EXPERT: Fathali Moghaddam Professor of Psychology, Georgetown University
Professor Fathali Moghaddam of Georgetown University describes his ‘staircase’ model of radicalisation, with violence at the top floor, ‘specialists’ who each play distinct roles in terrorist movements.
He talks about how groups see their own survival under threat from others, and how this leads them to violence. He uses the example of Iranian Revolution of 1979 to show how defensive extremist movements are, and the sense of victimisation is the context of violence. While in America, there’s a great deal of attention to inequalities of ethnicity, but far less on inequalities of wealth . He identifies Trump as one of a trend of authoritarian leaders in the contemporary world. He talks about the way that language is used to dehumanise outgroups, and suggests that celebrations of difference play into ingroup-outgroup distinctions. Radicalisation can be reduced through a recognition of human commonalities. and a reduction of the feeling of intergroup threats. Fathali finishes with a discussion of male violence, and stressing the importance of drawing more women into politics.