The Democratic Promise of “Deradicalization”

Abstract

Recent mass shootings in Georgia and Colorado resonate all too well with the French. Angst and anger provoked by extremist violence on both sides of the Atlantic are a particularly morbid but unifying experience. Yet the different forms and context of extremism in the United States and in France raise unique challenges for their democratic rule. If the murder of six Asian women in Georgia throws yet another spotlight on the under-recognition of such acts—especially when committed by white men—as domestic terrorism and hate crimes, France is currently facing the opposite problem of over-designation. In its efforts to prevent jihadist terrorism, French lawmakers increasingly conflate violent radicalization with strict religious practices and put terrorism on the same spectrum with halal meat markets and homeschooling...