Description
Radicalisation in contemporary conflict zones is no longer confined to physical spaces such as roads, habitations, or organisations; it has shifted to digital platforms. This research paper examines this shift, focusing on how encrypted messaging, social media, and pseudonymous online communities have restructured traditional radicalisation pathways. The objective of the study is to understand that increasing state control over physical spaces, such as surveillance, mobility restrictions, and Internet Shutdowns, does not stop the process of radicalisation; rather, it deepens and shifts to digital pathways that are harder to detect. This paper employs comparative qualitative analysis as its method, focusing on two or three conflict zones, with Jammu and Kashmir as a case study, comparatively evaluating the secondary sources, such as Think Tank reports and scholarly literature.
Key findings show that there is a Paradoxical Relationship between physical restrictions and Digital Radicalisation: the more physical restrictions increase, the more radicalisation networks adapt through encrypted and surveillance-resistant channels. This research paper makes a theoretical contribution to security studies by reimagining radicalisation not as a fixed geographic process but as a dynamic and adaptive system.