Cumulative extremism

Last updated

Cumulative extremism is a form of political extremism that occurs when one form of political extremism mobilises against another form of political extremism, which was coined by British scholar Roger Eatwell. [1] Eatwell defines cumulative extremism as: 'the way in which one form of extremism can feed off and magnify other forms'. [2] Dr Mohammed Ilyas defines cumulative extremism as 'a process through which different forms of ‘extremism’ interact and can potentially produce a spiral of violence'. [3] The academic Matthew Goodwin gives the example of far-right political organisations mobilising in response to the perceived threat of Islamic extremism. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK government. Founded in 1982, the party reached its greatest level of success in the 2000s, when it had over fifty seats in local government, one seat on the London Assembly, and two Members of the European Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Right-wing politics</span> Political alignment favoring traditional politics

Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authority, property or tradition. Hierarchy and inequality may be seen as natural results of traditional social differences or competition in market economies.

Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hate group</span> Collective united by hatred against others

A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other designated sector of society. According to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a hate group's "primary purpose is to promote animosity, hostility, and malice against persons belonging to a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin which differs from that of the members of the organization."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Griffin</span> British historian

Roger David Griffin is a British professor of modern history and political theorist at Oxford Brookes University, England. His principal interest is the socio-historical and ideological dynamics of fascism, as well as various forms of political or religious fanaticism.

The Third Position is a set of neo-fascist political ideologies that were first described in Western Europe following the Second World War. Developed in the context of the Cold War, it developed its name through the claim that it represented a third position between the capitalism of the Western Bloc and the communism of the Eastern Bloc.

George Joseph Michael is an American historian, political scientist, and writer. He is a professor at the criminal justice faculty of Westfield State University in Massachusetts, and previously served as associate professor of nuclear counterproliferation and deterrence theory at the Air War College and as associate professor of political science and administration of justice at The University of Virginia's College at Wise. He studies right-wing extremism, including the relationship between militant Islam and the far right, and is the author of Confronting Right-Wing Extremism and Terrorism in the USA (2003), The Enemy of My Enemy: The Alarming Convergence of Militant Islam and the Extreme Right (2006), Willis Carto and the American Far Right (2008), Theology of Hate: A History of the World Church of the Creator (2009), Lone Wolf Terror and the Rise of Leaderless Resistance (2012), and Extremism in America (editor) (2014). Professor Michael has also published research on SETI and is the author of Preparing for Contact: When Humans and Extraterrestrials Finally Meet (2014).

Right-wing terrorism, hard right terrorism, extreme right terrorism or far-right terrorism is terrorism that is motivated by a variety of different right-wing and far-right ideologies, most prominently, it is motivated by neo-Nazism, anti-communism, neo-fascism, ecofascism, ethnonationalism, religious nationalism, and anti-government patriot/sovereign citizen beliefs, and occasionally, it is motivated by opposition to abortion, tax resistance, and homophobia. Modern right-wing terrorism largely emerged in Western Europe in the 1970s, and after the Revolutions of 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, it emerged in Eastern Europe and Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cas Mudde</span> Dutch political scientist and left-wing activist

Cas Mudde is a Dutch political scientist who focuses on political extremism and populism in Europe and the United States. His research includes the areas of political parties, extremism, democracy, civil society and European politics.

Radicalization is the process by which an individual or a group comes to adopt increasingly radical views in opposition to a political, social, or religious status quo. The ideas of society at large shape the outcomes of radicalization; for example, radical movements can originate from a broad social consensus against progressive changes in society or from a broad desire for change in society. Radicalization can result in both violent and nonviolent action – academic literature focuses on radicalization into violent extremism (RVE) or radicalisation leading to acts of terrorism. Multiple separate pathways can promote the process of radicalization, which can be independent but are usually mutually reinforcing.

Libertarianism in the United Kingdom can either refer to a political movement synonymous with anarchism, left-libertarianism and libertarian socialism, or to a political movement concerned with the pursuit of propertarian right-libertarian ideals in the United Kingdom which emerged and became more prominent in British politics after the 1980s neoliberalism and the economic liberalism of the premiership of Margaret Thatcher, albeit not as prominent as libertarianism in the United States in the 1970s and the presidency of Republican Ronald Reagan during the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English Defence League</span> Far-right political movement in the UK

The English Defence League (EDL) is a far-right, Islamophobic organisation in the United Kingdom. A social movement and pressure group that employs street demonstrations as its main tactic, the EDL presents itself as a single-issue movement opposed to Islamism and Islamic extremism, although its rhetoric and actions target Islam and Muslims more widely. Founded in 2009, its heyday lasted until 2011, after which it entered a decline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Goodwin</span> British political sociologist

Matthew James Goodwin is a British academic who is Professor of Politics in the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent. As of September 2022 he is a commisioner of the Social Mobility Commission.

The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right political party in the United Kingdom formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982 and was led by Nick Griffin from September 1999 to July 2014. Its current chairman is Adam Walker. The BNP platform is centred on the advocacy of "firm but voluntary incentives for immigrants and their descendants to return home", as well as the repeal of anti-discrimination legislation. It restricted membership to "indigenous British" people until a 2010 legal challenge to its constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reverse post-material thesis</span>

The reverse post-material thesis or reverse post-materialism thesis is an academic theory used to explain support for far-right political parties and right-wing populist political parties. The thesis is modelled on the post-material thesis from sociology that has been used to explain the shift in Western societies from traditional economic interests towards issues such as environmentalism and feminism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Eatwell</span> British academic

Roger Eatwell is a British academic currently an Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of Bath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radical right (Europe)</span> Far-right groups in Europe since 1970

In political science, the terms radical right and populist right have been used to refer to the range of European nationalist, far-right parties that have grown in support since the late 1970s. Populist right groups have shared a number of causes, which typically include opposition to globalisation and immigration, criticism of multiculturalism, and opposition to the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opposition to the English Defence League</span>

Opposition to the English Defence League consists of actions taken against the English Defence League, a far-right, Islamophobic organisation in the United Kingdom.

The Ideology of the English Defence League comprises the beliefs of the English Defence League, a far-right, Islamophobic organisation in the United Kingdom.

References

  1. Busher, Joel; Macklin, Graham (2013). "Interpreting "Cumulative Extremism": A framework for enhanced conceptual clarity". Society for Terrorism Research 7th Annual Conference. Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  2. Eatwell, Roger (2006-04-01). "Community Cohesion and Cumulative Extremism in Contemporary Britain". The Political Quarterly. 77 (2): 204–216. doi:10.1111/j.1467-923X.2006.00763.x. ISSN   1467-923X.
  3. "Cumulative extremism: A sign of Muslim empowerment". Readersupportednews.org. 2013-07-11. Retrieved 2014-02-10.
  4. Matthew Goodwin (2010-07-20). "Woolwich attack and the far right: three points to consider when the dust settles". The Guardian . Retrieved 2014-02-10.