In the Well: Kassel psychoanalysis professor Patrick Meurs researches the radicalization of young people

The search for identity

Prof. Dr. Patrick Meurs has been Professor of Psychoanalysis at the Institute of Educational Sciences at the University of Kassel since 2016 and is also Director of the Sigmund Freud Institute in Frankfurt am Main. He focuses on the phenomenon of radicalization and its prevention. "The word radicalization comes from Latin," Meurs explains. "Radix means root or source." He also likes to translate it as 'well': "Those who become radicalized dare to jump into a well," searching for their origins, the psychoanalyst explains. "It is a search for one's own identity. As a psychosocial worker or psychologist, this is where you have to start."

Meurs knows what he's talking about. Not only has he done research on the topic, but he has worked with radicalized youth, in recent years primarily with Islamic youth. The media often turn to social scientists with this topic. Meurs is convinced that psychoanalysis also makes an important contribution to research and prevention. It does not examine socioeconomic circumstances, but focuses on the individual with his or her affective experiences and ways of thinking. It explains how and why young people become extremists and what can be done about it.

"Diversity is a difficult experience for many"

For Meurs, radicalization is a symptom, an expression of unease in the modern world. "The world is evolving faster than ever before," Meurs says. "Today's society requires us to be flexible and able to quickly adopt different identities." It is also more diverse than it has ever been. People from a wide variety of backgrounds and religions live together in Germany today. "Social liberality and diversity are important social goods that we have to defend," Meurs says. "But we have to accept that they are a difficult, alienating experience for many people. Multiculturalism and superdiversity are a richness of today's society, but they can also be psychologically difficult or conflictual experiences." Fear of the foreign is inherent in child development, he said. It is important to confront these fears, he said, so that the fear of the stranger does not become xenophobia and it does not override the curiosity and interest in the other that also develops in child development.  

"These fears of the stranger can lead to radicalization in vulnerable individuals," Meurs said. In a complex world, many young people set out to find an authentic self. These young people may have certain extreme ideas, but they are usually not ready for violence. This also applies to young people with a migration background, who are the focus of Meurs' scientific work: "They grow up in two cultures and language systems. That's stressful for some young people, especially at school." Those affected longed for a simpler, "purer" life. Some young people therefore turn to the original texts of their religion, while others seek the most authentic form of Islam possible. Basically, he said, this is no different from young people who turn to other, left- or right-wing extremist worldviews in search of stability. "In an extreme ideology, you find a simple view of the world that makes a lot of things easier to bear, gives you ground under your feet," Meurs said. Right-wing extremist youths, for example, respond to the complicated modern world with a 'pure Germanness.' They also yearned for an 'unadulterated' past.

The chosen trauma

It becomes dangerous when certain groups lead young people in the wrong direction in their search. Islamists, for example, recruit young people through clever narratives with figurative language. Not much text is needed, but all the more martial images. Radicalization often takes place outside the parental home in small groups. Often on the Internet.

One example: The time of the Crusades is long gone. The barbaric religious wars between Christians and Muslims are far removed from us today. Islamist propagandists, however, are not. For them, the Crusades are an important propaganda theme. "In psychoanalysis, one speaks of the 'chosen trauma,'" Meurs explains. The 'PR' of radical groups refers to the past. "The long common history of the West and the Islamic world is reduced to conflicts and humiliations." Cooperation between cultures and mutual inspirations are left out. "The propaganda works mainly with victim images and feelings of humiliation." One is reminded of the victim cult of German nationalists such as the Dolchstoß legend.

Seeing the other person as a human being

How do you prevent young people from becoming radicalized? Tolerance is an important tool, Meurs says. "You have to be able to approach the stranger and make friends with him." Mutual contact helps people see the other person as a human being and eliminate misunderstandings. "That can be a long process." Meurs has led numerous discussion groups and projects with young people, often achieving success. "The important thing is not to close ourselves off to the stranger and create a bubble around us." Being active together helps break down prejudices, such as on sports teams or serving society together. "Radicalized people no longer have a positive image of a foreign group. Their credo is: 'They're all the same and bad!'" says Meurs.

Meurs emphasizes one thing in particular: "We need to train our own imams." Young Muslims in Germany have many questions about their religious identity. Imams often come from abroad and are not familiar with the lives of young people in this country. "They offer young people answers from other cultural and social contexts."

"They want to preserve something"

Today, Islamism and right-wing radicalism in particular seem to be gaining a strong following. Left-wing radicals less so. We have become accustomed to images of IS fighters in black masks and Altright activists with side partings. Black-and-white images of the long-haired RAF terrorists seem rather alien today. "The young people of the postwar period grew up in a conservative society where the old authority remained palpable for too long. These young people wanted social upheaval, acceleration," Meurs explains. "Today, people tend to radicalize because social development is moving too fast for them. They want to preserve something." But the psychoanalyst warns, "That doesn't mean, of course, that you can let violent left-wing radicals, for example, out of your sight."

The focus of politics, he says, is mostly on security. "That's important, we can't be naive about that." Still, Meurs would like to see more confidence in the power of prevention and working with people. "Meeting each other, talking, experiencing that you can contribute together to this society, all that can also make a lot of difference. This new, shared experience has a de-radicalizing effect. Encounters become possible."