Astley Jacob
University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
J Polic Intell Count Terror. 2025 May 8:1-19. doi: 10.1080/18335330.2025.2502580.
The rise of 'mixed' forms of extremism, particularly esoteric variations that defy conventional ideological boundaries, presents significant conceptual and regulatory challenges. These non-doctrinal forms, characterised by a fluid bricolage of attitudes, beliefs, and identity constructs, transcend existing policy-defined ideological categorisations and pose a complex threat. While extremist phenomena such as inceldom and misogynistic-driven violence have been more recently studied, the broader ecosystem of converging and seemingly disparate threads of extremism remains underexplored. Addressing this gap, this paper illuminates the evolving landscape of radical(ising) pathways and calls for a broadening of radicalisation research to include an exploration of the role and significance of idiosyncratic modes of extremist engagement. It further seeks a deeper understanding of the relational and emotional dimensions of radicalisation, foregrounding the fluid, heterogeneous, and often unpredictable nature of individual-level pathways. By examining these factors, this paper challenges the simplifications embedded in conventional categorisations of ideology and critiques the Prevent Strategy's capacity to respond to the mutating dynamics of contemporary extremism, arguing for adaptive frameworks that acknowledge and engage with the complex interplay of personalised agency, shifting structural conditions, and the fluid architecture of evolving radical(ising) ecosystems.
“混合”形式极端主义的兴起，尤其是那些超越传统意识形态界限的神秘变体，带来了重大的概念和监管挑战。这些非教义形式的极端主义以态度、信仰和身份建构的灵活拼凑为特征，超越了现有政策界定的意识形态分类，构成了复杂的威胁。虽然诸如孤独男性群体极端思想以及厌女驱动的暴力等极端主义现象最近得到了更多研究，但极端主义相互交织且看似不同的线索所构成的更广泛生态系统仍未得到充分探索。为填补这一空白，本文阐明了激进化路径的演变态势，并呼吁扩大激进化研究范围，将对极端主义参与的特殊模式的作用和意义的探索纳入其中。本文还进一步寻求更深入地理解激进化的关系和情感维度，突出个体层面路径的流动性、异质性以及往往不可预测的性质。通过审视这些因素，本文对传统意识形态分类中固有的简化观点提出了质疑，并批评了预防战略应对当代极端主义不断变化动态的能力，主张建立适应性框架，承认并应对个性化能动性、不断变化的结构条件以及不断演变的激进化生态系统的灵活架构之间的复杂相互作用。
