Mainstreaming Atrocity

Abstract

Processes of individual and group radicalization underlie both terrorism and genocide. Individual radicalization processes are closely connected to the position of the radical group in relation to the state. The closer the connection of radical groups to state power, the lower the risks of joining for risk-averse individuals. Radicalization entails the movement of individuals and groups away from mainstream norms through ideologies that endorse the use of violence. The “Mainstreaming” of atrocity in pre-atrocity states is conceptualized here by drawing on the rise of the Nazi Party and the formation of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, arguing that radical groups may contribute to normative shifts that cause the radicalization of the state.