TerrorismWhat goes on in the mind of a militant extremist?
So far, the ongoing discussions about radicalization of extremists both at home and abroad have tended to emphasize its sociological aspects. These discussions have focused on concepts such as the religion and social environments of individuals. Psychological accounts of extremist activity are infrequent, and it is often forgotten that only a few of those who hold strong ideological, political, and religious views get involved in violent acts. Personal dispositions, feelings and beliefs may play a decisive role in explaining why people become radicalized. Psychological research into radicalization may thus complement political science and religious studies in countering terrorism in Western society. Monitoring the strength of militant extremist mindset endorsements in different communities could be helpful. It may be useful to establish regular polling practices that would gauge the extent of radicalization over time and in reaction to terrorist-related political acts at home and globally.
So far, the ongoing discussions about radicalization of extremists both at home and abroad have tended to emphasize its sociological aspects. It has focused on concepts such as the religion and social environments of individuals.
However, psychological accounts of extremist activity are infrequent, and it is often forgotten that only a few of those who hold strong ideological, political and religious views get involved in violent acts. Personal dispositions, feelings and beliefs may play a decisive role in explaining why people become radicalized.
Nastiness, grudge and excuse
Both conceptual analyses and empirical psychological studies that I have undertaken in the past have shown there are three main ingredients of militant extremist mindset.
The first of these ingredients is nastiness, as captured by strong endorsement of statements approving of violent acts, such as “killing is justified when it is an act of revenge,” or “we should respond to terror with terror.”
The second is grudge, which can take two forms. One is a direct reference to the “West,” shown in statements such as “terrorism in the form of unfair torture and execution without trial is carried out daily by many Western countries” and “the West is degraded by its lack of dignified values, its AIDS epidemic, and its alcohol and drug addiction.”
Grudge’s other manifestation is a more generalized belief in the vile world: “evil has been re-incarnated in the cult of markets and the rule of multinational companies.”
The final ingredient is excuse. Although there are several forms of excuse, a common feature is justifications in people’s own minds of the nasty and violent things they tend to condone. In some cases it is with reference to God: “only one’s own God is the true God.” In other cases it is the trust in divine power: “at a critical moment, a divine power will step in to help our people.”
These three components were identified within the general populations in several countries, including the United States, Serbia and China. These aspects of militant extremist mindset are generic in nature and are not focused on Islamic terrorism.
