Gender and jihad in the United States: A comparative analysis of Islamic State supporters using the 3N model of radicalization

Abstract

Acts of terrorism and insurgency have dramatic consequences for national and global strategy and security efforts. Numerous factors complicate our understanding of violent extremism. Diverging values, cultures, and ideologies underpin and further complicate these variables. The 3N model of radicalization suggests that radicalization to violent extremism is driven by the needs, narratives, and networks of an individual. This study uses the 3N model as a theoretical framework for conducting a comparative analysis of a US cohort charged by the United States with offenses related to their support of the Islamic State from March of 2014 – December of 2023. It was hypothesized that a comparative analysis utilizing the 3N model would identify uniquely gendered typologies of the needs, narratives, and networks motivating US women’s radicalization to the Islamic State vis á vis those of US men. While the gendered hypothesis was not supported, findings suggest that radicalization of a US cohort to the Islamic State is consistent with those theorized by the 3N model of radicalization.