The Three Pillars of Radicalization

Book excerpt: Based on rare field research with terrorists, this ground breaking book delineates the drivers of radicalization and develops a deradicalization model to mitigate contemporary terrorism. Radicalization arises from individuals' needs, ideological narratives, and support networks. Individuals' need for significance and mattering, when conjoined to a narrative that advocates violence as a path to significance and a network that socially validates the narrative, creates a combustible psychological mixture that threatens social stability and global peace.