Research Article | Special Issue: Psychology of Violent Extremism

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

https://doi.org/10.56296/aip00061
Published: July 14, 2026
Copyright: The authors (CC BY 4.0)

Miklikowska, M. & Besta, T. (2026). System-disillusioned youth radicalize: The role of political alienation in the formation of political radicalism. advances.in/psychology, 1, e716424. https://doi.org/10.56296/aip00061

Miklikowska, Marta, and Tomasz Besta. "System-disillusioned youth radicalize: The role of political alienation in the formation of political radicalism." advances.in/psychology, vol. 1, no. 1, 2026, e716424. https://doi.org/10.56296/aip00061.

Miklikowska, Marta, and Tomasz Besta. 2026. "System-disillusioned youth radicalize: The role of political alienation in the formation of political radicalism." advances.in/psychology 1 (1): e716424. https://doi.org/10.56296/aip00061.

Miklikowska M, Besta T. System-disillusioned youth radicalize: The role of political alienation in the formation of political radicalism. advances.in/psychology. 2026;1(1):e716424. doi:10.56296/aip00061.

Miklikowska, M. and Besta, T. (2026) 'System-disillusioned youth radicalize: The role of political alienation in the formation of political radicalism', advances.in/psychology, 1(1), e716424. Available at: https://doi.org/10.56296/aip00061.

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Political radicalism poses a major societal challenge, yet little is known about how it develops. Political alienation, that is, political distrust, powerlessness, and dissatisfaction with the functioning of the political system and its institutions, has been theorized to increase the risk of radical political behavior, but its role has rarely been examined longitudinally. Using five-wave panel data from Swedish adolescents (N = 892; 51.1% female), this study investigated how political distrust, powerlessness, and dissatisfaction relate to radical political behaviors from ages 13 to 17. Results showed that within-person increases in political distrust, powerlessness, and dissatisfaction were associated with concurrent increases in radical political behaviors. At the between-person level, adolescents with higher average levels of political distrust, powerlessness and dissatisfaction also exhibited higher levels of radicalism across adolescence. The effects of political alienation on radicalism were more pronounced among boys than girls. For political dissatisfaction, reciprocal relationships were observed with radicalisation in a cross-lagged panel model. The findings suggest that adolescents’ experiences of political distrust, powerlessness, and dissatisfaction with the functioning of the political system are associated with the likelihood of radicalism across developmentally critical periods. The findings underscore the importance of political institutions that are responsive, fair, trustworthy, and inclusive in counteracting youth radicalization.

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