This chapter critically re-examines the prevailing discourses and conceptual frameworks underpinning radicalisation, deradicalisation, and their relationship to counter-terrorism efforts, with a particular focus on the strategic communications dimension of Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE). It argues that current understandings of radicalisation too often rely on psychology-centric models and ambiguous, under-defined constructs that struggle to account for the complex, socially embedded processes by which extremist ideas and identities take shape. Drawing on classical sociological theories of socialisation and human agency—particularly as articulated by scholars such as Parsons, Giddens, Bourdieu, and Bauman—this chapter highlights the importance of understanding extremism as not just an individual cognitive shift, but also as a re-socialisation into alternative normative frameworks. In doing so, it makes a case for moving beyond linear and universalist radicalisation models towards more nuanced, context-sensitive approaches that acknowledge how digital ecosystems, fluid cultural norms, and rapid technological change have transformed both extremist recruitment and its prevention. Additionally, the chapter explores the limitations of applying behaviour-change paradigms, such as the reasoned action model (RAM), without accounting for the complexity of collective identities, community-level narratives, and socially constructed meanings.