Special Issue on Violent Extremism 2026

A conceptual diagram contrasting two ideology models side by side. The left panel shows scattered, disconnected colored dots against cream and black backgrounds, representing the unstructured "salad bar" mix of beliefs. The right panel shows an organized network of interconnected nodes radiating from a large luminous central sphere, illustrating a structured ideology with a stable sacred core surrounded by linked peripheral operational components.

Commentary

Sacred-symbolic cores and shifting peripheries: A structural account of ideological change in extremism

By Mirra Noor Milla, Umar H Sulaiman, & Whinda Yustisia

September 28, 2026

A conceptual watercolor illustration showing a lone silhouetted human figure standing at the center of a dark, tangled mass of twisted tree branches that fan outward like consuming tendrils against a glowing red-orange background. The dark limbs enveloping the figure symbolize obsessive passion and deliberate engagement with radical ideology, evoking themes of radicalization, entrapment, and the reciprocal pull toward violent extremism.

Research Article

The radicalization syndrome: Reciprocal dynamics of obsessive passion and deliberate engagement

By Jocelyn J. Bélanger, Daniel W. Snook, Muhammed Rayyan Ahmed, & Jais Adam-Troian

August 19, 2026

A woodcut-style print showing a dark, foreboding interior with tangled black tree-like branches filling the left side, an open door on the right revealing a pale bleak landscape, and a stark red path winding through the center foreground. The high-contrast black, cream, and red palette evokes trauma, threat, and disturbed childhood environments symbolizing adverse experiences leading toward violence.

Review

Adverse childhood experiences and violent extremism: A scoping review of the literature

By Teja Pammi, Caterina Ceccarelli, Sam Hibbs, Jemima Chase, Nafees Hamid, & Fiona S. McEwen

August 7, 2026

A conceptual painted illustration showing a solitary dark chess king piece standing on a cracked stone surface, casting a long shadow across a diagonal beam of light. Fractured lines radiate outward while a red glow pools at the base, symbolizing leadership, power orientation, and the destabilizing lethal influence of violent extremist organization leaders across their tenure.

Research Article

Deadly persuasion: A multilevel analysis of leader influence tactics and lethality in violent extremist organizations

By Mackenzie Harms, Alex Bruens, Justin Jones, & Gina Ligon

August 3, 2026

A photo showing a dim, cluttered teenager's bedroom viewed at dusk, with a large window revealing a burning, apocalyptic cityscape glowing orange through partially raised blinds and curtains. Inside are an unmade bed, a wooden chair, a glowing computer monitor on a messy desk, scattered cables, and photographs taped to the walls—visually evoking youth isolation, dystopian worldviews, and radicalization themes discussed in the article.

Commentary

Shifts and continuity in contemporary violent extremism: Moving toward a dynamic and developmental understanding?

By Cécile Rousseau & Samuel Veissière

July 20, 2026 (Cited by: 2)

A conceptual illustration showing a lone figure in a green shirt walking along a crumbling stone path that disintegrates into scattered fragments and fiery orange chaos on the right. The left depicts a serene green landscape with a setting sun, rolling hills, and trees, symbolizing the fragmentation of ideological frameworks and the collapse of defined structures into disordered violent extremism.

Commentary

The end of ideological violence

By Clark McCauley

July 17, 2026 (Cited by: 2)

A conceptual photo showing a young adolescent's against a grey city, symbolizing political alienation and disillusionment.

Research Article

System-disillusioned youth radicalize: The role of political alienation in the formation of political radicalism

By Marta Miklikowska & Tomasz Besta

July 14, 2026

Commentary

Extremism without ideology

By Quassim Cassam

July 9, 2026 (Cited by: 4)

A photo showing a close-up impasto oil painting of a human face composed of fragmented, palette-knife patches in blue, orange, yellow, red, and white. The mosaic-like brushstrokes assemble piercing blue eyes, nose, and mouth from disparate color blocks, visually evoking the article's "salad bar" metaphor of composite, hybrid extremist worldviews built from diverse ideological fragments.

Commentary

Why the ‘salad bar’ might actually help extremism research – A reply to Horgan and Shayler

By Stephane Baele

July 8, 2026 (Cited by: 4)

Commentary

The erosion of conceptual clarity in the study of political violence

By Arie Perliger

July 6, 2026 (Cited by: 5)

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Trending Keywords

Sacred-symbolic cores and shifting peripheries: A structural account of ideological change in extremism

The radicalization syndrome: Reciprocal dynamics of obsessive passion and deliberate engagement

Adverse childhood experiences and violent extremism: A scoping review of the literature

Deadly persuasion: A multilevel analysis of leader influence tactics and lethality in violent extremist organizations

Shifts and continuity in contemporary violent extremism: Moving toward a dynamic and developmental understanding?

System-disillusioned youth radicalize: The role of political alienation in the formation of political radicalism

Extremism without ideology

Why the ‘salad bar’ might actually help extremism research – A reply to Horgan and Shayler

The erosion of conceptual clarity in the study of political violence