This book advances a theoretical synthesis to explaining radicalization. Treating radicalization as a process along which a member organization of a broad social movement shifts from predominantly nonviolent tactics to predominantly violent tactics, the book moves beyond a focus on dispositions and opportunities for aggression triggered in response to environmental stimuli, or on violence-prone ideologies and cultural templates. It conceptualizes the emergence and intensification of political violence (targeting non-state actors) as unfolding within complex webs of relational patterns that sha ... More

This book advances a theoretical synthesis to explaining radicalization. Treating radicalization as a process along which a member organization of a broad social movement shifts from predominantly nonviolent tactics to predominantly violent tactics, the book moves beyond a focus on dispositions and opportunities for aggression triggered in response to environmental stimuli, or on violence-prone ideologies and cultural templates. It conceptualizes the emergence and intensification of political violence (targeting non-state actors) as unfolding within complex webs of relational patterns that shape and are shaped by interactions among multiple parties involved in contentious politics, as well as by surrounding, at times contingent, events and circumstances. A relational approach, namely, a focus on patterns and trends of contacts, ties, bargaining, negotiation, and exchange of information allows for a dynamic understanding of how and when environmental and/or cognitive factors gain and lose salience in processes of radicalization. Utilizing a mechanism-based research strategy, the book traces processes of radicalization across a diverse set of episodes of contention. It demonstrates how despite undeniable political, cultural, social or geopolitical differences across episodes, prime of which are al-Qaeda, the Red Brigades, and EOKA, similarities are found in the key role of relational mechanisms, such as intra-movement competition for power, social disconnect, or upward spirals of political opportunities. Also offered are analyses of how the relational, comparative framework benefits the identification of meaningful dissimilarities in similarities and how this framework enhances understanding of possibilities of de-radicalization and instances of non-radicalization.