The phrase "alienated populations" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to refer to groups of people who feel isolated or disconnected from society or their communities.
Example: "The government needs to address the needs of alienated populations to foster social cohesion and inclusion."
Alternatives: "marginalized groups" or "disenfranchised communities".
The gift-giving suggests that the extremists have learned some lessons from Iraq, where they alienated local populations with their harsh tactics, and point to another key advantage they have over the loosely structured Syrian rebel units drawn from the communities that rose up against Assad in 2011, according to Charles Lister of the defense consultancy IHS Jane's.
In the process, human rights groups say, its brutal tactics alienated the population.
"Far from securing Helmand, British forces alienated the population, mobilised local armed resistance and drew in foreign fighters seeking jihad".
Ham-handed military tactics, which included indiscriminate artillery bombardment, have further alienated a population that simply wants the fighting to end.
Culturally inappropriate behaviour - male soldiers body-searching women, for example - and collective punishments have further alienated the population and helped entrench popular support for resistance.
Yasser Arafat's periodic attempts to placate Israel by cracking down with his brutal security services alienated the population, as did graft among his officials.
During his reign, Alexander pacified Palestine by naming Jonathan Maccabeus as Jewish governor but alienated the population by his revelry while feigning interest in politics and Stoic philosophy.
Insurgent groups in Somalia have increasingly alienated the population by imposing a harsh interpretation of Islam, stoning people to death and amputating the hands and feet of thieves.
He had praised an article by a British officer that was sharply critical of U.S. officers in Iraq for using tactics that alienated the population.
Then, instead of paying attention to the problems this created, the Bush administration focused on Iraq, leaving Afghanistan to fester under a policy of benign neglect that alienated the population against the Karzai government and the American occupation.
