Beyond the securitization of Islam. Belgian anti-radicalization policies and the spectre of "cultural insecurity"

Rinschbergh, François
(2024) The Politics of Insecurity: Criminal justice and social welfare in insecure times — Location: Workshop de l’Institut national de criminalistique et de criminologie (INCC) & DaWS (Univ. of Southern Denmark), 1000 Bruxelles (21.March.2024)

Files

No attached file found for this publication.

Details

Authors
Abstract
Since its emergence in European countries about two decades ago, the notion of radicalization has garnered significant attention and generated numerous critical analysis from academics and practitioners alike. The notion has been described as “vague, ill-defined, complex and controversial” (Coolsaet, 2019, 30), and has been accused of stigmatizing individuals and being counterproductive. Within the vast body of literature on counter-radicalisation policies, if some professionals are sometimes portrayed as pragmatic agents of a repressive system, they are more likely described as struggling with an 'impossible' job (Alber, Cabalion, Cohen, 2020). Despite these criticisms, the term “radicalization” has gained a significant political and journalistic success in Belgium (as well as in other countries). This success suggests that this notion has been viewed “more as a solution than a problem” (Van Campenhoudt, 1999). The notion of “radicalization” has indeed been at the origin of an impressive range of political and administrative measures designed to fight the problem in question. However, apart from a few contributions, little has been said about those who, despite the difficulties, tried to lead this public action "beyond risk detection" (Baillergeau, 2021) or, more generally, "beyond strictly security-related work" (Soussoko, 2023). The chance to see a reflexive capacity from practitioners who are not entirely subject to a “security imperative" (Michon, 2020, 54) often seems unlikely in the light of the many analyses produced these last years (for example, for the case of Belgium: Brion et al., 2022; Janssens et al., 2022). Based on a fieldwork conducted between 2019 and 2022 as part of my doctoral research, this presentation aims to shed empirical light on what Belgium and, more specifically, the French Community (also called "Wallonia-Brussels Federation") have done since 2015. Although the hybridization of prevention and repression is at the heart of this peculiar public action, it would be a mistake to only see in it a renewed form of “penalization” of social policies (Mary, 2003). In this troubled context, the obstinate efforts of 'an administration that struggles and invents' (Berger, 2019, 68) can be seen on the field, as this presentation aims to show.
Affiliations

Citations

  • APA
  • Chicago
  • FWB

Rinschbergh, F. (2024). Beyond the securitization of Islam. Belgian anti-radicalization policies and the spectre of “cultural insecurity”. The Politics of Insecurity: Criminal justice and social welfare in insecure times, Workshop de l’Institut national de criminalistique et de criminologie (INCC) & DaWS (Univ. of Southern Denmark), 1000 Bruxelles. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/259905