Origins of Political Extremism
Mass Violence in the Twentieth Century and Beyond

Examines the origins of mass killing by analyzing and comparing multiple forms of political extremism.

Manus I. Midlarsky (Author)

9780521877084, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 17 March 2011

442 pages, 23 b/w illus. 5 tables
23.5 x 15.7 x 2.2 cm, 0.82 kg

'Midlarsky has produced an excellent, theoretically innovative, and empirically rich study.' Siniša Maleševi?, Perspectives on Politics

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.

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.

Subject Areas: Comparative politics [JPB], Politics & government [JP], Sociology [JHB], History [HB]