Extremist Views Research Articles

Социальная и личностная неопределенность как факторы социально-психологической устойчивости личности к вовлечению в террористическую организацию

Introduction. In the context of countering the ideology of terrorism, two main tasks are being solved: how to identify the most vulnerable social groups of the population to the perception of the ideas of terrorism and what preventive work should be carried out to weaken the effect of the ideology of terrorism. Theoretical analysis. It allows us to conclude that the degree of socio-psychological resistance of a person to involvement in a terrorist organization mainly depends on the recognition of the principles of national, political and religious doctrine by a person. The socio-psychological stability of a person to participate in terrorist acts is a personality quality consisting in a formed critical attitude towards terrorism, knowledge of the disastrous consequences of terrorism in society, and an active civic position, which includes rejection of terrorism. As a result, it can be argued that socio-personal uncertainty affects the socio-psychological stability of a person. Empirical analysis. Consideration of the problem of determining social and personal uncertainty on the socio-psychological stability of a person to involvement in terrorist activities has allowed us to conclude that socio-personal uncertainty affects the socio-psychological stability of a person. Conclusion social and personal uncertainty are a favorable environment for the formation of extremist views and justification of the ideology of violence, therefore it is necessary to introduce psychodiagnostic tools aimed at identifying the socio-psychological resistance of a person to involvement in terrorist activities.

Online Signals of Extremist Mobilization.

Psychological theories of mobilization tend to focus on explaining people's motivations for action, rather than mobilization ("activation") processes. To investigate the online behaviors associated with mobilization, we compared the online communications data of 26 people who subsequently mobilized to right-wing extremist action and 48 people who held similar extremist views but did not mobilize (N = 119,473 social media posts). In a three-part analysis, involving content analysis (Part 1), topic modeling (Part 2), and machine learning (Part 3), we showed that communicating ideological or hateful content was not related to mobilization, but rather mobilization was positively related to talking about violent action, operational planning, and logistics. Our findings imply that to explain mobilization to extremist action, rather than the motivations for action, theories of collective action should extend beyond how individuals express grievances and anger, to how they equip themselves with the "know-how" and capability to act.

From pulpit to marketplace: The evolution of religious political parties in Pakistan

AbstractThis article analyzes the extent of involvement of religious political leaders and their apparent, rather reluctant, acceptance by the Pakistani public seen in recent times. The study also analyzes the role of religious leaders in giving way to right‐wing extremism or Islamic militarism and how this challenges the writ of the state. I hope to shed light on the state‐religious scholars' nexus, forging a lasting impression in the minds of the public of their coexistence. Religious leaders have been seen to support or gain currency at the time of autocratic rulers, which is evident in the history of the martial law regimes of General Zia ul Haq and General Pervez Musharraf. This study also examines the compromise of weak democratic parties in the intervening period between the two dictatorships as well as the recent rise of political as well as religious extremism. I examine the coexistence of the state‐religious scholars' nexus where religious sentiments, often leading to extremist views, are being played for political gains by the religious political leaders.

Correlates of radical localism across American counties

ABSTRACT Radical localism is a sociological phenomenon in the United States that prioritizes county interests over federal mandates. It often involves non-government actors, such as militias or armed movements, and government actors, such as elected officials. We seek to unearth the relationships between radical localism and the sociological conditions that may aggravate such extremist ideas. In this study, we examine the local conditions that may foster radical localism and extremist views. We hypothesize that radical localism is influenced by three factors: (1) the proportion of federally owned lands in a county; (2) the change in the percentage of white people in a county’s population; and (3) the degree of underrepresentation of a county’s population in state and federal legislatures. We test our hypotheses using data from U.S. counties that have experienced radical localism. Our findings support our hypotheses and reveal the growing sociological divisions within radical localism.

