The research on radicalization, extremism, and terrorism is heavily sponsored by states or their intelligence organizations. This has resulted in an enourmous number of research publications, but very little progress in understanding the psychology behind radicalization and extremist violence. In a new preprint, I have demonstrated how evolutionary psychology and other less politicized research paradigms can contribute to a more fruitful research agenda. I have found that humans have innate psychological mechanisms that generate highly emotional reactions to collective threats and unfair treatment of population groups. You cannot prevent radicalization without addressing the root causes of these reactions. I want to hear your opinions on whether we need to change the research agenda in this direction?

See Preprint Evolutionary psychology of radicalization and violent conflict