IJCV Focus Section on ‘Radicalization’

Resulting from findings of the BMBF-funded project “Extreme Society: Radicalization and Deradicalization in Germany” (2017–2020), a Focus Section on radicalization has been published in International Journal of Conflict and Violence (IJCV) (open source). The seven contributions in the Focus Section take stock of the state of research on radicalization and deradicalization and pave the way for a further comparative, empirical and international research agenda.

All contributions share a broad understanding of the contested concept of radicalization while accentuating the concept to fit its specific topic. This broad perspective is elaborated in the first contribution (Abay Gaspar et al.) in a manner that does justice to both the processual logic of the term and the span from non-violent to violent types. The spectrum of the following six contribution ranges from the individual (Pisoiu et al.) and the collective level radicalization (Meiering et al.), radicalization of whole societies and its link to polarization (Herschinger et al.); as well as deradicalization and prevention (Baaken et al.), the online dimension of radicalization and extremism (Winter et al.), and evaluation of preventive measures (Armborst et al.). The seven articles are accompanied by two international commentaries, that discuss their findings and draw connections.

Guest editors of the Focus Section are Julian Junk, Clara-Auguste Süß, Christopher Daase and Nicole Deitelhoff.

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