Collective resilience in diaspora groups: a study of Kurdish youth in Canada and Sweden

ABSTRACT For decades, oppressive state policies have forced some Kurds to leave Turkey and seek refuge in Western countries, including Sweden and Canada. We conducted semi-structured interviews with Kurdish youth living in Canada and Sweden (N = 15) to explore the role of identity-related grievances in their involvement in the Kurdish movement, a political movement comprised of an array of actors including an armed group, political parties, and civil society organizations. By implementing the Building Resilience Against Violent Extremism (BRAVE) tool, we investigated their collective resilience against calls for violence, extremist views, and challenges caused by repression. Findings indicated that the major factors in their involvement were the restrictions on their language, culture, and identity; the discrimination and injustices against them and their community; the traumatic events that they experienced or witnessed; and the involvement of their family and community members in the movement. The overall resilience scores of the participants were high (M = 58.67 out of a potential 14–70), but they scored lower when their relationship with Turkish authorities is considered (M = 53.13; SD = 5.65) than with their host countries after resettlement (M = 58. 67; SD = 6.25).

Political Speech on Campus: Shifting the Emphasis from “if” to “how”

Universities in many liberal democracies, such as the US, the UK, or Germany, grapple with a pivotal question: how much room should be given to controversial utterances? On the one side, there are those who advocate for limiting permissible speech on campus to create a safe environment for a diverse student body and counter the mainstreaming of extremist views, particularly by right-wing populists. On the other side, concerns arise about stifling the free exchange of ideas and creating an atmosphere of fear and censorship. The debate is further complicated by participants’ occasional uncertainties about the legal norms relevant in the given context, such as when freedom of speech is an issue and when it is not. This paper addresses the question of whether universities should allow actors with primarily political (as opposed to scholarly) agendas to speak on campus. Focusing on German universities, we begin by discussing some of the potentially relevant legal norms. We then propose shifting emphasis from whether we should make room for public political discussions on campus to how such events must be organized so that they deliver the goods that their advocates emphasize while avoiding the dangers of which critics warn. Drawing on conflict management literature concerned with process design, we make several practical suggestions on how to organize an event that brings political discourse to the university campus without causing harm.

Porosity and Movement in Life Stories

Fueled by intellectual curiosity, literary discourse oscillates between factual and fictional narratives. Continually nourished by reality and imagination, it reflects a binary rhythm of representativeness and subjectivity. This work analyzes the biographical genre to explore the shift in rhetorical boundaries and representations in self-narratives. It examines various techniques writers use to reclaim the territory of intimate stories and lives. Infusing these narratives with meaning and unity aims to bridge the gap between the individual and the world. Awarding the Nobel Prize for Literature to feminist writer Annie Ernaux highlights the growing interest in the biographical genre. Ernaux, known for placing intimacy at the heart of her work, brings attention to this genre that often navigates through narratives marked by left-wing and 'politically correct' perspectives. Consequently, the genre emerges as a vital participant in the world's progress, establishing self-literature that withstands the test of time. A cross-study of various life stories — including intimate narratives, extremist views, self-portraits, memoirs, autobiographical novels, autofictions, and travel stories — enables us to understand the porosity and movement within this expansive genre. By presenting and juxtaposing different biographies, writers create a space for interaction, allowing the lives of others to permeate our understanding. Consequently, the biographical genre, serving as a mediating force, and the concept of otherness as mediation are reexamined within the fictional landscape of the human mind.
 
 Received: 10 January 2023 / Accepted: 29 February 2024 / Published: 6 March 2024

Digital Media, Social Bubbles, Extremism and Challenges Implicated in the Construction of Identity and Respect for Diversity and Cultural Pluralism

The extensive use of digital platforms has presented considerable challenges to democracy, particularly in the realms of politics and ideology in Brazil. The emergence of digital echo chambers and the rise of extreme viewpoints pose threats to social cohesion, informed decision-making, and the development of individual identities. This analysis focuses specifically on identity formation, the creation and dissemination of information, emphasizing its repercussions on social identity and cultural diversity. Consequently, the influence of these echo chambers in promoting extremist views in this context is just one facet of the broader ideological, racial, and class polarization facing the nation. To face these challenges, it is imperative to defend critical and reflective education on the role and use of social networks, both in the educational system and in the daily lives of young people and society

