A phenomenological meta-framework for counter-terrorism policy: The radicalization process through a Best Fit Framework Synthesis
Scholars have provided an abundant amount of theories and models that offer an explanation to the
processes that lead to terrorist involvement. The majority of these theories or models range from simple, linear stage models to more complicated processual pathway approaches. However, these models are often isolated and comparative reviews have been scarce and partial in scope. This contribution, therefore, aims to gain insight into the sequence of the trajectory towards terrorism by systematically identifying existing models and frameworks in the literature and analysing them thematically. The methodology of a ‘best fit framework synthesis’ enables to create an eight-phased meta-framework that embodies the current state of research on processual models of radicalization. As a result, this contribution offers an initial incentive to transcend the fragmented approach in the field of radicalization research and shows that far-reaching criminal law provisions intervene at early stages of the radicalization process.