radicalization
Definition
Radicalization refers to the process by which individuals come to adopt beliefs and engage in behaviors that challenge societal norms regarding appropriate political goals and acceptable means of pursuing them. It spans a continuum from non-normative confrontational actions, such as unauthorized demonstrations or property damage, to violent extremism including terrorism. Among adolescents, this process is shaped by political alienation, defined as political distrust, powerlessness, and dissatisfaction with political institutions, each of which is associated with concurrent increases in radical political behavior at both the within-person and between-person levels. Longitudinal evidence from Swedish youth tracked between ages 13 and 17 shows that political dissatisfaction and radicalism reinforce one another over time, while distrust and powerlessness operate largely as concurrent correlates rather than prospective predictors. The effects of these alienation dimensions on radicalism are consistently stronger for boys than for girls, pointing to gendered developmental pathways into radical political action.
Sources: Miklikowska & Besta (2026)
Related Terms
- adolescence (1 shared article)
- political trust (1 shared article)
- radical political behavior (1 shared article)
- radicalism (1 shared article)
- political alienation (1 shared article)
- political powerlessness (1 shared article)
- political dissatisfaction (1 shared article)
Applications
Radicalization and Political Alienation
Political alienation, comprising distrust in institutions, feelings of powerlessness, and dissatisfaction with political processes, is directly linked to radical political behavior across adolescence. Within-person increases in each of these dimensions correspond to concurrent increases in radicalism, with political distrust accounting for the largest share of variance at 19%, followed by dissatisfaction at 15% and powerlessness at 14%. Classroom-level alienation did not significantly predict youth radicalism, indicating that individual-level perceptions of the political system matter more than the shared social climate of the peer group.
Sources: Miklikowska & Besta (2026)
Radicalization and Political Dissatisfaction
Political dissatisfaction shows a reciprocal longitudinal relationship with radicalization, such that each reinforces the other over time in a cross-lagged panel model. This dynamic distinguishes dissatisfaction from distrust and powerlessness, which are more strongly associated with radicalism concurrently than predictively.
Sources: Miklikowska & Besta (2026)
Radicalization and Gender
Gender significantly moderates the relationship between political alienation and radical political behavior, with the effects of distrust, powerlessness, and dissatisfaction all more pronounced among boys than girls. This pattern is consistent with findings showing that gendered pathways into radicalization emerge during adolescence.
Sources: Miklikowska & Besta (2026)
