The belief that out-groups will precipitate a comprehensive end to history in the not-too-distant future.
apostasy
The belief that substantially wrong beliefs or practices can disqualify an otherwise eligible person from membership in an in-group. Extremists often use this term interchangeably with heresy.
beliefs
The shared creed of a group, most importantly its values, but including secondary elements such as cosmology or metaphysics.
categorization
The act of understanding yourself to be a member of an in-group and determining whether others are part of your in-group or an out-group.
conspiracy belief
The belief that out-groups are engaged in secret actions to control in-group outcomes.
crisis
A pivotal event that requires an active response from the in-group.
crisis-solution construct
The claim that an in-group crisis has been caused by an out-group, and that the in-group can solve the crisis through hostile action against the out-group.
discrimination
Nonviolent hostile actions against an out-group, often in the form of denying out-group members benefits that are available to in-group members.
dystopian belief
The belief that out-groups have successfully oriented society to disadvantage the in-group.
eligible in-group
The broad identity collective that an extremist organization claims to represent and from which it seeks to recruit.
existential threat
The belief that out-groups threaten the survival of the in-group
extremism
The belief that an in-group’s success or survival can never be separated from the need for hostile action against an out-group.
extremist ideology
A collection of texts, usually in narrative form, that describe who is part of an in-group and who is part of an out-group, and how an in-group should interact with out-groups.
extremist in-group
An identity collective consisting of an extremist movement or organization, usually including both formal members and active supporters.
genocide
Systematic slaughter of out-group members on a large scale.
harassment
Intentionally making out-groups unwelcome in the presence of the in-group.
hate crime
Non-systematic violence against out-group members.
heresy
The belief that substantially wrong beliefs or practices can disqualify an otherwise eligible person from membership in an in-group. Extremists often use this term interchangeably with apostasy.
identity
The set of qualities that are understood to make a person or group distinct from other persons or groups.
identity collective
A group of people who are defined by a common nation, religion, race, or some other shared trait, interest or concern.
impurity
Corruption of in-group beliefs, practices or traits, sometimes including the infiltration of out-group beliefs, practices and traits.
ineligible in-group
In-group members who are at risk of being expelled from the in-group, in the view of an extremist movement.
in-group
The group to which one belongs; organized around a shared identity, such as religion, race, or nationality.
legitimacy
The belief that an identity collective has a right to exist and may be rightfully defined, maintained, and protected.
millenarian belief
The belief that an event is fast approaching that will lead to end of the current world and the establishment of a utopian world.
oppression
Aggressive and systematic discrimination against an out-group, sometimes including systematic violence, usually involving an explicit legal framework
out-group
A group of people who are excluded from a specific in-group.
practices
What members of an identity group do and how they are expected to behave.
purity
The measure of how closely an in-group conforms to the prototypical in-group identity described by an ideology.
radicalization into extremism
The escalation of an in-group’s extremist orientation in the form of increasingly negative views about an out-group or the endorsement of increasingly hostile or violent actions against an out-group.
segregation
The physical separation of an in-group from out-groups.
social identification
An act of self-categorization in which an individual understands one’s self to be part of an in-group.
solution
Specific hostile actions that extremists argue in-groups should take against out-groups to resolve a crisis.
terrorism
Public violence targeting noncombatants, carried out by nongovernmental individuals or groups, in order to advance a political or ideological goal or amplify a political or ideological message.
traits
Descriptive qualities that apply to group members, including physical (such as skin tone or hair type), mental (intelligence or creativity), social (dialect, slang, and accents), or spiritual (virtuousness or piety).
triumphalism
The belief that the in-group successes can only be maintained by escalating hostile acts targeting out-groups.
violent extremism
The belief that an in-group’s success or survival can never be separated from the need for violence against an out-group.