Legitimating Determinants of Extremist Behavior

• In Event: New frontiers in Strain Theory

Abstract

Extremism, a variant of deviant behavior, poses a unique challenge to democracies by challenging the core norms of liberal societies. This article examines the situational legitimation of extremist actions in two ways. First, it uses a vignette experiment to examine pre-defined conditions that influence respondents' acceptance of extremist actions. These conditions include economic or personal stress, experiences of discrimination, local belonging, and territorial reputation, drawn from General Strain Theory, resulting in 2^5 possible combinations. Second, the robustness of the Susceptibility to Radicalization (SuRa) scale, which includes distrust of democracy, authoritarianism, and perceptions of discrimination, is examined. The study, conducted in three German cities with 2,990 participants, found that those susceptible to radicalization were more likely to legitimize extremist acts. Moreover, regardless of susceptibility, extremist acts were legitimized on the basis of economic and personal stress and discrimination. This underscores the interplay between individual predispositions and situational contexts in influencing deviant behavior and contributes to an understanding of the challenges facing democratic societies.

Author

• Armin C. D. Küchler, University of Bielefeld / University of Applied Sciences Münster