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Influences and Radicalization

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Understanding Lone Wolf Terrorism

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Criminology ((BRIEFSCRIMINOL))

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Abstract

How and why do individuals become lone wolf terrorists? What are the factors that affect a person’s attitudes and behaviour to the extent that violent radicalization and, ultimately, lone wolf terrorism is the outcome? Although the motivational patterns and ideological sources discussed in the previous chapter go some way to answering these questions, in order to attain a deeper understanding of lone wolf terrorism, radicalization should be understood in a broader sense, that is, as a complex, dynamic, multidimensional and phased process.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Two months after the 22 July 2011 attacks, there are numerous anti-Breivik Facebook pages that are visited and/or “liked” by tens of thousands of people, for example the page “We Hate You Anders Behring Breivik”.

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Spaaij, R. (2012). Influences and Radicalization. In: Understanding Lone Wolf Terrorism. SpringerBriefs in Criminology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2981-0_6

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