Pathway of School-Age Youth into Violent Extremist Activity and the De-Radicalisation Programme in Indonesia

Abstract

This study aims to explore the radicalisation process of school-age youth involved in terrorism. It also aims to examine the government's de-radicalisation programme targeting young children engaged in terrorist activity. This study finds that terrorist groups do not specifically target young children for recruitment, and they tend to wait for group members or new recruits who are willing to surrender and sacrifice themselves for the sake of the struggle and victory of Islam. This study also finds that the Indonesian government has not yet formulated or implemented policies and measures that are inadequate for dealing with the growing phenomenon of child terrorists.