Inchoate Extremist Violence

• In Event: EXTR10 Susceptibility to radicalisation and extremist attitudes

Abstract

Dating back to the 1980s, the issue of ideology has always proved challenging for researchers of terrorism and extremism violence. Theoretically, ideology would seem to be a central element, distinguishing terrorism from other forms of criminal violence. In practice, the application of ideology to individuals and groups been fraught with controversy. The identification of particular ideologies as a motivational factor for violence has become increasingly difficult, as indicated by terms such as “salad bar” and “composite” extremism. In many instances, ideology has become highly individualized and idiosyncratic. At the same time, the murky overlap with mass violence such as school shooting also continues to frustrate attempts to delimit the boundaries of extremist violence. In our work with individuals who have been identified as being at risk of radicalization, we have begun to notice a further complication: cases that have all of the trapping of extremist violence, but that have no ideological component, nor the expressed grievance(s) of individuals who commit mass violence. In these instances, which are few but rising in number, individuals are intent on committing acts of mass violence simply because the want to commit an act of mass violence. This study thus presents an exploration of inchoate extremist violence, which we argue represents the intersection of violent extremism, mass violence, and the internet-fueled desire to be famous or notorious.

Author

• Garth Davies, Simon Fraser University