Political extremism

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What is political extremism and how can we recognize it when we see it? Despite the phenomenon’s current prominence, there is very little consensus among social scientists and policymakers on what political extremism constitutes and even less on its causes and consequences. This research topic aims to tackle the existing conceptual ambiguity by developing a novel, universally applicable conceptualization of extremism and radicalization at the level of non-state political organizations. Borrowing from individual-level psychological theory, I distinguish between the radicalization of organizations’ political goals and the radicalization of their actions and develop empirical strategies to measure both processes.