{"title":"What Is It to Explain Extremism?","authors":"Rik Peels","doi":"10.1080/09546553.2023.2255902","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"This article explores what it is to explain extremism. Rather than providing yet another explanation of extremism, it takes a bird’s eye point of view at existing explanations of extremism. What is it that scholars are doing in seeking explanations of extremism? This article answers this question by considering four issues. First, exactly what is the explanandum for explanations of extremism, what is it that we seek to explain? Second, what is it to explain extremism rather than describing, interpreting, understanding, or predicting it? Third, how can explanations of extremism be categorized and what does that mean for the extent to which can they be combined? Fourth, what semantics is useful in construing an explanation of extremism? It turns out that most insights equally apply to explanations of related yet distinct phenomena, such as fundamentalism, fanaticism, conspiracy theorizing, and terrorism. The article concludes by providing five concrete guidelines that will help fine-tune and compare various explanations of extremism.","PeriodicalId":51451,"journal":{"name":"Terrorism and Political Violence","volume":"43 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Terrorism and Political Violence","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2023.2255902","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS","Score":null,"Total":0}
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Abstract
This article explores what it is to explain extremism. Rather than providing yet another explanation of extremism, it takes a bird’s eye point of view at existing explanations of extremism. What is it that scholars are doing in seeking explanations of extremism? This article answers this question by considering four issues. First, exactly what is the explanandum for explanations of extremism, what is it that we seek to explain? Second, what is it to explain extremism rather than describing, interpreting, understanding, or predicting it? Third, how can explanations of extremism be categorized and what does that mean for the extent to which can they be combined? Fourth, what semantics is useful in construing an explanation of extremism? It turns out that most insights equally apply to explanations of related yet distinct phenomena, such as fundamentalism, fanaticism, conspiracy theorizing, and terrorism. The article concludes by providing five concrete guidelines that will help fine-tune and compare various explanations of extremism.
期刊介绍：
Terrorism and Political Violence advances scholarship on a broad range of issues associated with terrorism and political violence, including subjects such as: the political meaning of terrorist activity, violence by rebels and by states, the links between political violence and organized crime, protest, rebellion, revolution, the influence of social networks, and the impact on human rights. The journal draws upon many disciplines and theoretical perspectives as well as comparative approaches to provide some of the most groundbreaking work in a field that has hitherto lacked rigour. Terrorism and Political Violence features symposia and edited volumes to cover an important topic in depth. Subjects have included: terrorism and public policy; religion and violence; political parties and terrorism; technology and terrorism; and right-wing terrorism. The journal is essential reading for all academics, decision-makers, and security specialists concerned with understanding political violence.
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