Publisher Description
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, an expert on extremist movements and terrorism, explains that extremism arises from a perception of "us versus them," intensified by the conviction that the success of "us" is inseparable from hostile acts against "them." Extremism differs from ordinary unpleasantness—run-of-the-mill hatred and racism—by its sweeping rationalization of an insistence on violence. Berger illustrates his argument with case studies and examples from around the world and throughout history, from the destruction of Carthage by the Romans—often called "the first genocide"—to the apocalyptic jihadism of Al Qaeda, America's new "alt-right," and the anti-Semitic conspiracy tract The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
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About J. M. Berger
J. M. Berger is a researcher, analyst, and writer covering extremism, with a special focus on extremist activities in the United States and extremist use of social media. He is the author of the critically acclaimed Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam, the only definitive history of the United States jihadist movement; and coauthor of ISIS: The State of Terror. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Daily Beast, Foreign Policy, the CTC Sentinel, the New York Daily News, and the Boston Globe, and on National Public Radio, Public Radio International, and the National Geographic Channel. Berger has discussed terrorism and extremism on CNN, Fox News, and many other radio and television outlets.
About Matthew Josdal
Matthew Josdal is a voice-over and theater artist originally from a small town in southwest Saskatchewan. He obtained his BFA degree in drama from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. He has narrated audiobooks in genres ranging from historical nonfiction to contemporary fantasy, along with most things in between. In addition to a fifteen-plus year career in acting for both stage and microphone, he completed all requirements for his honors degree in psychology.