To What Extent Have Incels been Recognized as a Threat in Need of Securitization? : In the Case of the United States, Canada and Europe

Abstract: Involuntary celibates (Incels) are an online community of men who struggle to find sexual and romantic relationships. Some members of the Incel community have increasingly become extreme misogynists and have committed lethal attacks across North America and Europe in response to their sexual frustration and loneliness. Scholars have argued that there is a lack of recognition by political and judicial actors of the potential security threat that Incels pose. This lack of recognition could subsequently result in a lack of securitization of the threat and allow the community to continue to grow. The transnational consequences, through the use of online platforms for radicalization, if Incels are not recognized and securitized provide a relevant International Relations topic. The aim of this research was to determine whether relevant security agents in the US, Canada, and Europe had, over the past years, recognized Incels as a security threat and if a process of securitization had been initiated. The results were that only the EU could be determined to have initiated a securitization process of Incels, Canada’s security agent to a large degree recognized the threat Incels may pose but had not initiated a securitization process, and the US could not be determined to have fully recognized the threat nor initiated a process of securitization.