Mutual Radicalization

"This book is about the powerful dynamic and destructive process termed mutual radicalization, which occurs when two groups take increasingly extreme positions opposing one another. It discusses the psychological processes underlying some key cases of mutual radicalization. The book develops a road map of how mutual radicalization takes place, shaped by underlying psychological processes. Each case study is presented within the same three-stage framework of mutual radicalization: group mobilization, extreme ingroup cohesion, and antagonistic identity transformation. The book is organized in four parts comprising twelve chapters. Part I consists of two case studies involving a nation-state and a nonstate actor, Israel--Palestine; a case involving two nation-states, Iran--United States; and two case studies involving Islamist terrorism and nation-states (the United States and the European Union). Part II describes case studies of nations in transition and in danger of moving further along the path of mutual radicalization. They represent a range of the most important 21st-century conflicts: China--Japan, North Korea--South Korea, and Pakistan--India. Part III presents three case stud