In the media
August 17, 2017
On 16 August 2017, ICCT Associate Fellow J.M. Berger was cited in an article in The Atlantic about the similarities between jihadist and white supremacist violent extremism. According to Berger, “[t]he process and structure of radicalization and extremism [...] are the same in different kinds of movements, even when the content of the extremist belief is different (such as with neo-Nazis and jihadists)”. The article says that reasons for people radicalising are often similar, regardless of the group they join. Berger argues that "[e]xtremist groups rely on a crisis-solution construct” where an 'in-group' is afflicted with a crisis that is blamed on an 'out-group', "and the extremist movement is presented as offering a solution to that crisis, which is often violent. The crisis is defined as being intrinsic to the identity groups involved, rather being than situational or temporary".
Read the article.
