Exiting extremism rarely is final and resembles addiction withdrawal

Evidence

The literature suggests that exit from extremist organizations is rarely complete or final. Several respondents across studies of former extremists reported ideological relapse; in one study, 21 percent of former white supremacists reported leaving their respective extremist organization and later returning to the group. In this sense, there are similarities between radicalization and addiction, with former extremists tending to feel a lingering “addiction” to the cause. One study termed this “habitual and unwanted thoughts, feelings, physiological responses, and behavior that can follow exit” as “residual” or “hangover” identity. In some cases, the study noted, “You are withdrawing from an old psychological status and coming into a new, and in doing so something akin to the withdrawal symptoms of drug addiction occurs.” The similarities between exit from extremism and postaddiction issues have implications for designing interventions, as “effective interventions may require much greater attention to the enduring qualities of extremism in order to offset residual-related issues.” — 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, 197

Categorization

• XREF: Directly bears on the reader’s core hypothesis test: if residual ‘hangover’ identity persists after exit, simple withdrawal of conflict may not suffice and may need supports against relapse. Links to the reader’s therapeutic framing. — connects to: A former extremist relapsed identity growth to distancing himself from exit-program support — Amy Fisher-Smith, Charles R. Sullivan, John D. Macready, and Geoffrey Manzi, Identity Reconfiguration and the Core…, 688; Extremist involvement has addictive properties tied to joint risk and struggle — 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:…, 59; Attempting to quit extremism can itself escalate a person into a worse group — 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:…, 366 (+4 more)
• QUESTION: Does the withdrawal-of-conflict hypothesis account for the 21% who return? What reverses the residual pull in those who do not?

Broader Connections

• Disengagement from extremism is a recursive process, not a linear one. #corroborates (0.90) — Amy Fisher-Smith, Charles R. Sullivan, John D. Macready, and Geoffrey Manzi, Identity Reconfiguration and the Core…, 320
• Political events can re-trigger radical feelings years after an extremist exit. #corroborates (0.88) — 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, 457
• Attempting to quit extremism can itself escalate a person into a worse group #complicates (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, 366
• Deradicalization depends on abandoning stop-gap measures that keep former extremists trapped in the past #qualifies (0.74) — Amy Fisher-Smith, Charles R. Sullivan, John D. Macready, and Geoffrey Manzi, Identity Reconfiguration and the Core…, 670
• Leaving an extremist group can be physical, psychological, or both #expands (0.72) — Amy Fisher-Smith, Charles R. Sullivan, John D. Macready, and Geoffrey Manzi, Identity Reconfiguration and the Core…, 336