la catégorisation. De la discrimination positive à la gestion des déchets nucléaires, de la reconnaissance légale du handicap aux calculs de productivité et de richesse, des stratégies de lutte des minorités à la question de l’exclusion, la catégorisation se laisse voir dans toute sa dimension politique, c’est-à-dire porteuse d’enjeux normatifs clefs dans l’organisation de la cité. Dans le présent numéro d’Émulations, les études empiriques côtoient des essais plus théoriques pour explorer d’un regard multiple la complexité sans nom de ces catégories qui nous apparaissent souvent inévitables, voire naturelles. Sans mettre en péril la cohérence éditoriale, cette diversité offre un dialogue où les points de rencontre sont multiples et où les pistes de futures recherches et réflexions apparaissent clairement.
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