A Comparative Evaluation of Radicalization Factors between Civilians, Veterans, and Active-Duty Military

Understanding the radicalization process is an important step to preventing violent extremism. Although many individuals may be susceptible to radicalization, there is particular concern about radicalization among people with prior military experience. These individuals may have skillsets that could be valuable to extremist organizations and are sometimes the target of active recruitment efforts. However, there is little empirical information to aid in understanding how the process differs between individuals who are radicalized while on active-duty status with their national military versus veteran personnel who are inactive at the time of their radicalization. The current study thus utilized the Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS; N > 3,000) dataset to explore the influence of prior military experience on the radicalization process, including a comparison of active-duty versus veteran personnel. Veterans were more likely to engage in violent plots to produce casualties than either civilians or active-duty military, and veterans were also radicalized more often in response to actions of their domestic government. However, active-duty personnel were likely to be radicalized over a shorter period and did not hold a deep commitment to radicalized beliefs. These findings help provide insight into radicalization differences due to prior military experience.