Home, Land, Security
Deradicalization and the Journey Back from Extremism
-
-
5.0 • 1 Rating
-
-
- $15.99
Publisher Description
PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • A “provocative and deeply reported look into the emerging field of deradicalization” (Esquire), told through the stories of former militants and the people working to bring them back into society
What are the roots of radicalism? Journalist Carla Power came to this question well before the January 6, 2021, attack in Washington, D.C., turned our country’s attention to the problem of domestic radicalization. Her entry point was a different wave of radical panic—the way populists and pundits encouraged us to see the young people who joined ISIS or other terrorist organizations as simple monsters. Power wanted to chip away at the stereotypes by focusing not on what these young people had done but why: What drew them into militancy? What visions of the world—of home, of land, of security for themselves and the people they loved—shifted their thinking toward radical beliefs? And what visions of the world might bring them back to society?
Power begins her journey by talking to the mothers of young men who’d joined ISIS in the UK and Canada; from there, she travels around the world in search of societies that are finding new and innovative ways to rehabilitate former extremists. We meet an American judge who has staked his career on finding new ways to handle terrorist suspects, a Pakistani woman running a game-changing school for former child soldiers, a radicalized Somali American who learns through literature to see beyond his Manichean beliefs, and a former neo-Nazi who now helps disarm white supremacists. Along the way Power gleans lessons that get her closer to answering the true question at the heart of her pursuit: Can we find a way to live together?
An eye-opening, page-turning investigation, Home, Land, Security speaks to the rise of division and radicalization in all forms, both at home and abroad. In this richly reported and deeply human account, Carla Power offers new ways to overcome the rising tides of extremism, one human at a time.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist Power (If the Oceans Were Ink) surveys in this deeply reported and ultimately optimistic account efforts to deradicalize violent extremists. Through interviews with the family members of Westerners who joined ISIS, Power humanizes militant jihadists and offers insights into the forces that push people toward extremism. In one of the book's most astounding sections, a mother recalls her 19-year-old son, who had run away from home in England, calling from Iraq to ask if he could ride his commander's motorbike. ("To hear him ask for permission over the phone," Power writes, "was to hear the old Rasheed, the biddable boy who'd call if he was going to be even ten minutes late coming home.") Power also documents the successes and setbacks of rehabilitation programs in Denmark, Germany, and Indonesia, and makes the argument that reforming extremists offers greater security than imprisoning them. In the U.S., Power traces the winding but ultimately successful deradicalization of a Somali American teenager who tried to join ISIS. Turning to preventative measures, Power describes how a Flemish city has successfully integrated Muslim immigrants by fostering "social mixing" in schools and neighborhoods, demilitarizing the police, and investing in public works. Interweaving intimate character profiles and in-depth research, this is a nuanced look at a critical yet overlooked front in the fight against extremism.
