Radicalisation:A Social Psychological Perspective (Part III)

• Main Authors: Boris G. Bovin, Inna B. Bovina, Anastasiya D. Tikhonova
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Moscow State University of Psychology and Education 2021-03-01
• Series: Психология и право
• Subjects: deradicalisation; uncertainty; social identity; group norms; identity change
• Online Access: https://psyjournals.ru/psyandlaw/2021/n1/Bovin_Bovin_Tikhonova.shtml

Radicalism and extremism have extremely serious consequences for human life and threaten the existence of humanity. The problem of deradicalisation is in the focus of our attention in this paper. The theory of uncertainty-identity describes the psychological mechanism by which the transformation of uncertainty into extremism occurs, by which a person experiencing a feeling of uncertainty, especially if this feeling is acute in its severity and is experienced for a long time, then the person tends not only to highly entitative, but to extremist groups. If this theory does not describe the mechanism of deradicalisation, then the conditions under which an individual, experiencing a feeling of uncertainty, still does not seek to become a member of groups with extremist and radical beliefs. This paper focuses on the analysis of these obstacles in the way towards extremism and radicalism. In addition, the potential of the social identity model of recovery formulated on the example of the social identity of addicts is discussed.