Extremism
THE THREAT OF EXTREMISM
IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Abstract: What is extremism? What are its causes and what are the possible repercussions in today’s world? Those questions are important in regards to the future of the modern world. The Psychological Approach gives several explanations for extreme behavior. National as well as International threats can result from extremist political parties or groups, such as economic downturns and social clashes in a country. In recent years, especially after the Wall Street Crash in 2008, an increase in extreme behavior has been noticed in western countries, in particular in Western Europe. People tend to vote more for extreme parties than before, and this situation may lead to political instability in an entire region, which may result in a crisis inside the crisis.
I. Introduction
For decades now, certain issues have been threatening national, as well as international politics. Wars and economic downturns have led to social revolts from the people, creating clans in all the layers of the society. Most of them are usually moderate, but in some cases, extremist ideologies take over the mainstream school of thoughts. Extremism is a complex topic, as there are many definitions, each of them being highly subjective due to the fact that some can see a particular matter as “extreme”, whereas others would describe it as “just and moral” (Bartoli). In addition, there are many areas where the term “extremism” applies; therefore it can be complicated to find one definition that would fit for all of them. In politics, radical opinions about religion, ethnicity and other societal issues such as economic crisis are the main areas where extremism draws its power. Although since 9/11, the term “extremist” is almost exclusively used to describe radical Muslims, some political parties in Europe are much worse than those we usually point out. The National Front in France,
IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Abstract: What is extremism? What are its causes and what are the possible repercussions in today’s world? Those questions are important in regards to the future of the modern world. The Psychological Approach gives several explanations for extreme behavior. National as well as International threats can result from extremist political parties or groups, such as economic downturns and social clashes in a country. In recent years, especially after the Wall Street Crash in 2008, an increase in extreme behavior has been noticed in western countries, in particular in Western Europe. People tend to vote more for extreme parties than before, and this situation may lead to political instability in an entire region, which may result in a crisis inside the crisis.
I. Introduction
For decades now, certain issues have been threatening national, as well as international politics. Wars and economic downturns have led to social revolts from the people, creating clans in all the layers of the society. Most of them are usually moderate, but in some cases, extremist ideologies take over the mainstream school of thoughts. Extremism is a complex topic, as there are many definitions, each of them being highly subjective due to the fact that some can see a particular matter as “extreme”, whereas others would describe it as “just and moral” (Bartoli). In addition, there are many areas where the term “extremism” applies; therefore it can be complicated to find one definition that would fit for all of them. In politics, radical opinions about religion, ethnicity and other societal issues such as economic crisis are the main areas where extremism draws its power. Although since 9/11, the term “extremist” is almost exclusively used to describe radical Muslims, some political parties in Europe are much worse than those we usually point out. The National Front in France,