089 Dynamics of Radicalisation: The Social Mobilization of Political Violence in Europe

Thursday, March 29, 2018: 11:00 AM-12:45 PM
Exchange South (InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile)
Today, Europe is confronting a fundamental crisis of political legitimacy, which not only threatens to derail the very project of the EU, but also to undermine Europe’s democratic political culture. The enormous complexity of the crisis notwithstanding, the panel discusses the assumption that one of its crucial aspects is the growing acceptance of physical violence as a legitimate means of social action. This holds particularly true for right-wing political violence: violent attacks against ethnic or political minorities, especially against refugees and their homes, since the beginning of the so-called “refugee crisis” in 2015. However, the acceptance of the use of political violence is not confined to the relatively small portion of people actively using violent means and strategies. Supporting them are members of what might be called the “radical milieu”: a broader range of actors who, because of their sense of involvement, supply the “violent few” (Collins) with indispensable social, cognitive, and emotional resources. Based on a comparative perspective across countries such as Germany, France, and Hungary, the panel’s main perspective emphasizes that radicalisation processes are not confined to violent extremists but that they are part of a more general phenomenon of collective identity formation across Europe that fosters political violence by particular groups or individual actors. Unlike the majority of research on radicalisation which focuses on individuals, especially on ideological and psychological aspects of radicalisation, and which suggests that the problem of violence is intrinsic to particular groups or individuals, this understanding of radicalisation stresses its relational character.
Chair:
Jan Willem Duyvendak
Discussant :
Christophe Bertossi
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