This Handbook provides the first in-depth analysis of non-violent extremism across different ideologies and geographic centres, a topic overshadowed until now by the political and academic focus on violent and jihadi extremism in the Global North.
Whilst acknowledging the potentiality of non-violent extremism as a precursor to terrorism, this Handbook argues that non-violent extremism ought to be considered a stand-alone area of study. Focusing on Islamist, Buddhist, Hindu, far-right, far-left, environmentalist and feminist manifestations, the Handbook discusses the ideological foundation of their ‘war on ideas’ against the prevailing socio-political and cultural systems in which they operate, and provides an empirical examination of their main claims and perspectives. This is supplemented by a truly global overview of non-violent extremist groups not only in Europe and the United States, but also in Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Middle East. The Handbook thus answers a call to decolonise knowledge that is especially prescient given both the complicity of non-violent extremists with authoritarian states and the dynamic of oppression towards more progressive groups in the Global South.
The Handbook will appeal to those studying extremism, radicalisation and terrorism. It intersects several relevant disciplines, including social movement studies, political science, criminology, Islamic studies and anthropology.