Islamist Radicalization in France Since the Algerian War

Abstract

Despite France's history as a victim of violent extremism, France is the largest source of Western fighters to the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, which signals the presence of a disproportionately large radicalized population within France. The French government's attempts to address this dilemma through the establishment of deradicalization programs have been widely critiqued as ineffective. This suggests a misunderstanding of the motivations and causes of Islamist radicalization in France. This study aims to determine the primary roots of violent radicalization in France through identifying and analyzing the social conditions conducive to Islamist radicalization. The results of this study show a relatively high concentration of radicalization in migrant communities, especially those of north African descent, which I demonstrate derives from the systemic socio-economic exclusion and discontent that resulted from France's notoriously poor integration policies following the Algerian War.