A Comparative Historical Analysis of the Processes of Radicalization of the Weather Underground and of the Provisional Irish Republican Army

In this article, through comparative historical research, the authors seek to account for the «how» and «when» of the shift to political violence of the Weather Under¬ground and of the Provisional Irish Republican Army. The focus is not on deep-rooted «causes», but on analyzing the dynamic processes of radicalization in the two historical contexts separately according to relational factors (competition for power, opportunity/threat spirals and outbidding). At the end of the article the authors focus on the dissimilarities found between the two processes and accordingly embed their explanation within the more general historical debates on the subject. In the conclusion, the article briefly points out the promise the authors find in their approach as a possible comparative framework for the analysis of radicalization

Making sense of ‘Price Tag’ violence : changing contexts, shifting strategies, and expanding targets

Writings on the fringe Jewish settler grassroots network known as the Hilltop Youth have proliferated in recent years, following the increase in violent activism associated with the network. But knowledge on this violent activism, called Price Tag, has remained conflicting and problematic. Central questions persist: What is the meaning of Price Tag violence? What explains the increase in the rate and salience of Price Tag violence? What are the social-political implications of Price Tag violence? This article argues that Price Tag violence represents a new strategy of contention taking shape in the context of a fundamental reconfiguration of relations within Israel’s institutional and non-institutional radical Right, and that it represents a highly consequential social and political phenomenon with destabilizing and destructive effects nationally and regionally

Introduction: Thinking About Divides

This collective endeavor is inspired by Gregory M. Maney’s scholarship in the fields of social movements, peace/conflicts, and community-engaged scholarship, wherein divides and attempts to challenge divides at different levels of authorities and across the globe were a primary focus. Inspired by Maney’s work, we present chapters that advance knowledge about how ordinary people mobilize to challenge institutional norms, practices, and policies that legitimize and preserve divides, as well as how state actors, other powerholders, publics, and opponents react to these challenges. The forthcoming chapters present geographically diverse examples of divides, which move beyond examining the divide between activists and their targets, to also exploring divides between activists due to organizational, generational, and tactical differences. Equally important and in clear connection to the theme of this volume, our contributors point to ways to bring down divides.https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/peace_books/1004/thumbnail.jp

The dynamics of radicalization : a relational and comparative perspective

Why is it that some social movements engaged in contentious politics experience radicalization whereas others do not? The Dynamics of Radicalization offers an innovative reply by investigating how and when social movement organizations switch from a nonviolent mode of contention to a violent one. Moving beyond existing explanations that posit aggressive motivations, grievances or violence-prone ideologies, this book demonstrates how these factors gain and lose salience in the context of relational dynamics among various parties and actors involved in episodes of contention. Drawing on a comparative historical analysis of al-Qaeda, the Red Brigades, the Cypriot EOKA, the authors develop a relational, mechanism-based theory that advances our understanding of political violence in several important ways by identifying turning points in the radicalization process, similar mechanisms at work across each case, and the factors that drive or impede radicalization. The Dynamics of Radicalization offers a counterpoint to mainstream works on political violence, which often presume that political violence and terrorism is rooted in qualities intrinsic to or developed by groups considered to be radical.-- Preface -- Acknowedgments -- List of Figures and Tables -- Acronyms -- Chapter One: Introduction: Social movements, Contentious Politics, and Radicalization -- Chapter Two: Theorizing and Comparing Radicalization: A Relational Framework -- Chapter Three: The Italian Extra-Parliamentary Left Movement and Brigate Rosse (1969-1978) -- Chapter Four: The Cypriot Enosis Movement and EOKA (1945-1959) -- Chapter Five: The Salafi Transnational Jihad Movement and al-Qaeda (1984-2001) -- Chapter Six: Processes of Radicalization: Dissimilarities in Similarities -- Chapter Seven: Non-Radicalization and Radicalization in Reverse -- Chapter Eight: The Relational Dynamics of Radicalization: Conclusion -- Appendix: Sub-Mechanism Types and Definitions -- Notes -- References -- Inde

Relational Dynamics and Processes of Radicalization: A comparative framework

We propose an explanatory framework for the comparative study of radicalization that focuses on its “how” and “when” questions. We build on the relational tradition in the study of social movements and contentious politics by expanding on a mechanism-process research strategy. Attentive to similarities as well as to dissimilarities, our comparative framework traces processes of radicalization by delineating four key arenas of interaction— between movement and political environment, among movement actors, between movement activists and state security forces, and between the movement and a countermovement. Then, we analyze how four similar corresponding general mechanisms—opportunity/threat spirals, competition for power, outbidding, and object shift—combine differently to drive the process. Last, we identify a set of submechanisms for each general mechanism. The explanatory utility of our framework is demonstrated through the analysis of three ethnonational episodes of radicalization: the enosis-EOKA movement in Cyprus (1950-1959), the Provisional Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland (1969-1972), and the Fatah-Tanzim in Palestine (1995-2001)