Department of Political Science and Public Administration

Doctoral Dissertation in progress

«Radicalisation, violent Extremism and the State: The cultural characteristics of the clash in Greece of Metapolitefsi»

Commencement date: December 20, 2022

Abstract

The thesis will combine approaches from Political Science and Sociology in order to answer a question of theoritical and practical, on a policy level, importance. Accepting the basic theories regarding the causes and models of radicalisation, the thesis poses the question of the role of dialectic relation between the radicalised individuals/groups and state actors on the levels of violence produced by the former, i.e. from low intensity to high intensity violence and terrorism. “Civic culture” will be used to highlight the cultural nature of the clash between the radicalised and the political elites.

On the one hand, the way political elites perceive and respond to radicalisation and violent extremism shapes their civic culture while being influenced by it. On the other, radicalised groups and individuals, driven by their own civic culture and its specific forms, i.e. ideology, radical demands, etc., clash with the political elites on a political/symbolic level.

Violent extremism- from low to high intensity violence and terrorism- can be perceived as the result of this dynamic cultural relation/clash between extremists and elites.