In their book on Sharia4Belgium, an organization that during its short existence from 2010 to 2012 criticized what it perceived as anti-Muslim discourse and promoted the introduction of the sharia in Belgium, the authors Pim Aarns and Ineke Roex focus on the use of political humor by the spokespersons of the organization. They offer a nuanced interpretation of the political humor in a large number of online videos, distinguishing between, among other things, the ridicule of right-wing nativist opponents, a ludic critique of sexual mores, and the mockery of other Muslims who do not accept the group’s version of Islam. The focus on humor is refreshing, because in today’s liberal, secular democracy devout believers, and fundamentalist Muslims in particular, are often believed to be lacking a sense of humor. Although failing to offer a broader analysis of political humor in current political discourse, the book successfully shows that radical religious ideology and political humor are not mutually exclusive.

Attention for youth group crime is important, because the majority of juvenile crime is committed in groups or is the result of group dynamic processes. The police makes an inventory of youth groups with the help of an instrument (called ‘the shortlist’). In the Netherlands this has contributed to an integral approach on the group, domain and individual level. Although there are some side effects, findings suggest that this approach is effective. This fact, together with other developments in juvenile crime, has led to the further development of the shortlist instrument. Its basis, i.e. applying focus and an integral analysis of a youth group as a starting point for an integral approach, is herein maintained.

Similar to the total youth crime, the share of Moroccan boys and men who are suspected of committing a crime is decreasing. The percentage of suspects among male Moroccan teens and early twenties declined with as much as 35% in the period from 2005 to 2015. However, the share of 12- to 24-year-old males with a Dutch background who were suspected of committing a crime, declined even more sharply. Therefore, the overrepresentation of Moroccans increased. The increased amount of cultural dissonance among Moroccan boys and young adults seems to be the most probable explanation for the increased overrepresentation of this group in recorded crime. Cultural dissonance is where migrants have to steer a middle course between two highly contrasting cultures, namely the culture of their country of origin (of their parents) and that of the country in which they are residing.

Over the last decades the number of people who have been detained on the suspicion of terrorism has significantly grown. This has resulted in an increased scholarly interest in the topic of prisons and terrorism. However, the main focus of academic research has been the period of incarceration. Especially the question whether terrorists should be isolated from other prisoners has received considerable scientific attention. What happens after their release still remains opaque. In this article some preliminary insights will be shared on particular aspects of the societal reintegration of former suspected terrorist detainees. It presents some of the obstacles, dilemmas and opportunities. These insights where obtained through semi-structured interviews with both professionals and former detainees with a jihadist background.

In order to understand why people can turn to violence to achieve political or societal changes, it is important to examine factors that can trigger a process of radicalization. In this article the authors outline such a model of trigger factors. In this model they specify trigger factors at the micro level (individual level), meso level (group level), and macro level (societal level). In addition, the authors argue that it is important to take into account personal characteristics, such as age, gender, and the type of motivation, behind a radicalization process. With respect to these types of motivation, the authors distinguish between sensation seekers, justice seekers, identity seekers, and meaning seekers. This model enables to discern triggers in the radicalization process of specific people in specific contexts.

Whistleblowing research should more explicitly focus on underlying motives for the decision to report on organizational misbehavior. Arguably, these motives are connected to the factors that can explain the decision whether or not to blow the whistle. Reporting for egoistic reasons can probably be explained by other factors than reporting for altruistic reasons. This article aims to enrich the whistleblowing literature by proposing grid-group cultural theory as an alternative approach. This theoretical framework could provide more insight into reporting decisions by identifying various motives for such decisions and linking them with elements in the organizational culture that could explain them. As an illustration, the theory is applied in an ethnographic study in two investigative teams of the Belgian federal police. More research is, however, needed to fine-tune the conceptual framework and to test the preliminary findings of this empirical study.

The UPR is an increasingly important instrument for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to advocate for the protection and promotion of human rights in the Netherlands. In this article, the way that NGOs have used the UPR in relation to the Netherlands will be discussed. This will be done primarily from the perspective of Amnesty International. The article first outlines how NGOs can contribute to the UPR process. Subsequently, it discusses the substantive input provided by Amnesty International for the review of the Netherlands. Finally, the potential impact of this intervention on the promotion and protection of human rights on the ground in the Netherlands will be considered. This impact will depend, inter alia, on the de-politicization of the UPR, the credibility of the process, the follow-up of recommendations made during the review and, prominently, the political will of the incoming government.