Positive thinking

Sarah Marsden, Lancaster University   It’s hard to talk about deradicalisation in the face of appalling attacks, such as those in London and Manchester: calls for retribution are often louder than those raising the possibility of redemption. But supporting disengagement from extremism is an important part of a long-term response to terrorism. Prominent voices such as  Maajid Nawaz and  Hanif Qadir who condemned the attacks, were themselves once involved in militant Islamist networks. Not only does this show it’s possible to walk away from extremism, it illustrates that former militants can be important in the fight against terrorism. There is also a pragmatic argument for deradicalisation. Compared with surveillance, incarceration or  internment , it is a more cost-effective and long-term solution. Importantly, supporting disengagement also reasserts those liberal democratic values terrorism seeks to undermine, in ways that detention without trial...