Some public sociologists work on trying to understand why there are such high rates of reversion to previous patterns of behavior. Former prison inmates are at especially high risk of repeating a crime, so public sociologists want to know what might make the resocialization “stick.” This is explored further in the discussion of policy. Clearly not all socialization or all resocialization is positive or functional. Sometimes resocialization alienates people from others and can contribute to violence or even terrorism. The next Sociology Around the World feature examines resocialization of young people into the terrorist group ISIS (or ISIL).
Sociology Around the World
ISIS Recruitment
Why do a small proportion of young people become radicalized and join terrorist organizations like ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, also referred to as ISIL and Daesh) or other terrorist groups? To combat terrorist groups, we need to try to understand what attracts young people to such destructive, sometimes barbaric activities so that we can counter the negative impacts of resocialization.
Potential jihadi, strongly influenced by social media (often Facebook), often feel they have nothing to lose by becoming jihadists. In countries like England, Belgium, and France, a small percentage of youth from Muslim backgrounds feel alienated in societies in which their religion is looked upon as “different.” They become disaffected with their poor or middle-class lives and seek both meaning and adventure. For some, the idea of becoming a martyr makes death palatable, even desirable (Weaver 2015).
One half of ISIS fighters are born outside of the Middle East, and over 4,000 come from the West (Europe and other Global North countries). Most are males in their early 20s, of South Asian and Middle Eastern origins and with some university education. Recruiters begin the process of resocialization by appealing to youth looking for new meaning in life and drawing distinctions between the values of the Western world and a “new Islamic world order.”
Reports on recruitment of child soldiers from many countries shows children as “victims of brutal violence, exploited for supporting roles, subjected to indoctrination and conscription, and often used as child soldiers, spies, or suicide bombers” (UNODC 2018). Understanding the recruitment tactics begins the process of tackling the root causes of the problem.
Carefully planned recruitment strategies involve the resocialization of disaffected young people into jihadists (Gunaratna 2018). Steps include (a) establishing first contact (often through social media), (b) drawing out the personal stories and frustrations of potential recruits, (c) laying out the possibility of a new path with new values and ways of doing things, (d) encouraging potential recruits to form a new identification with ISIS and against the West’s non-Muslim way of life, and (e) promising a home and connections in a new caliphate (Islamic state) that will eventually spread throughout the world. Through this resocialization process, ISIS recruiters make new recruits feel that they have a purpose and power in a world from which they feel alienated (Torok 2015). These approaches can be especially appealing to those who see no opportunities in their lives or futures; many Palestinian youths fall into this category, among others who lack hope.
In ISIS recruiting efforts, potential jihadis learn about ISIS’s expansionist philosophy and absolute rule by fear; for infidels (nonbelievers), the message is “convert or die” (Torok 2015). Some recruits are vulnerable to indoctrination through exposure to graphic imagery (such as beheadings) in the name of ISIS’s “pure Islam” and claims by recruiters that they are living under “righteous Islamic rule” (Torok 2015). YouTube propaganda videos that “normalize” jihad and martyrdom give disaffected young people an alternative to their present lives. Recruits begin to anticipate excitement and acceptance and the promise of a good life on earth and martyrdom in heaven should they die. Leaving family and their former lives for a cause becomes a goal.
Efforts to prevent young people from being resocialized into a small, radicalized group of jihadis, alien to most peaceful and peace-loving Muslims, requires intervening in this resocialization process. Unfortunately, some efforts have resulted in Muslim organizations facing suspicion and civil rights abuses by law enforcement agencies and fellow citizens and can cause feelings of alienation and fuel the jihadi cause (Kundnani 2012).
Multiple individuals, groups, and institutions are involved in the socialization process. These socialization forces are referred to as agents of socialization.
Agents of Socialization: The Micro-Meso Connection
Agents of socialization are the transmitters of culture—the people, organizations, and institutions that help us define our identity and teach us how to thrive in our social world. Agents are the mechanism by which the self learns the values, beliefs, and behaviors of the culture. Agents of socialization help new members find their place, just as they prepare older members for new responsibilities in society. At the micro level, one’s family, one’s peer group, and local groups and organizations help people know how they should behave and what they should believe. At the meso level, formal sources of learning (e.g., education and religion) and informal sources of learning (e.g., the media and books) are all agents that contribute to socialization. They transmit information to children and to adults throughout their lives.
Thinking Sociologically
As you read this section, make a list of socializing agents at the micro, meso, and macro levels. Indicate two or three central messages each agent of socialization tries to instill in people. Do these messages conflict, and if so, why?
In early childhood, the family acts as the primary agent of socialization, passing on messages about respect for property and authority and the value of love and loyalty (Handel et al. 2007). Peer groups —people who are roughly equal in some status within the society, such as the same age or the same occupation—are also important, especially during the teenage years. Some writers even argue that the peer group is the most important agent in the socialization process of children and teens (Aseltine 1995; Harris 2009). Each agent has its own functions and is important at different stages of the life cycle, but meso-level institutions play a more active role as one matures. For example, schools and religious bodies become more involved in socialization as children reach 6 years old and older, compared with when they were preschool age (Rosenqvist 2017).
▲ As children become teenagers, peers become increasingly important socializing agents, shaping their norms, values, and attitudes.
© iStock.com/oscarhdez
Formal agents of socialization are official or legal agents (e.g., families, schools, teachers, and religious organizations) whose purpose it is to socialize the individual into the values, beliefs, and behaviors of the culture. For example, a primary goal of families is to teach children to speak and to learn proper behavior. In addition, schoolteachers educate by giving formal instruction, and religious organizations provide moral instruction. (These formal agents of socialization are discussed in Chapters 10–12.)
Informal agents of socialization are unofficial influential agents that shape values, beliefs, and behaviors in which socialization is not the express purpose. Examples include peers, the media, books, advertising, and the Internet. They bring us continuous messages even though their primary purpose is not socialization but entertainment or selling products. Children watch countless advertisements on television, many with messages
