Differences Across Space: Somali-Canadian Attitudes Towards School, Police and al Shabaab in Two Different Cities

• In Event: Violence and Justice in Racial and Immigrant Communities

Abstract

In recent years, terrorism scholars have increasingly recognized that ‘one size fits all’ approaches to radicalization and violent extremism belies the complexity of the varying and group-specific dynamics in communities of interest. This recognition has prompted a small but growing body of research that examines the role that collective dynamics may play in shaping the risk of radicalization and violent extremism in diasporic communities. Our research adds a further layer of complexity; within-group dynamics also appear to vary across space, even within the same national context. Using a case study approach, we examine collective dynamics among Somali youth and young adults (age 16-30) in Toronto and Edmonton, Canada. Based on over 200 hundred in depth interviews in both cities, our findings suggest that there are important differences in terms of integration, the availability of community supports, and opportunities for upward mobility in both communities, that not only shape our samples’ faith in institutions such as the police and the education system, but also their attitude towards radical groups, such as al-Shabaab.

Authors

• Sara K. Thompson, Ryerson University

• Sandra M. Bucerius, University of Alberta