Institutionalizing Violence

Reviews / Votes

Jerome Drevon's Institutionalizing Violence is a remarkable piece of scholarship. It advances our theoretical understanding of Salafi groups' radicalization and de-radicalization, and the centrality of institutionalization to groups' strategic choices. Its empirical chapters, focused on Egyptian Salafi-Jihadi groups, are fascinating, the result of exceptional access to important figures in these organizations. Drevon also has a unique ability to breathtakingly tell their story. This book is a must read for students of social movements, terrorism studies, and the Jihadi movement. * Barak Mendelsohn, Haverford University * If we want to find new and more constructive ways of managing the threat stemming from jihadist militancy, we need to understand how jihadist organizations function. In this excellent book, Jerome Drevon draws on unique material gathered through extensive in-country research in Egypt, and convincingly shows how different types of jihadist organizational patterns influence the groups' trajectories, including the chances for conflict termination and political accommodation. A must-read for anyone interested in jihadist militancy and the sociology of violence more broadly. * Isak Svensson, Uppsala University * Richly researched, considered, and incisive, Institutionalizing Violence is a work that not only deserves wide readership, but is one with which all serious researchers of jihadist movements must contend. Jerome Drevon's excellent scholarship and exceptional access to historical figures in Egypt's most influential jihadist groups combine here in a new study that provides unique insight into strategic decision making within militant organizations. For these reasons, this book is essential reading. * Leah Farrall, former senior counterterrorism analyst with the Australian Federal Police * In his remarkable book, Drevon (Geneva Graduate Institute, Switzerland) advances a well-grounded theoretical understanding of the radicalization and de-radicalization of Salafi groups and the centrality of institutionalization to the groups' strategic choices. Drevon's excellent book draws on unique materials gathered through extensive, in-country research in Egypt, which convincingly shows how different types of jihadist organizational patterns influence the trajectories of the groups, including their chances for conflict termination and political accommodation. This richly researched project is excellent scholarship because of the exceptional access Drevon had to historical figures in Egypt's most influential jihadist groups, which provides unique insight into strategic decision-making within militant organizations. * Choice *