Impact Assessment of Belgian De-„Radicalisation“ Policies Upon Social Cohesion and Liberties. Final Report.

The 2014, 2015 and 2016 Brussels and Paris attacks by young European Muslims who had joined IS were followed by abundant legislative activity in the security area; they prompted the federal government and the governments of the federated entities to adopt several “action plans”, and eventually led to an important reorganisation of the Belgian security assemblage. In this context, the objective of AFFECT has been to assess the impact of de-“radicalisation” policies on social cohesion and liberties. Two problems appeared to require particular attention: the rise of “preemptive security”, and the adoption of the notion of “radicalisation” that fits perfectly into the latter’s precautionary logic. The field investigated is that of the Belgian State's law enforcement apparatus (police, courts, prisons). Our findings (i) suggest that “radicalisation” is, in advanced liberal societies, the “strategic invention” that allows the passage from social security to “preemptive security”, and the reconfiguration of law and the “surveillant assemblages” that this passage requires, and (ii) uncover some impacts of mechanisms induced by this notion, on social cohesion and liberties, the suspectification of the Muslim community, and the marginalisation or radical exclusion of some of its members.