Engineering news
Engineers from Muslim countries are more likely to become terrorists than the general population, according to new research.
The study, by Dr Steffen Hertog from the London School of Economics, and Professor Diego Gambetta from the European University Institute in Italy, looked at more than 800 members of violent Islamist groups. The researchers found that jihadists are not only better-educated than the general population, but that engineers are “dramatically over-represented” in terrorist groups.
The research identifies three personality traits that make people more likely to end up in radical right wing or Islamist organisation: a tendency to be easily disgusted; a preference for order and certainty; and a need to draw rigid boundaries around one’s “in-group” and reject “out-groups”.
The research revealed that on average, engineers score more strongly on almost all measures of the three core traits, and lean to the right politically, with a small share turning towards violent extremism.
A possible explanation for the trend is that engineers typically appear in radical groups in countries that are undergoing economic crises and have declining labour markets, said Hertog: “Over-production of graduates in countries whose labour markets cannot absorb them is a recipe for instability and radicalization. Focusing effort instead on improving primary and secondary schooling systems would not only make more economic sense but also reduce the numbers of unmoored, frustrated would-be elites.”
The research also reveals that the over-representation of engineers in terrorist group extends to radicals who are born and grow up in Asian and Western countries.
Out of 71 Western-based jihadists with known higher education credentials, 45% were at some point enrolled in an engineering degree. For comparison, 16.2% of students in the general population choose to study engineering at university.
In addition, the research found no evidence that the technical skills of engineering graduates are the reason they are so well represented among jihadists.
Hertog said: “A better understanding of the psychological needs that various radical ideologies cater to should be useful in designing more effective “soft” counter-terrorism strategies – but it’s early days and such strategies would need to be tested in the field first.”
The research appears in Hertog and Gambetta’s book published last month, “Engineers of Jihad: the Curious Connection between Violent Extremism and Education”.