NCJ Number
245174
Journal
International Journal of Criminology and Sociology Volume: 1 Dated: 2012 Pages: 109-120
Date Published
2012
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The paper addresses how the Swedish Security Service (SÄPO) is attempting to mobilize the support of the Muslim communities in their counterterrorism strategy.
Abstract
The paper addresses how the Swedish Security Service (SÄPO) is attempting to mobilize the support of the Muslim communities in their counterterrorism strategy, together with their measures to prevent radicalization processes among Muslim young people. Under what circumstances can one find voluntary cooperation by Muslim Swedes in the state's anti-terror policing efforts and under what circumstances can one expect that voluntary cooperation will be withheld? The analysis focuses two intertwined factors which the author argues influence voluntary cooperation: the potential unintended consequences of the Security Service's outreach activities and the link between cooperation, institutional legitimacy and procedural justice. It is argued that both the 'soft' and 'hard' aspects of the Swedish Security Service's preventive, respective control and intelligence strategies, interconnect to produce unanticipated and unwanted consequences. The Swedish Security Service's outreach program can have the unintended consequence that instead of counteracting radicalization processes, the program, which targets practicing Muslims as per definition potential terrorists, can very well lead to radicalization among young Muslims with experiences of misrecognition. (Published Abstract)