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Article published In: Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict
Vol. 12:2 (2024) ► pp.139–170

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They were not radical, even when they committed that

An appraisal-driven discourse analysis of feelings and attitudes towards the 17-A terrorist cell in Barcelona

ORCiD logo with link | University of Zaragoza
ORCiD logo with link | University of Granada
ORCiD logo with link | University of Granada
ORCiD logo with link | University of Córdoba
ORCiD logo with link | University of Córdoba
Published online: 6 June 2023
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlac.00084.ben
Abstract
Identity conflict and the loss of meaning experienced by some Muslim young people in Western countries are key factors behind fanaticism, leading some of them to find purpose in life within extremist groups (Adam-Troian, Jais, Ayşe Tecmen, and Ayhan Kaya. 2021. “Youth Extremism as a Response to Global Threats? A Threat-regulation Perspective on Violent Extremism among the Youth.” Eur Psychol 261: 15–28. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Moyano, Manuel, and Irene González. 2021. “Jóvenes y Radicalización Violenta: La Encrucijada de la Prevención.” In Una Aproximación a los Procesos de Radicalización y Extremismo Violento (PREDEIN), edited by Jordi Pàmies Rovira, and Silvia Carrasco, 36–41. Bellaterra: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). The narrative that emerges from the radicalisation process provides a rich source for psychologists and discourse analysts, exploring not only the ‘why’ and the ‘how’, but also issues stemming from self-perception and other-representation. Such conflict-based narratives materialise in individuals’ evaluative language patterns (Etaywe, Awni, and Michele Zappavigna. 2022. “Identity, Ideology and Threatening Communication: An Investigation of Patterns of Attitude in Terrorist Discourse.” Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict 10 (2): 315–350. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). In this paper, we conduct a close analysis of the discursive construction of emotion and opinion in a collection of semi-structured interviews with social workers or neighbours who knew the perpetrators of the 2017 terrorist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils. To do so, we use corpus-driven methodologies and a refined version of Martin, James. R., and Peter R. R. White. 2005. The Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar Appraisal framework (see Benítez-Castro, Miguel-Ángel, and Encarnación Hidalgo-Tenorio. 2019. “Rethinking Martin & White’s affect Taxonomy.” In Emotion in Discourse, edited by J. Lachlan Mackenzie, and Laura Alba Juez, 301–331. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). Our analysis aims to cast light on the social frictions that may have contributed to their endorsement of violence (Moyano, Manuel, Roberto M. Lobato, Jocelyn J. Bélanger, and Humberto M. Trujillo. 2021. Preventing and Countering Violent Radicalization: A Guide for First-Line Practitioners. Córdoba: Universidad de Córdoba.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar).
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1The current threat of terrorism
    • 1.2The 17-A cell and attacks
    • 1.3The cell’s local context
    • 1.4Research goals
  • 2.Theoretical framework
    • 2.1Corpus linguistics and CDA
    • 2.2The language of evaluation
  • 3.Data and method
    • 3.1The interviews
    • 3.2The tagging system
  • 4.Results and discussion
    • 4.1What are the most salient evaluative representations of the cell, their environment and the terror attacks in the eyes of all the interviewees?
    • 4.2What emotions and opinions feature most frequently in the interviews with the two Muslim interviewees?
    • 4.3Are there any differences in the communicative style of the two interviewees?
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Declaration of interest statement
  • Notes
  • References
References (62)
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