Sinposis

A RISING TIDE OF EXTREMIST MOVEMENTS THREATEN TO DESTABILIZE CIVIL SOCIETIES AROUND THE GLOBE. IT HAS NEVER BEEN MORE IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND EXTREMISM, YET THE DICTIONARY DEFINITION_A LOGICAL STARTING POINT IN A SEARCH FOR UNDERSTANDING_TELLS US ONLY THAT EXTREMISM IS "THE QUALITY OR STATE OF BEING EXTREME." IN THIS VOLUME IN THE MIT PRESS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE SERIES, J. M. BERGER OFFERS A NUANCED INTRODUCTION TO EXTREMIST MOVEMENTS, EXPLAINING WHAT EXTREMISM IS, HOW EXTREMIST IDEOLOGIES ARE CONSTRUCTED, AND WHY EXTREMISM CAN ESCALATE INTO VIOLENCE. BERGER SHOWS THAT ALTHOUGH THE IDEOLOGICAL CONTENT OF EXTREMIST MOVEMENTS VARIES WIDELY, THERE ARE COMMON STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS.