1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910461744103321

Autore

Midlarsky Manus I.

Titolo

Origins of political extremism : mass violence in the twentieth century and beyond / / Manus I. Midlarsky [[electronic resource]]

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge : , : Cambridge University Press, , 2011

ISBN

1-107-21884-5

1-139-06259-X

1-283-11129-2

9786613111296

1-139-07470-9

0-511-97586-4

1-139-07695-7

1-139-07923-9

1-139-08150-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xii, 429 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Disciplina

303.609/04

Soggetti

Radicalism

Violence

Political violence

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Nota di contenuto

Machine generated contents note: Introduction; Part I. Theory and Empirics: 1. The ephemeral gain: intimations of the politically finite; 2. Mortality salience: intimations of the corporeally finite; 3. Cases; Part II. The Secular 'Isms': 4. Fascism; 5. Communism; Part III. An Ostensibly Sacred 'Ism': 6. Radical Islamism: foundations; 7. Contemporary radical Islamist movements; 8. Muslims in India; Part IV. Extreme Nationalism: 9. Sri Lankan Tamils; 10. Poland; 11. The Balkans; 12. The rampaging military; 13. Variations in genocidal behavior; Part V. Conclusion: 14. Pathways to extremism; 15. Ethics and morality: the rejection of traditional moral restraints; 16. War, peace, and the decline of extremism.

Sommario/riassunto

Political extremism is one of the most pernicious, destructive, and



nihilistic forms of human expression. During the twentieth century, in excess of 100 million people had their lives taken from them as the result of extremist violence. In this wide-ranging book Manus I. Midlarsky suggests that ephemeral gains, together with mortality salience, form basic explanations for the origins of political extremism and constitute a theoretical framework that also explains later mass violence. Midlarsky applies his framework to multiple forms of political extremism, including the rise of Italian, Hungarian and Romanian fascism, Nazism, radical Islamism, and Soviet, Chinese and Cambodian communism. Other applications include a rampaging military (Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia) and extreme nationalism in Serbia, Croatia, the Ottoman Empire and Rwanda. Polish anti-Semitism after World War II and the rise of separatist violence in Sri Lanka are also examined.