composite extremisms
Definition
Composite extremisms refers to forms of political violence and radicalization in which individuals draw on multiple, often incompatible ideological sources rather than adhering to a single coherent extremist worldview. The concept seeks to improve on imprecise law-enforcement classifications and informal metaphors such as 'salad bar extremism', and it encompasses four main subtypes that distinguish between qualitatively different expressions of ideological hybridity. Official referral data from the UK Prevent programme corroborate a genuine intensification of this pattern rather than a mere measurement artefact, with practitioners reporting mounting difficulty categorizing offenders whose digital footprints span multiple violent ideologies.
Sources: Baele (2026)
Related Terms
- terrorism (1 shared article)
- political violence (1 shared article)
- online extremism (1 shared article)
- salad bar extremism (1 shared article)
Applications
Composite Extremisms and Liquid Modernity
Rising extremist idiosyncrasy mirrors an increase in hybrid and atomistic systems of thought throughout contemporary society, including what researchers have called 'patchwork religiosity', and is further reinforced by addictive social media affordances that encourage fragmentary engagement with political ideas.
Sources: Baele (2026)
Composite Extremisms and Nihilistic Violence
The rise in composite extremisms is treated as inseparable from the rise in nihilistic violence, which by March 2025 constituted the single largest category of UK Prevent referrals at nearly 5,000 cases. Research from a Quebec radicalization referral unit found that referred youth typically display a primary drive toward violence, onto which thin or incoherent ideological content is later attached, suggesting that ideological hybridity in many cases is secondary to an attraction to mass fatality violence itself.
Sources: Baele (2026)
Composite Extremisms and Internet-driven Radicalization
Internet-driven radicalization is identified as a mechanism producing composite extremist profiles, with US data showing a 413% increase in such radicalization among individuals under thirty between 2010 and 2020. Online environments expose young people to sources of inspiration ranging from mass shooter fandoms to gore communities and nihilistic forums, enabling the cross-pollination of ideological content that defines composite extremisms.
Sources: Baele (2026)
