Patterns of Radicalization in Political Activism

WG2: Terrorist Group Persistence and Dynamics

Investigator:

Donatella della Porta

This project explores how societal and organizational conditions and political ideologies influence the normative systems of activists and organizations that use violence, and what aspects of these normative systems are most conducive for terrorist activities. This research assumes that individuals and organizations involved with violent repertoires embrace different conceptions and justifications of violence, and that these differences can be explained by environmental conditions (including national myths about violence, degree of democratization, societal cleavages; tradition of protest policing); organizational ideology (linked with identity, decision-making structure, size, national and international alliances); and individual normative systems.

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