Abstract

The article examines the use of children by the extremist organisation ISIS as a resource for promoting its state project. The authors analyse the images of children in ISIS propaganda, the socialisation of children through school education in territories controlled by the “Islamic State”, and the use of gamification to influence children. It has been revealed how a new mentality was formed among the younger generation as ‘lions of the caliphate.’ ISIS propaganda, the curriculum and teaching materials of ISIS schools, as well as the use of video games, conveyed mental models that shaped a dichotomous perception of the world, polarisation of their group's identity in relation to outgroups, normalisation of violence, and legitimisation of violence against ‘outsiders’ who did not share their ideology. The authors also put forward the thesis about the purposeful reformatting of childhood by an extremist organization, which violated the rights of these children to full development and had negative consequences for them. The study was based on an interdisciplinary approach, as well as materials from conversations with children and interviews with first-line practitioners who worked with Kazakhstani children-repatriates from Syria and Iraq.