Reverse Psychology, Symbolic Competition, and Identity Pressure in Contemporary Jihadist Propaganda in Africa
Abstract: This article examines a specific configuration of contemporary jihadist propaganda in Africa, interpreting the increasing valorization of African fighters not only as a device of operational legitimation, but also as a mechanism of indirect mobilization targeting other segments of the jihadist audience, particularly in the Arab region. Adopting a qualitative approach grounded in cognitive-discursive analysis, the study integrates the concept of habitus, Social Identity Theory, cognitive dissonance, and the Foucauldian notion of disciplinary power to demonstrate how propagandistic discourse can activate forms of symbolic pressure based on contrasts between action and inaction, loyalty and inertia, and historical centrality and implicit marginalization. From this perspective, the rhetoric of substitution is not articulated in explicit terms, but rather emerges as a discursive outcome of indirect identity competition, capable of transforming entrenched perceptions of superiority into drivers of recruitment and militant reactivation.
Keywords: #jihadistpropaganda #reversepsychology #symboliccompetition #Africa #Sahel #MENA #socialidentity #colorism #replacement #statusthreat #ElhemBeddouda #ethicasocietas #ethicasocietasjournal #scientificjournal #humanities #socialsciences #ethicasocietasupli
Elhem Beddouda, professional educator with a degree in Sciences of Education and Training Processes from the University of Parma, with a thesis entitled “Islam and the Educational Function. Perspectives on Religious Assistance in Prison”. She is currently enrolled in the degree programme “Global Studies for Sustainable Local and International Development and Cooperation” at the same university.
Methodological Note
This article adopts a qualitative, cognitive-discursive approach and is grounded in the interpretive analysis of a propagandistic case study, considered not as self-sufficient evidence of a general strategy, but as an indicator of a broader narrative tendency. The analysis does not aim to definitively demonstrate the strategic intentionality behind every symbolic device employed in contemporary jihadist propaganda; rather, it seeks to reconstruct the mechanisms of meaning through which discourse may activate effects of comparative pressure, indirect mobilization, and identity destabilization. Within this perspective, reference to dynamics of anti-Blackness and symbolic hierarchization in the MENA context is not employed as a monocausal explanation, but as a sociocultural background that renders the potential effectiveness of certain propagandistic constructions more intelligible. The interpretive hypothesis advanced here should therefore be understood as a theoretically grounded analysis of a plausible discursive configuration, rather than as an apodictic attribution of a single, universally demonstrable intention. Evidence on African and Sahelian jihadism shows that such groups operate within complex political, social, and local fields, in which propaganda not only reflects ideology, but continuously reorganizes identities, hierarchies, and forms of legitimation.
In recent years, jihadist propaganda has progressively redefined its geographical and symbolic imaginary, shifting its narrative center of gravity from the Middle East toward the African continent, with particular intensity in the Sahel and Sub-Saharan Africa. This transformation cannot be read solely as a reflection of operational changes on the ground, but must also be interpreted as a reconfiguration of symbolic hierarchies within jihadist discourse. In this new narrative economy, Africa no longer appears as a peripheral space of militancy, but rather as a site of renewal, authentication, and continuity of action.
Within this framework, the growing exaltation of African fighters assumes a function that exceeds mere tactical celebration. They are represented as subjects fully aligned with the imperative of action, capable of embodying a form of militancy portrayed as purer, more resolute, and more closely adhering to religious duty. A closer reading, however, suggests that this valorization is not neutral. On the contrary, it may operate as an indirect comparative device aimed at exerting symbolic pressure on other segments of the jihadist audience, particularly the Arab one, historically perceived as the linguistic, cultural, and religious center of the Islamic world.
The hypothesis advanced here is that this discursive architecture activates a mechanism of mobilization based not on direct interpellation, but on implicit comparison. Rather than explicitly accusing other groups of passivity, propaganda shows that other actors are already occupying the space of effectiveness, sacrifice, and continuity of commitment. In this way, substitution is not declared, but suggested. The effect is not overtly punitive; it is comparative, reflexive, and disciplinary.
Symbolic Hierarchies and Identity Vulnerability in the MENA Context
To understand the potential effectiveness of such a strategy, it is necessary to situate it within the broader sociocultural dynamics shaping the MENA region. A growing body of research has documented the persistence of forms of anti-Blackness, racial discrimination, and symbolic hierarchies based on skin color and geographic origin. In this regard, the Arab Barometer report indicates that racial discrimination is perceived as a significant issue across several societies in the region, pointing to the presence of structures of devaluation that, although not always explicitly articulated, continue to organize perceptions, boundaries, and forms of belonging.
Similarly, critical debates collected by openDemocracy on the condition of Black populations in North Africa and the Middle East highlight the enduring legacy of historical processes of classification, subordination, and the memory of slavery. The concept of habitus, as developed by Pierre Bourdieu, allows these perceptions to be interpreted as internalized and historically sedimented structures, capable of shaping judgments, practices, and implicit systems of value. The notion of an Arab centrality in relation to other Muslim groups, including those from Sub-Saharan Africa, can therefore be understood not as a mere episodic prejudice, but as part of a deeply rooted symbolic order. Precisely for this reason, it becomes vulnerable when an external or competing discourse foregrounds the emergence of other actors as new protagonists of the cause.
