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Advances in Cross-Cultural Decision Making pp 307–319Cite as

Examining the, Ideological, Sociopolitical, and Contextual Factors Underlying the Appeal of Extremism

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Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 480))

Abstract

This paper discusses and seeks to synthesize theories regarding the role of ideology and psychosocial contextual factors in shaping motivations and behaviors of individuals within violent extremist movements. To better understand how these factors give birth to and nurture extremist social movements, theory from a multitude of disciplines was incorporated into a conceptual model of the drivers associated with terrorist behaviors. This model draws upon empirically supported theoretical notions, such as the violation of socioeconomic and geopolitical expectations, the concept of perceived threat, one’s mental construction of the world and group polarization. It also draws upon the importance of one’s social identity, sense of belonging, and the perceived “glamour” associated with extremist group behaviors.

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Acknowledgments

This research was possible, in part by, by funding from the UK’s Ministry of Defence and the US’s Department of Defense. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000. Approved for unlimited release: SAND2016-2131 C.

Content includes material subject to © Crown copyright (2015), Dstl. This material is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Defence Science Technology Laboratory, Porton Down, Wiltshire, UK

    Grace-Rose Williams

  2. Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Michael L. Bernard & Robert F. Jeffers

Authors
  1. Grace-Rose Williams
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  2. Michael L. Bernard
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  3. Robert F. Jeffers
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Correspondence to Grace-Rose Williams , Michael L. Bernard or Robert F. Jeffers .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. AdvancedDistributedLearning (ADL) Initia, Arlington, VA, USA

    Sae Schatz

  2. LockheedMartin'sAdvancedTechnologyLabs, Orlando, FL, USA

    Mark Hoffman

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Williams, GR., Bernard, M.L., Jeffers, R.F. (2017). Examining the, Ideological, Sociopolitical, and Contextual Factors Underlying the Appeal of Extremism. In: Schatz, S., Hoffman, M. (eds) Advances in Cross-Cultural Decision Making. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 480. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41636-6_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41636-6_25

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-41635-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-41636-6

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