Improving Arabic Spam classification in social media using hyperparameters tuning and Particle Swarm Optimization

Online social networks continue to evolve, serving a variety of purposes, such as sharing educational content, chatting, making friends and followers, sharing news, and playing online games. However, the widespread flow of unwanted messages poses significant problems, including reducing online user interaction time, extremist views, reducing the quality of information, especially in the educational field. The use of coordinated automated accounts or robots on social networking sites is a common tactic for spreading unwanted messages, rumors, fake news, and false testimonies for mass communication or targeted users. Since users (especially in the educational field) receive many messages through social media, they often fail to recognize the content of unwanted messages, which may contain harmful links, malicious programs, fake accounts, false reports, and misleading opinions. Therefore, it is vital to regulate and classify disturbing texts to enhance the security of social media. This study focuses on building an Arabic disturbing message dataset extracted from Twitter, which consists of 14,250 tweets. Our proposed methodology includes applying new tag identification technology to collected tweets. Then, we use prevailing machine learning algorithms to build a model for classifying disturbing messages in Arabic, using effective parameter tuning methods to obtain the most suitable parameters for each algorithm. In addition, we use particle swarm optimization to identify the most relevant features to improve the classification performance. The results indicate a clear improvement in the classification performance from 0.9822 to 0.98875, with a 50% reduction in the feature set. Our study focuses on Arabic spam messages, classifying spam messages, tuning effective parameters, and selecting features as key areas of investigation.

Digital Da'wah Indonesia Ulema in the Discourse of Theology

Digital da'wah (“issuing a summons,” “invitation,” or “call” in Arabic), can potentially significantly impact society by increasing accessibility to Islamic teachings, fostering communities, and empowering individuals. Da'wah methods are often subjected to change considering the time, place and context. There are no limits to the way of doing Da'wah, however, at all times one should keep his intention free from evil. Increased accessibility by shifting from face-to-face to digital preaching allows for a more comprehensive reach of Islamic teachings. This article examines how digital da'wah and theological discussions conducted by Habib Husein Ja'far Al Hadar to Indonesian society have been received. Public interest in the preaching model delivered by Habib Husein Ja'far Al Hadar has raised a lot of debate and enthusiasm from various religious circles. The research method used in this study is descriptive qualitative one with a literature study undertaken. The results showed that some of the prophetic da'wah contained in the Al-Quran include Qaulan Sadidan, Qaulan Baliighan, Qaulan Masyuuran, Qaulan Layyinan, Qaulan Kariiman, and Qaulan Ma'ruufan. Da'wah in the digital era has a profound significance as it allows religious messages to spread widely and quickly. However, despite its great benefits, anonymity and lack of supervision in the digital world can trigger the spread of extremist views or promote radical groups. Meanwhile, the da'wah model utilised by Habib Ja'far as a cleric aims to remind people about religious values, goodness, and correct behaviour. This reminder helps maintain religious awareness in everyday life.

Belief bias and censorship of religious extremism on digital media in 15 EU states: exploring individual and country-level moderators, a cross-country multilevel analysis

ABSTRACT The debate over freedom of expression is critical because of the long-term social and political consequences of potentially harmful expressions, such as religiously or politically offensive speeches that invite violent deeds and seek justification. This research note attempted to theorize that individuals’ belief bias is associated with their support for the censorship of religious extremist views. It also explores the conditional roles of educational attainment on an individual level and the quality of democracy on the country level. Relying on cross-sectional survey data from 15 EU states, the cross-country multilevel analysis found a significant positive relationship between belief bias and support for censorship of religious extremist views on digital media – the Internet and social media. The association between belief bias and support for censorship of religious extremist views was greater among people with a low level of education and in healthier democracies.

