Commentary | Special Issue: Psychology of Violent Extremism

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

https://doi.org/10.56296/aip00068
Published: July 20, 2026
Copyright: The authors (CC BY 4.0)

Rousseau, C. & Veissière, S. (2026). Shifts and continuity in contemporary violent extremism: Moving toward a dynamic and developmental understanding?. advances.in/psychology, 1, e631837. https://doi.org/10.56296/aip00068

Rousseau, Cécile, and Samuel Veissière. "Shifts and continuity in contemporary violent extremism: Moving toward a dynamic and developmental understanding?." advances.in/psychology, vol. 1, no. 1, 2026, e631837. https://doi.org/10.56296/aip00068.

Rousseau, Cécile, and Samuel Veissière. 2026. "Shifts and continuity in contemporary violent extremism: Moving toward a dynamic and developmental understanding?." advances.in/psychology 1 (1): e631837. https://doi.org/10.56296/aip00068.

Rousseau C, Veissière S. Shifts and continuity in contemporary violent extremism: Moving toward a dynamic and developmental understanding?. advances.in/psychology. 2026;1(1):e631837. doi:10.56296/aip00068.

Rousseau, C. and Veissière, S. (2026) 'Shifts and continuity in contemporary violent extremism: Moving toward a dynamic and developmental understanding?', advances.in/psychology, 1(1), e631837. Available at: https://doi.org/10.56296/aip00068.

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The “salad bar of ideologies” has emerged as a useful metaphor for the apparent fragmentation of contemporary violent extremism. Building on the discussion by Horgan and Shayler and the response by Baele, we argue that ideological hybridization and anti-modern grievances are not themselves novel. Rather, attention should be paid to what appears distinctive: the growing involvement of minors and young adults, the spread of dystopian worldviews, and the emergence of nihilistic violence that borrows symbols from established extremist traditions while lacking a coherent political project. Drawing on clinical experience and emerging Canadian evidence, we suggest that adolescence is characterized by movement across ideological positions and that contemporary cases are better understood along a developmental continuum linking coherent ideological commitments, hybrid forms of grievance, and de-ideologized nihilistic violence. We propose that these transformations reflect both a generational search for meaning under conditions of uncertainty and the convergence of populist mobilization with algorithmic exploitation of identity, recognition, and belonging. While process-oriented approaches offer a productive alternative to multiplying categories, we argue that they must incorporate a developmental and temporal perspective to inform prevention and intervention. Understanding trajectories, rather than static classifications, may provide a useful framework for responding to contemporary violent extremism.

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