Radicalización ideológico-política y terrorismo: un enfoque psicosocial

Resumo

Ideological-political radicalization and terrorism generate a series of disastrous consequences for the correct functioning of society. Nowadays, polarization and ideological-political radicalization are on the rise. Factors contributing to this are situations of social upheaval like the migratory and economic crisis, as well as terrorism of an ideological-religious nature. The proposal of effective preventive interventions requires a multidisciplinary and systematic study of the phenomenon, in which social psychology is destined to play a central role. The aim of the current revision is to compile a comprehensive proposal of a conceptual nature, which will illustrate the psychosocial processes underlying violent radicalization of groups with extreme political ideologies. Specifically, the aim is to highlight the suitability of analyzing a set of psychosocial variables, which play an essential role in an individual’s personal balance, related to terrorists’ recruitment and the maintenance of extremist groups. Likewise, and as a response to the need to consider new research perspectives when studying the terrorism phenomenon, the part of victimization and competitive victimization in explaining terrorism is analyzed. The findings suggest enough theoretical links to encourage the integration of these constructs in future research.