National Egoism: Features and Patterns of Socially Dangerous Transformation

The paper scrutinizes the patterns and problems of the evolution of national egoism. The author highlights the impact of national egoism and its more dangerous forms (nationalism, racism, chauvinism) on the formation of extremist views and beliefs. The paper also explains interrelationship between ethnocorruption and national egoism, which represent effective tools of geopolitical influence. In this regard, the author points out the existence of a threat emanating from ethnic corruption and national egoism for the national security of the Russian Federation. The author also notes the importance and necessity of identifying criminological and social patterns affecting the emergence and development of national extremism in the Russian Federation. National egoism arises in a political and socio-economic formation where egoism is not condemned by the society or the state, where there are no ideas of internationalism, there is no common national ideology. Moreover, national egoism is a response, a protective reaction to various forms of discrimination on national grounds. Ethnocorruption features are similar to national egoism and they contribute to the transformation of national egoism into national extremism. Developing national egoism can transform into nationalism. Developing nationalism is able to transform into national extremism, etc.The paper also focuses on the main socio-economic and regulatory reasons, conditions and circumstances that influence the emergence and development of national egoism and ethnic corruption.An irrational manifestation of national egoism both in society and in various institutions of power is a criminogenic factor that affects negatively not only anti-corruption security, but also the strengthening of national unity, territorial integrity, inviolability of the foundations of the constitutional system, economic and national sovereignty of the Russian Federation.

Cultural and historical context in the analysis of the concept of "antiterrorism"

The purpose of the article is to critically comprehend the concept of "counterterrorism" in the context of the so-called models (strategies) of counterterrorism. The fight against terror is not confined to itself, it has to do with national interests and those factors and forces that prevent their implementation. When considering a specific counterterrorism system at the national level, it is important to take into account both cultural and historical prerequisites and fundamental factors that generate nodal contradictions in society, as well as current situational variables related to the increase in terrorist threats. Only by taking into account these factors and current situational variables that cause the growth of radical and extremist views in society, it is possible to determine the long-term logic of actions in the fight against terrorism and extremism. The author critically interprets the concept of "counterterrorism" in the context of the so-called models (strategies) of counterterrorism, which are actively being developed in modern Western historiography. Achieving this goal is not only the disclosure of the content of each of these models, but also their consideration through the prism of the Russian experience. The main conclusions of the proposed article are that the fight against terrorism should be based on powerful systems of ideological, political and law enforcement structures. A key place here is given to long-term strategic goals related to the root causes of terrorism. The goals of national security and threats, and, therefore, the directions of action should be defined and presented in regularly updated doctrinal documents. From the point of view of researchers, both the level of mastery of the tactical arsenal of hard and soft approaches, instrumental and/or political-symbolic logic of actions, and consideration of the cultural and historical characteristics of a particular society are significant. Theoretical analysis in this context helps to determine the long-term logic of counterterrorism actions when making necessary management decisions, taking into account international and national experience.

Pulling the Brakes on Political Violence: How Internal Brakes Limited Violent Escalation from the Provisional IRA in Pre- and Post-Good Friday Northern Ireland

ABSTRACT Under what circumstances do paramilitary groups place limits on their use of political violence? This article considers why one of the most prominent paramilitary groups active during the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland, the Provisional IRA (PIRA), exercised restraint and limited their use of political violence, both in the lead up to, and in the wake of the Good Friday Agreement. It applies Busher, Holbrook, and Macklin’s “internal brakes” typology to understand why despite the PIRA’s proven capacity to sustain a campaign of armed violence for more than thirty years, they reined in on paramilitarism during the 1990s peace process. Through the lens of various brakes, the analysis identifies seven developments that were particularly salient in limiting the PIRA’s use of armed violence. These developments included: a weakened capacity to continue their armed campaign, waning popular support, an opening of political opportunities, the need to maintain ties with strategically important non-violent allies, the gradual softening of out-group boundaries, the decommissioning process, as well as the creation of spaces for non-violent activism within the wider movement. This study’s findings contribute to the scholarly debate on understanding how militant groups manage the parameters of their violence, highlighting several factors that may mitigate the risk of extremist views escalating to political violence.

