Reconsidering Radicalization: Fanaticism and the Link Between Ideas and Violence

A central issue with many interpretations of radicalization remains their tendency to overemphasize the role ofextremist beliefs in motivating involvement in terrorism. After elaborating on this critique, the authors proposethat ‘fanaticism’, a concept developed by Taylor in the early 1990s, offers a way of overcoming this deficiency inradicalization-based approaches through its conditional understanding of when radical beliefs can lead to violentbehavior. Primary-sources driven empirical analysis supports both the critique of radicalization and the discussionof fanaticism’s benefits. Results are relevant to both academics and counterterrorism practitioners working tounderstand the role of extremist beliefs in motivating involvement in terrorist violence.