Radicalization—Protest Activity—Extremism: Modern Paradigms and Manifestations

Abstract

The article examines the nature, basic models and manifestations of radicalization, protest activity and extremism. The authors have analyzed individual and contextual factors that foster radicalization growth and promote protest activity and extremist acts through the example of such communities as youth, migrants, representatives of LGBT communities and people held at detention facilities. The study revealed that the most significant individual factors that foster radicalization growth and promote protest activity and extremist acts are the identity crisis, loss of value orientation, lack of group identification, estrangement, deprivation. Disequilibrium of government bodies’ decisions, inconsistency between socio-economic society transformations and people’s expectations, destruction of the existing social value system, disruptive activities of radical factions aimed at social disintegration of the society, deformation of public legal awareness and forced fabrication of the mental model of personality (society) are among the most significant contextual factors of radicalization, protest activity and extremism. It is found that radicalization, protest activity and extremism are interdependent manifestations, generated by similar determining factors and based on the protest nature.