Trauma and the extremist life cycle: A study of former fighters in Lebanon

This study examines the role of trauma in the radicalization journeys of former Salafi-Jihadist militants from Tripoli, Lebanon. Utilizing life-history interviews with ten ex-militants and experts, it explores how different forms of trauma interact across phases of involvement, engagement, and disengagement. Findings indicate that early adversity – including neglect, poverty, and violence – disrupted identity formation, fostered insecurity and desensitization, increasing susceptibility to recruitment. Social traumas, such as the 2013 mosque bombings, further fuelled collective victimhood and a desire for revenge, dignity, and heroism. During the engagement, a combination of empowering and traumatizing experiences led to symptoms of moral injury. Finally, disengagement – often triggered by traumatic imprisonment – rarely led to successful reintegration, leaving respondents with complex PTSD, stigma, and marginalization. Theoretically, this study positions trauma not as a peripheral factor, but as a central mechanism that shapes involvement, sustains engagement, and obstructs disengagement. It demonstrates that radicalization functions both as a coping strategy and an attempted identity reconstruction. Empirically, it provides rare qualitative evidence from a Middle Eastern context. Practically, the findings emphasize the need for trauma-informed counter-extremism strategies that link individual healing with community and structural interventions.