Radicalization as and in Process: Tracing Journeys through an “Extreme-Right” Milieu

Abstract

The vast majority of those engaging with radical ideas do not pursue radicalization trajectories to an endpoint of violent extremism. However, empirical research charting journeys of “non-radicalization” remains scarce. This article draws on ethnographic research tracing pathways through an “extreme right” milieu. It identifies a range of journeys–of partial, stalled and non-radicalization–and the complex interweaving of political and personal grievances as well as affective and situational factors, which shape movement both toward and away from cognitive and behavioral extremism. Studying these pathways helps understand what prevents those engaging in radical milieus from crossing the threshold to violent extremism.