Two researchers have investigated the link between terrorism and cultural integration, reports Le Point in an article posted online on Monday February 28. Tobias Böhmelt, a researcher in international relations and comparative politics at the University of Essex, and Vincenzo Bove, professor of political science at the University of Warwick, have conducted an increasing number of studies on this topic in recent years. In particular, the experts have examined the link between immigrants’ “cultural distance” and terrorism, as well as the impact of immigration policies, the newspaper reports.
In one of their studies – “Does cultural proximity contain terrorism diffusion?” [“Can cultural proximity contain terrorism diffusion?”]. – Tobias Böhmelt and Vincenzo Bove argue that it is impossible to treat immigrants as “homogeneous populations” and that holding on to a clear distinction between “immigrants” in general and “natives” is detrimental to understanding the issue, the weekly magazine continues. Furthermore, they judge that “the spread of terrorism between countries via migration depends on the cultural proximity between the immigrants’ countries of origin and their destination states”.
Tobias Böhmelt and Vincenzo Bove believe that cultural proximity between immigrants and locals “increases trust between people”, facilitates the integration of migrants and makes it more difficult for terrorist networks to exploit their situation, according to Le Point. However, they added that this does not mean that terrorist attacks are necessarily perpetrated by migrants, as only a “tiny minority” of them arrive with hostile intentions.
What about the statistics?
The two researchers assure that this does not mean that immigrants do not become victims of terrorist-motivated violence themselves, according to the newspaper. So both argue on a global level and not on the level of individual motivation. In other words, they believe that integration problems and the “marginalisation of the migrant population” indirectly lead to the promotion of terrorism. This happens by exposing the diaspora to the influence of terrorist networks, in various forms, such as the direct recruitment of individuals, but also the exchange of information, funding and support.
To assess the relevance of this hypothesis from a statistical point of view, the researchers analysed the extent and origin of immigration – excluding refugees – in 32 OECD countries between 1980 and 2010, but also the frequency of terrorist attacks,” comments Le Point. Whilst completing their research, they realised that the relationship between the extent of immigration and the frequency of terrorist attacks varies according to the degree of cultural distance between the host country and the host populations. “Greater cultural proximity can counteract, contain and act as a barrier to the spread of terrorism through migration,” Tobias Böhmelt and Vincenzo Bove are quoted as saying by the authors. While this study could easily argue in favour of prioritising culturally proximate immigration in the eyes of various political decision-makers, it is worth pointing out that the authors of the study do not make this cultural distance an influencing variable that cannot be altered.