Machiavellianism, Islamism, and Deprivations as Predictors of Support for Daesh Among Muslims

Abstract

Although many different models of radicalization integrate different intrapersonal, interpersonal, and intergroup processes, this interactive approach is scarcely present in the empirical studies. The goal of this study was to fill this gap by combining personality traits (Machiavellianism), ideology (Islamism), and outcomes of intergroup comparisons (perceived deprivations) as predictors of support for Daesh among Muslims in the MENA region, based on Arab Barometer IV data. Results were calculated on the overall sample and on synthetically balanced samples from Algeria and Palestine, respectively, to ensure the robustness of findings. While Islamists were generally supportive of Daesh, socio-politically deprived individuals were not. A negative relationship between Machiavellianism and support for Daesh was found only in Algeria. Multiple interactions, which differed in Algeria and Palestine, confirm the relevance of studying complex relationships among potential predictors of extremism, as well as the role of context that can strengthen or diminish these relationships.

The dark tetrad personality traits moderate the relationship between ideological passion and violent activism.

“…For instance, in some research sadism and psychopathy are positively associated with proviolence attitudes (Međedović & Knežević, 2019)-in other studies, only Machiavellianism is significantly but negatively associated with this variable (Pavlović & Storm, 2020) while in the work of Chabrol et al (2020), Machiavellianism is positively related to radical cognitions, but only narcissism is positively linked with self-reported radicalized behavior. These differences may be attributable to the wealth of samples, operationalizations of dark tetrad measures (e.g., the Machiavellianism scale [MACH IV] from Christie & Geis, 1970; see Pavlović & Storm, 2020) and outcomes (e.g., different scales for extremism, radical thoughts, or intentions). In addition, we cannot exclude the possibility of confounds due to the overreliance on cross-sectional designs, which make it even harder to conclude on key "takeaway" messages.…”

“…Third, the relationships between political violence and dark tetrad personality traits are severely inconsistent across studies. For instance, in some research sadism and psychopathy are positively associated with proviolence attitudes (Međedović & Knežević, 2019)—in other studies, only Machiavellianism is significantly but negatively associated with this variable (Pavlović & Storm, 2020) while in the work of Chabrol et al (2020), Machiavellianism is positively related to radical cognitions, but only narcissism is positively linked with self-reported radicalized behavior.…”

“…These differences may be attributable to the wealth of samples, operationalizations of dark tetrad measures (e.g., the Machiavellianism scale [MACH IV] from Christie & Geis, 1970; see Pavlović & Storm, 2020) and outcomes (e.g., different scales for extremism, radical thoughts, or intentions). In addition, we cannot exclude the possibility of confounds due to the overreliance on cross-sectional designs, which make it even harder to conclude on key “takeaway” messages.…”

Reviewing the links between violent extremism and personality, personality disorders, and psychopathy

“…Research examining the dimensions within the Dark Tetrad has connected the constituent traits with a range of delinquent behaviours, including bullying (Baughman, Dearing, Giammarco, & Vernon, 2012), online trolling (Buckels, Jones, & Paulhus, 2014), juvenile delinquency (Chabrol et al, 2009), racist attitudes (Jones, 2013), and criminal activity (Hare & Neumann, 2008). Alongside this evidence from other domains, modern terrorism researchers cite the consistent early focus on pathology, to hypothesise the causal influence of traits of psychopathy (Baez et al, 2017;Martens, 2004), narcissism (Lloyd & Kleinot, 2017;Tschantret, 2020), and Machiavellianism (Pavlović & Storm, 2020). To determine the strength of these hypotheses, an interrogation of the empirical literature regarding the link between aspects of the Dark Tetrad and radicalisation and terrorism is therefore necessary.…”

Social and Emotional Intelligence as Factors in Terrorist Propaganda: An Analysis of the Way Mass Media Portrays the Behavior of Islamic Terrorist Groups

“…In the psychology of personality, the term is linked to personality traits such as manipulation and amorality and people who possess Machiavellian intelligence tend to have cynical views of the world [18]. Even more, it is thought that people with this type of intelligence possess a certain mechanism that helps them make a flexible decisions and adjust the way they behave to the changes that take place in the social environment [19], and Machiavellianism is also considered an appropriate trait to be taken into consideration when assessing processes of decision making in the political field [20]. Thus, considering these aspects it can be inferred that people involved in terrorism, especially people with leadership positions possess this type of intelligence, them having the ability to adapt to change and to persuade and manipulate other people.…”