In these times of political and social uncertainty and upheaval in many parts of the world, do sociologists need to spend more time examining and absorbing studies and ideas from other disciplines around what ‘radicalisation’ means and how to combat it?
This is the proposition recently suggested by Tahir Abbas, from the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, at Leiden University in The Hague, Netherlands. Abbas argues that the concept of radicalisation today often has negative associations —it is most usually connected to social divisions and political and cultural forms of violence. However, slave abolitionists, suffragettes, marriage equality advocates and climate activists have all demonstrated that what were once seen as forms of ‘radicalisation’, today are seen as social goods. Yesterday’s radicals are often remembered as rather heroic and progressive figures.
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