E-Thesis 284 views 482 downloads
The Social Construction of Extremism / JOHN BERGER
Swansea University Author: JOHN BERGER
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PDF | E-Thesis – open access
Copyright: The Author, John M. Berger, 2024. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Third party content is excluded for use under the license terms.
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DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUthesis.68840
Abstract
There is no consensus definition of extremism in academic or policy circles. Most existing definitions classify extremism as a fringe or anti-authority phenomenon that only exists relative to the mainstream of society. This thesis addresses the important gaps that result in the literature. For insta...
| Published: |
Swansea, Wales, UK
2024
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Doctoral |
| Degree name: | Ph.D |
| Supervisor: | Macdonald, Stuart ; Reed, Alastair |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa68840 |
| Abstract: |
There is no consensus definition of extremism in academic or policy circles. Most existing definitions classify extremism as a fringe or anti-authority phenomenon that only exists relative to the mainstream of society. This thesis addresses the important gaps that result in the literature. For instance, movements that seize and/or hold power are not considered extremist while in power even if their beliefs and behaviors are substantially unchanged. The relative framework also inhibits the study of how historically mainstream movements (such as White nationalism) are related to contemporary fringe movements with substantially the same beliefs. These questions are vitally important because most extremist movements seek to take control of their host societies. Using grounded theory to analyze case studies across a wide historical span, this thesis argues that defining extremism as “the belief that an in-group’s success or survival can never be separated from the need for hostile action against an out-group” creates a thematically consistent category for comparative and longitudinal study. This thesis concludes that important insights can be generated by comparing diverse ideologies using the definitional framework, especially when comparing movements that are socially dominant to those that are socially marginalized. Across the case studies, extremists are found to grapple with the mechanics of social construction, including strategies to take or claim control of the in-group’s consensus view of reality. Social context also shapes the nature of the hostile actions extremists seek to implement. The thesis concludes with a challenge to the field’s conventional wisdom assertion that extremism presents adherents with a simplified worldview that reduces their cognitive labor. |
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| Item Description: |
ORCiD identifier: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4621-7300 |
| Keywords: |
Extremism, Violent Extremism, Terrorism, Countering Violent Extremism, Anti-Semitism, Racism, Jihadism, Neo-Nazism, al Qaeda, ISIS, slavery |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Funders: |
Facebook; VOX - Pol | Network of Excellence |