From a complementary perspective, Henri Tajfel’s Social Identity Theory provides a crucial interpretive lens. If individuals and groups construct their identity through processes of belonging and differentiation, then any narrative portraying an external or marginal group as more coherent, more active, or more legitimate may generate a form of identity instability. The threat is not necessarily material; it is symbolic. It is precisely this dimension that enhances the effectiveness of propagandistic discourse: rather than directly contesting perceived superiority, it renders it fragile through comparison.
Narrative Architecture and the Disciplinary Function of Discourse
The case evoked by the editorial in al-Naba’, issue no. 533, can be read, from this perspective, as an example of performative narration. The text does not merely describe the African front as dynamic and vital; it contributes to symbolically producing it as the new center of gravity of jihadist militancy. The effect of this construction is to transform the Sahel from a peripheral space into a site of continuity, while other contexts implicitly appear marked by inertia or decline.
A reference to Michel Foucault is particularly useful in this regard. Discourse does not merely represent reality; it produces subjectivities, orders roles, and distinguishes between those who act and those who remain inactive, between those who respond to duty and those who evade it. In this way, propagandistic narration can be interpreted as a technology of symbolic discipline, capable of transforming language into an instrument for governing conduct. The distinction between active and passive, faithful and inert, does not simply describe a difference; it produces it, renders it normative, and converts it into a criterion of value.
Reverse Psychology and Cognitive Dissonance
One of the most sophisticated elements of this mechanism lies in the implicit use of reverse psychology. The exaltation of African fighters does not merely serve to reinforce a new positive identity; it also acts reflexively upon other groups that perceive themselves as historically more legitimate. In this sense, propaganda does not openly instruct Arab audiences to mobilize; rather, it demonstrates that others are already doing what they have traditionally considered their own role. The resulting pressure thus operates through comparison rather than injunction.
Leon Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance provides a useful framework for understanding this dynamic. When a group maintains a self-representation as central, superior, or naturally destined for leadership, yet is confronted with a narrative reality in which other actors appear more coherent and more active, a tension emerges between perceived identity and actual conduct. This tension may be resolved in different ways; however, propaganda operates in such a way that the resolution does not entail a redefinition of hierarchy, but rather a reactivation of action. Comparison generates pressure insofar as it destabilizes the group’s sense of internal coherence.
Implicit Substitution and Identity-Based Symbolic Competition
The most delicate aspect of this discursive construction concerns the theme of implicit substitution. African fighters are not merely valorized as new allies or local protagonists; rather, they are positioned at the very point where the continuity of the jihadist project is enacted. Their representation as actors ready to act, sacrifice, and respond to the religious call suggests that the role historically attributed to others has already been assumed elsewhere. Substitution, therefore, is not conveyed as an explicit message, but emerges as the outcome of a form of symbolic competition that the text renders intelligible without ever naming it directly.
This dynamic is further intensified when propaganda insists, even indirectly, on the idea that actors lacking the linguistic and cultural capital traditionally associated with the Arab center of Islam nonetheless appear more ready for mobilization. In this way, the pressure does not concern passivity alone, but also the erosion of a presumed privilege of centrality. The result can be interpreted in terms of status threat, that is, a perceived threat to symbolic status. Humiliation is not declared; it is produced through comparison.
The strength of this discourse lies precisely in its allusive dimension. Propaganda does not need to explicitly thematize identity-based competition, because it organizes its effects. It does not state that Africa has replaced the Arab world; rather, it constructs a scene in which Africa appears as the space of militant authenticity, while other actors are implicitly called upon to decide whether to remain in the background or to react. In this sense, discourse not only reflects pre-existing symbolic hierarchies, but actively reworks them, transforming them into sophisticated and indirect tools of recruitment.
Conclusions
The analysis thus suggests that part of contemporary jihadist propaganda in Africa operates through mechanisms more complex than mere ideological legitimation. The exaltation of African fighters may function simultaneously at symbolic, psychological, and identity-based levels, generating effects of comparative pressure on other audiences. From this perspective, substitution is less a declared content than a discursive outcome—a conclusion toward which the audience is guided through the contrast between those who act and those who remain inactive.
It follows that jihadist propaganda does not merely use the African context as an operational setting, but also constructs it as an implicit accusatory mirror directed at other segments of its audience. It is precisely in this capacity to leverage pre-existing tensions—internalized hierarchies, claims to centrality, and vulnerabilities of status—that its degree of sophistication can be measured. For this reason, understanding its functioning requires analyzing discourse not only at the ideological level, but also in terms of the symbolic and psychological structures it mobilizes.
References
Arab Barometer. (2022). Racial discrimination and anti-Blackness in the Middle East and North Africa. Arab Barometer.
Bourdieu, P. (1977). Outline of a theory of practice. Cambridge University Press.
Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford University Press.
Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. Pantheon Books.
Hansen, S. J. (2021). “Forever wars”? Patterns of diffusion and consolidation of jihadism in Africa. Small Wars & Insurgencies, 32(3), 409–436.
openDemocracy. (2017). Being “black” in North Africa and the Middle East. openDemocracy.
Tajfel, H. (Ed.). (1978). Differentiation between social groups: Studies in the social psychology of intergroup relations. Academic Press.
Thurston, A. (2020). Jihadists of North Africa and the Sahel: Local politics and rebel groups. Cambridge University Press.
The Islamic State. (2026). Al-Naba’, issue 533. Source archived via Jihadology.
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