Explaining youth radicalism as a positioning of the self at opposite extremes

Abstract

The concept of ‘young radicals’ is gaining ground in a context of generalized discontent – often, this is due to the fact that young people engage increasingly in unconventional forms of political activism. Much less is known about young people holding radical political attitudes. This article advances our understanding of those young people who place themselves on the extremes of the ideological scale and investigates how those with radical right attitudes differ from those with radical left ones. Drawing on a survey that gathers data from nine European countries, with a sample of young people aged 18–35, we test those factors that have been used to explain why people use violent repertoires of action: social background, gender, political values, and prior experience in protest activism. The results relate ‘radicalness’ to experienced economic difficulties and the more contentious political activism. The difference between the young ‘radicals’ in right and left are, however, defined by gender and adherence to authoritarian values.

Reviving Religious Modesty in the Face of Radicalism Ideology: The Experience of SMA Al-Azhar Menganti Gresik, Indonesia

“…Uba and Bosi confirm the existence of young people who are more likely to enter the realm of radicalism, as their study in 9 countries across continental Europe reveals the dominant factor of entry of radical thinking, which is individual social background (27).…”

Maximizing biomedical research impacts through bioethical considerations

“…Global societies often hyperfocus on extreme and absolute truths ( Wilson et al, 2020 ; Uba and Bosi, 2022 ). Therefore, we have discussed how dialectics and other bioethical approaches can be useful to increase mental flexibility by considering paradoxical thoughts relevant to biomedical research and connecting diverse approaches.…”

Left-wing Violent Extremism: Identifying Precursors and Growth in New Zealand

“…31 Where this is the case an individual holding extremist views is likely to attenuate these positions as they acquire family, work responsibilities, and income. Many of the issues typically attached to left-wing activism, 32 such as gender, racial, or sexual equality, income redistribution, and accessible social services, are 'business as usual' topics canvassed as government policy to a greater or lesser extent as political control of the government changes. It is highly unlikely that these policies will become violently contested issues in New Zealand without significant political and cultural change.…”