American radicalization is driven by psychology and emotion, not material deprivation

Evidence

Another vulnerability that contradicts conventional wisdom is the role of poverty or material incentives in domestic radicalization. The PIRUS data suggest that low socioeconomic status does not seem to be a major driver of radicalization in the United States, with only about 25 percent of radicalized individuals in the PIRUS sample coming from an impoverished background. Indeed, PIRUS data illustrate that “radicalization to violence is primarily psychological and emotional, rather than material.” — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 151

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Domestic radicalization is primarily psychological and emotional, not material — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America:…, 151; Radicalization is countered by empathy and resources, not by bans or information alone — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice: How to Communicate…, 717; Radicalization factors are non-deterministic and heterogeneous across individuals — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America:…, 226 (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Domestic radicalization is primarily psychological and emotional, not material #corroborates (0.98) — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 151
• The most powerful radicalization pathways combine personal psychological vulnerabilities with perceived community victimization. #expands (0.86) — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 156
• Trauma before joining creates psychological vulnerability that radicalization later exploits #expands (0.85) — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 294
• Negative life events predispose but never alone cause radicalization #qualifies (0.83) — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 56
• Personal uncertainty, perceived injustice, and group threat jointly drive radicalization #expands (0.82) — Lea Echelmeyer, Anne-Marie Slotboom, and Frank Weerman, The Putative Effect of Identity on…, 267
• Boredom and job loss can drive politically inactive people into radicalization #complicates (0.80) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 10
• Radicalization factors are non-deterministic and heterogeneous across individuals #qualifies (0.78) — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 226
• Scholars and states reduce terrorism to psychological and theological radicalization #qualifies (0.75) — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 30
• Roy traces radicalization to individual trajectories and societal conditions, not religion #qualifies (0.74) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 383
• Terrorism aims at political influence through emotional arousal rather than destruction #expands (0.74) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4067
• Radicalization is countered by empathy and resources, not by bans or information alone #expands (0.72) — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 717