Leiden University Student Repository

Szymczak, Gabriela (2023)

Deconstructing The Recruitment Narratives for Male and Female Recruits Within The Islamic State Media

Bachelor thesis | Security Studies (BSc)

This study analyses the differences in which the Islamic State targets female and male audiences by focusing on the following question, “To what extent do the recruitment narratives used by the Islamic State differ when targeting female versus male audiences within their magazine, Dabiq?”. To answer this question of interest, this study performs a comparative Thematic Analysis of the English-language magazine Dabiq, specifically examining the “Among The Believers Are Men” and “To/From Our Sisters” sections. It further integrates the Framing Theory developed by Goffman (1974) to examine how the recruitment narratives used by the Islamic State differ when targeting female and male audiences. The study’s findings further demonstrate that gender-specific differences are prevalent in three out of four distinguished categories. These were: ‘Community, Belonging and Meaning’, ‘Gender Roles’’ and ‘Establishment of Common Enemies’. The category of ‘Obligation’ did not portray any differences...Show moreThis study analyses the differences in which the Islamic State targets female and male audiences by focusing on the following question, “To what extent do the recruitment narratives used by the Islamic State differ when targeting female versus male audiences within their magazine, Dabiq?”. To answer this question of interest, this study performs a comparative Thematic Analysis of the English-language magazine Dabiq, specifically examining the “Among The Believers Are Men” and “To/From Our Sisters” sections. It further integrates the Framing Theory developed by Goffman (1974) to examine how the recruitment narratives used by the Islamic State differ when targeting female and male audiences. The study’s findings further demonstrate that gender-specific differences are prevalent in three out of four distinguished categories. These were: ‘Community, Belonging and Meaning’, ‘Gender Roles’’ and ‘Establishment of Common Enemies’. The category of ‘Obligation’ did not portray any differences in the content of the recruitment narratives when differentiating it between the female audience versus the one of men. This signifies that the Islamic State also turns to alternative methods. The analysis of this study substantiates the literature presented by other authors, as their results correspond to and support the findings of this study. However, this study’s results stand in contrast as they differentiate between the content of the recruitment narratives that are used to target women versus men. The study concludes that to tackle Islamic State recruitment, it is essential to understand which gender differences within which recruitment narratives influence individuals to join the organisation. This emphasises the need for further studies to conduct interviews with the returnees of the Islamic State and examine the factors that served as their motivations to join the organisation.Show less

Author

Szymczak, Gabriela

Faculty

Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs

Supervisors

Leede, S.A.M. de

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en