PERAN ORMAS ISLAM DAN LEMBAGA PENDIDIKAN ISLAM DALAM MEWUJUDKAN MODERASI ISLAM DI INDONESIA

The rise of violence in the name of religion is in stark contrast to the presence of religion which functions to provide peace and tranquility for individuals and the people who adhere to it. In Indonesia, as a country with the largest Muslim population in the world, it has the same problems as the problems of Muslims in general in the world, namely violence in the name of religion. The role of Islamic mass organizations as a forum for Muslims to express their religion is very important in overseeing the process of Islamic moderation to counteract the development of extremist views, and avoid conflicts in the name of religion. In addition, educational institutions also have a very strategic role in instilling the values ​​of moderation in the curriculum and programs for students to avoid extreme views that have the potential to result in violence in the name of religion. This research method uses literature review from analysis of journals related to the role of Islamic organizations of educational institutions in realizing Islamic moderation in Indonesia.

Clinical Services Addressing Violent Extremism: The Quebec Model

The association of ideologically motivated violence with mental health disorders raises specific challenges for security agencies and clinical services. The aim of this paper is to describe the clientele of a specialized intervention program based in Montreal, Quebec, in terms of type of violent ideology and clinical presentation. We conducted a retrospective chart review of 156 individuals referred for violent extremism who received clinical services between 2016 and 2021. Univariate statistics were used to present a description of client sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Roughly a third of clients referred for violent extremism presented non-ideologically based violence (32.6%), followed by 31.4% affiliated with far-right extremist ideology and over a quarter (25.6%) holding extremist views on gender. Over a third of these individuals had a stress-related (35.7%) and/or mood and anxiety disorder (36.9%), followed by 28% with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. The majority had some previous contact with mental health services. A significant number of clients displaying extremist discourses and/or actions needed psychiatric services but often failed to receive them because of the reluctance of clinicians to work with individuals perceived as high risk; in addition, individuals may be reluctant to engage in services perceived to be part of a socio-political system they reject. Specialized services are important as a means to provide mental health care to this group and also to develop knowledge and best practices for working with this clientele and provide consultation to mainstream mental health service providers.

Climate change can be seen through a disaster medicine lens.

Climate change can be seen through a disaster medicine lens.

Harold B. Lee and Mormonism's Black Priesthood and Temple Ban

Harold B. Lee and Mormonism's Black Priesthood and Temple Ban

Sophisticated deviants: Intelligence and radical economic attitudes

Conservative economic attitudes have been theorized as symptoms of low cognitive ability. Studies suggest the opposite, linking more conservative views weakly to higher, not lower, cognitive ability, but with very large between-study variability. Here, we propose and replicate a new model linking cognitive ability not to liberal or conservative economics, but to economic extremism: How far individuals deviate from prevailing centrist views. Two large pre-registered studies in the UK (N = 700 & 700) and the British Cohort Study dataset (N = 11,563) replicated the predicted association of intelligence with economic deviance (β = 0.4 to 0.12). These findings were robust and expand the role of cognitive ability from tracking the economic consensus to influencing support for (relatively) extremist views. They suggest opportunities to understand the generation and mainstreaming of radical fringe social attitudes.

The Makings of a Terrorist: Continuity and Change Across Left-, Right- and Jihadist Extremists and Terrorists in Europe and North-America, 1960s-Present

ABSTRACT This article conducts comparative research to advance our understanding of the causes of terrorism. Primarily, by assessing differences and similarities between left-, right- and jihadist extremists and terrorists, the prevalence of certain variables amongst populations of radicalized individuals will be determined. Secondly, by contrasting, where possible, these prevalence rates with representative samples from the broader population, the distinctiveness of these biographical details amongst extremists and terrorists is discussed. The article compares the Analysen zum Terrorismus, one of the most comprehensive studies of (left-wing) terrorism ever conducted, with original empirical work on contemporary right-wing and jihadist extremism and terrorism. Results suggest that extremists and terrorists from these contexts are not distinctive in terms of socio-economic backgrounds, educational achievements, criminal antecedents or suicide attempts. There does appear to be a higher prevalence of unemployment, broken homes and related childhood stressors. The importance of social movements and groups in drawing and anchoring individuals to extremism and terrorism is emphasized across ideological boundaries, as is the influence of societal and political contextual factors, such as political representation of extremist views.